Up to 9 homes at Land West of Fold Gardens, Great Salkeld, Penrith

“Permission in principle applications seek confirmation that a proposed development is acceptable in principle, being concerned with location, land use, and amount of development; other considerations such as visual impact, access and parking, impacts on residential amenity, ecological impacts, and impacts from drainage and flooding are assessed during the Technical Details Consent stage that follows the granting of permission in principle.”

“This application seeks ‘Permission in Principle’ for a residential development of between 1 and 9 dwellings. There are no indicative plans and the proposal suggests only a range of between one and nine dwellings as stated in the application description. The site area of approximately 0.65ha would also accommodate land required for drainage and for onsite biodiversity net gain, although none of the technical details are considered at this stage of the proposal.”

“Fold Gardens is a residential development granted in 2017 providing 12 dwellings, a mix of barn conversions with new-build detached and terraced townhouses on former farmland of Townhead Farm on the western edge of Great Salkeld. The access road of Fold Gardens runs to its western extent to maintain a field access to the agricultural land beyond, which is subject of the current application.”

“The land slopes up away from Fold Gardens and is grazed farm land enclosed by sandstone walls. The field is an amalgamation of two strip fields merged together to form a field 100m across, although it has since been subdivided with a post and wire fence some 40m beyond the application site. Great Salkeld is designated as a Smaller Village and Hamlet within the Eden Local Plan hierarchy of settlements.”

“None for this site. The land immediately east of the site however (Fold Gardens) has the following history:”

“Application Ref: 14/1079 Proposal: Outline planning permission for residential development to include vehicular access and layout. Decision: Approved Decision Date: 12/10/2016”

“Since Westmorland and Furness Council, at this time, is not able to demonstrate a 5 year housing land supply (the current figure is 3.17 years), the housing policies of the Eden Local Plan are now deemed out of date and thus they carry less weight in the planning balance.”

“The proposal is to develop part of a field used for agriculture for residential development in a less sustainable village location. It is contrary to local plan policies for village housing but given the edge-of-settlement location and the limited extent of development (below 10 dwellings), the shortfall in the 5 year housing land supply, and the Government’s very clear mandate to provide new housing, refusing new development in this location on principle would be…”

“Further objections relate to the conservation area and material harm through loss of part of the characteristic strip field systems around Great Salkeld village. The Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Plan (2020) further identifies that ‘views of surrounding countryside and fells’ are among Great Salkeld’s key strengths. The Council has a duty to pay special attention to the desirability of preserving a conservation area’s character.”

“It is not agreed that the proposal would result in loss of the characteristic strip field system. The field is 100m wide and has itself been formed from the merging of two strip fields. It is not therefore characteristic of the conservation area. The Conservation Officer is of the view that the proposal would result in less than substantial harm, with the impact likely falling towards the lower end of the spectrum.”

“CONSULTATION RESPONSES Consultee Consulted Responded Response United Utilities 02/04/2026 Great Salkeld Parish Council 02/04/2026 05/05/2026 Object Cllr Patricia Bell 02/04/2026 Cllr Colin Atkinson 02/04/2026 Cllr Hilary Carrick 02/04/2026 Highways & LLFA 02/04/2026 13/05/2026 Object Minerals and Waste 02/04/2026 11/05/2026 No Objection Conservation Officer (Penrith) 02/04/2026 23/04/2026 Comment Environmental Health (Penrith) 02/04/2026 22/04/2026 Comment Nutrient…”

“Councillor M Robinson proposed that the application be deferred as the application site was within a conservation area and any approval could have implications for the Council which were unclear. Therefore the Committee needed to have a conversation with the relevant Cabinet Member and to understand the implications for the development of the new Local Plan.”

“The Committee’s Legal Adviser queried the reasons for a determent, with councillor Robinson confirming it was to gain clarity on the conservation area issue. The Legal Adviser informed the Committee that the applicant had a right of appeal for non- determination if their were further delays in the consideration of the application.”

“The Chair seconded the proposal and it was unanimously ;”

“RESOLVED that the application be deferred.”