Paragraph 84 planning in Hampshire.

The opportunity

A new country house where policy usually says no.

Across Hampshire, national and local policy strongly resist new homes in open countryside. The one narrow exception is the house long known as a "Paragraph 84 house" (Paragraph 79, and 55, in earlier versions of the framework). Under the new August 2026 NPPF it now sits at Policy HO11, "isolated homes in the countryside", though the test itself is unchanged in substance: a design of genuinely exceptional quality, truly outstanding and reflecting the highest standards in architecture, that would raise design standards in rural areas more generally and would significantly enhance its immediate setting while responding to the defining characteristics of the local area. It is a high bar, and it is cleared with evidence, not assertion.

Our Paragraph 84 work is led by our RTPI Chartered Planner: the isolation assessment, the design quality argument and the appeal strategy. As an integrated practice, we can also develop the design in-house, or work alongside your own architect, whichever your project needs.

Local knowledge

Hampshire's authorities, and its landscapes.

Hampshire is not one planning authority but several, and a Paragraph 84 case has to be pitched to the right one. We work across Winchester City Council, East Hampshire District Council, Basingstoke and Deane, Test Valley and beyond, as well as the two National Park authorities that cover much of the county, the South Downs and the New Forest.

Sites within the South Downs National Park or a designated National Landscape face the highest scrutiny, but they are not off limits. Much of our work sits in exactly these settings, where the quality of the design and the strength of the landscape argument decide the outcome.

The work

Proven in Hampshire.

Kerry Dames led the planning strategy and appeal representation for Water Lily House, the first Paragraph 84 home approved in the Winchester City Council area, secured after an initial refusal, an outcome the Inspector described as nationally significant. Alongside our planning work, our own architecture meets the exacting design standards these sites demand.

How we work

A realistic answer, early.

Paragraph 84 is not right for every site, and we will tell you honestly if the test cannot realistically be met. Where it can, we structure each strand, the isolation assessment, the design quality argument, the landscape and technical evidence, and the appeal strategy if needed, so the case is robust from the outset.