A large development is up for discussion at Cheltenham Borough Council's planning committee on Thursday (December 14).

The application for 250 homes in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is being brought to the council by Nexus Planning on behalf of Vistry Homes Limited and Stonewater Limited.

Planning permission for the 250 homes was initially granted in 2022. The plans include infrastructure, ancillary facilities, open space and landscaping, demolition of existing buildings and creation of a new access road from Harp Hill.

Now the developer is seeking approval for more detail of the scheme, including access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale.

Council officers recommend that the committee gives the plans the go-ahead.

The site is 14.9ha of agricultural grassland and buildings at Oakley Farm, bounded by Harp Hill on one side and the residential development on the site of the former GCHQ Oakley site.

Plans include 100 affordable homes located across the site - 32 for social rent, 30 for affordable rent and 30 for shared ownership.

The proposed new homes will be a mix of terraced, semi-detached and detached properties and apartment blocks. Homes will vary from terraced, semi-detached and detached dwellings, plus several three-storey detached and linked apartment buildings.

The scheme has received 52 objections, many of them relating to issues with the traffic on Harp Hill and the surrounding roads and the unsuitability of Harp Hill as an access road. While this information has been passed on to committee members, officer have reminded them that: "the transport impacts of the proposed development on the local road network are not relevant to the determination of the reserved matters and cannot therefore be re-examined".

And Gloucestershire County Council, as highways authority, said: "there would not be an unacceptable impact on highway safety or a severe impact on congestion. There are no justifiable grounds on which an objection could be maintained."

Concerns were also raised about potential harm to the AONB. This was carefully weighed up against the need for more housing in the town.

The Joint Core Strategy (JCS) for Cheltenham, Tewkesbury and Gloucester, states: "All development proposals in or within the setting of the Cotswolds AONB will be required to conserve and, where appropriate, enhance its landscape, scenic beauty, wildlife, cultural heritage and other special qualities."

Looking at the proposals earlier this year, the Gloucestershire design review panel wrote: "There is a local housing land supply shortfall, so on balance, the contained characteristics of the site and its greater relationship to the adjacent residential areas and the topography of the site overcame the restrictions of the AONB."

In recommending the proposals, council officers wrote: "The details submitted in respect of the following reserved matters have been found to be acceptable: access, layout, scale, appearance and landscaping.

"Officers have taken account of the social, economic and environmental benefits of the proposals. The 'tilted balance' in favour of sustainable development is engaged in this case and there are no other adverse impacts arising from the proposals that would significantly outweigh the benefits of the scheme and substantiate a refusal."