Plans to build 17 homes on an orchard in Flintham have been rejected on appeal, with a planning inspector finding the development would harm the village’s rural setting.
The inspector also found insufficient evidence of local need for affordable housing on the scale proposed.
Landowner Greg Dawson’s latest application comprised 14 terraced homes and three separate self-build properties on the edge of the village, near Newark.
Rushcliffe Borough Council refused permission in October 2025. The dismissal of his appeal follows an earlier application for 14 homes in 2023, which was also refused by the council and rejected on appeal.
In the latest decision, the planning inspector said: “The development of 17 dwellings would introduce a significant amount of built development and residential activity to the appeal site. This would have a harmful urbanising effect on the rural setting of Flintham.”
The inspector said the development would appear “incongruous in the Positive Open Space”, adding: “The proposal would also not be in an acceptable location given that it has not been robustly demonstrated there is a local need for affordable housing of this scale in Flintham. The appeal should be dismissed.”
The privately owned orchard contains a public right of way used by residents to reach the surrounding countryside.
Mr Dawson submitted the revised plans in January 2025, hoping changes to national planning policy would support their approval. Before the council’s decision that October, 31 members of the public had objected.
Flintham Parish Council opposed both applications. Its chairperson, Jacqui Turrell, said she hoped the latest decision would bring the matter to a close.
She said: “There were lots of downfalls to this application. It didn’t have the evidence. I trust the experts and I trust the decisions Rushcliffe Borough Council have made. It’s evidence-based.”
“Repeated applications do not mean it will eventually be successful. It doesn’t work like that. You have to follow the criteria and the rules of planning and if it doesn’t fit into those it doesn’t fit into those.”
Speaking personally, Ms Turrell also raised concerns about pedestrian access from the site to village amenities, with no pavement along a significant stretch of the main road.
“Aesthetically, the application was a nice, small development. But I will stand by that there was no safe route to the village amenities,” she said.
Nearby resident Caroline Schrader, 54, who moved to the village in July, said she was not closely familiar with the plans but welcomed the outcome.
“All I’ve ever wanted is a cottage in the country and I still feel like I’m dreaming. It’s just absolutely idyllic,” she said.
Rushcliffe borough councillor David Simms, who represents the East Bridgford ward, which includes Flintham, said there had been a “groundswell” of opposition.
“Listening to the local community there is a lot of passion against the application,” he said. “I understand it’s quite ancient land and their concerns about safety are understandable.”
Mr Dawson was contacted for comment but had not responded by the time of publication.
By Joseph Connolly, Local Democracy Reporter