Aside from those acting in an official capacity for a government institution, names have been redacted from this email thread, for privacy reasons.
We have added highlights, and footnotes at the end, to draw out key points that you might find useful.
2026-04-29, from Herefordshire Council Planning Department to a Credenhill resident
Good afternoon,
Further to our telephone call, I can confirm that two sites have been submitted in Credenhill to the Call for Sites.1
Both are in the same area adjacent to one another to the west of the village and for the purposes of our assessments have been grouped into one larger area.2
It is currently undergoing assessment, and the outcome of it will be published in the forthcoming Candidate Sites Register in due course.
Kind Regards,
Stuart Powell BSc MSc MRTPI
Principal Planning Officer
Strategic and Neighbourhood Planning
Herefordshire Council
2026-05-05, from the Credenhill resident to Herefordshire Council Planning Department
Good afternoon Stuart,
Here are some comments that I am forwarding to both HC Planning Dept. and the representative of the client. This is not just my view, but that of a group of us (names & signatures available).
We understand detailed assessment will accompany a planning application. At this stage, our concern is that there is no clear indication that the heritage setting has been scoped, which makes it difficult to understand how the site has been tested for suitability against national policy.
For a Scheduled Monument, the setting forms a key component of its significance and is a material consideration under the National Planning Policy Framework. It is therefore important that this is properly considered at an early stage.
The proposed development lies within the wider setting of Credenhill Camp Scheduled Monument (NHLE 1005526), a designated heritage asset of national importance under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
On the basis of currently available information, there is no clear evidence that a Heritage Impact Assessment or Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment has been undertaken which addresses the contribution of setting to the significance of the asset or the effects of the proposal upon it.
Accordingly, a combined Heritage Impact Assessment and Landscape & Visual Impact Assessment addressing the setting of Credenhill Camp should be provided prior to determination.
Our point is simply that the heritage setting should be clearly scoped and demonstrably considered within the assessment process.
The other point relates to the prematurity and plan-making process:
The proposal is premature in the context of the emerging Local Plan and has not been assessed through the Call for Sites process or through comparative evaluation against reasonable alternative sites.
Alternative land within the wider area, including land in the same ownership, remains unassessed. Bringing forward a site-specific proposal at this stage risks prejudicing the proper plan-making process and undermining the plan-led system.
Finally, the executive report in pre-application guidance from the landowner states “Herefordshire Council have confirmed through formal Pre-Application Advice, that this is a sustainable location for new housing.” Is it possible for you to endorse this, along with the ‘Technical Reports Completed’, and any other relative information. I have voted ‘neutral’ on the online survey, and would like to make an informed decision before deciding either way.
Kind regards,
2026-05-06, from Herefordshire Council Planning Department to the resident
Good morning,
Thankyou for your email.
The content of any pre-application advice and assessment issued is not published and kept confidential as per council policy, unless the applicant chooses to disclose it themselves.
At this stage, the Local Plan is at a very early evidence gathering stage, of which the ongoing call for sites forms a key part. Until the call for sites work is complete and our options worked up, we cannot say for certain what the Local Plan’s spatial growth strategy is going to look like, especially with regard to the settlements outside of the city and market towns. Credenhill I note also does not have a Neighbourhood Development Plan. At this stage, therefore, any planning application would need to be assessed against the policies of the adopted Core Strategy.3
Kind Regards,
Our notes
- Herefordshire Council’s 2025 Call for Sites ran from June 2025 to January 2026, and was a way for local landowners to indicate their interest in selling their land for development. The final “register” of approved sites for development has not yet been published. ↩︎
- It is notable that, since the only two sites in Credenhill submitted in response to the Call were in the “west of the village”, the proposed development “North of Granary Cottages” (which is east of the village), was evidently not submitted to the 2025 Call for Sites. ↩︎
- This confirms that the Local Plan “is at a very early stage”, and the Planning Department themselves admit they “cannot say for certain” what its requirements will be for villages like Credenhill. This invalidates despite James Spreckley’s “executive summary” that “The emerging Local Plan 2025-2045 will require Credenhill to deliver around 300 new houses.” There is currently no Local Plan, and no “requirement” to deliver 300 new houses in Credenhill. There is only the Council’s Adopted 2011–2031 Core Strategy. ↩︎