THE sight of new luxury homes being built on a Gloucestershire beauty spot has sparked concerns among residents.

Plans to build 26 homes on land at Ullenwood Court near Crickley Hill were approved in May 2019.

But earlier this year Cotswold District Council approved amendments to the original plans.

Churcham Homes, the applicant, wanted to make slight changes to the orientation of the position of one residential unit within its plot.

Churcham Homes had been in discussion with the purchaser of the site, who requested that orientation be altered through pivoting the property at plot 14 slightly in a clockwise direction.

They said this has the benefit of improving residential privacy along the western side of the property.

The proposal also improved the relationship of the westerly facing living rooms at ground floor level with the rear garden, providing direct access to the rear garden rather than to the side of the plot, according to the developers.

District planners felt the changes were acceptable and granted permission on January 22 this year.

However, the development of the site has sparked questions from residents who ask why planning permission was granted for such development within that beautiful landscape.

“I do understand that you can be granted special permission to build if a property is deemed of unique architectural design,” Karen O’Connell, town resident, said.

“However, I cannot see how they got planning permission for what I think are approx. 23 large homes. I initially thought it was only one or two buildings, as you could not really see this from the road.”

Objectors raised concerns over loss of the much-loved and valued riding school when the first plans were submitted in 2019 and a petition was signed by more than 340 people.

Those opposing the scheme also said the development would be harmful to the landscape and was unnecessary as more housing is not needed.

Planning officers recommended granting permission at the time in the interest of significantly boosting the supply of homes.

And they said the information submitted by the developers demonstrated the site could be built without any significant harm to the character or scenic beauty of the Cotswold national landscape or the openness of the green belt.

The long term impact was considered to be neutral to slightly beneficial and the council granted planning permission.