Out-Law News 1 min. read
13 Feb 2012, 5:23 pm
Bromsgrove District Council refused outline planning permission for 212 homes in April 2011, citing concerns about the principle of developing the site for housing and the effects of traffic likely to be generated by the proposal.
Planning inspector Jane Miles overturned (15-page / 185KB PDF) the Council's decision, allowing Maplebrom's appeal, and awarded costs to the developer due to the Council's "unreasonable behaviour resulting in unnecessary expense".
The developer argued that planning permission should be granted given that the Council could not demonstrate an up-to-date five-year supply of deliverable housing, as require by policy in Planning Policy Statement.
"The council and appellant agree that supply in Bromsgrove equates to only one and a half years, which I consider to be a very serious deficit," the planning inspector said. "They also agree that the appeal scheme accords with [policy] and notwithstanding local views to the contrary, that it would be in a sustainable development location.
The inspector pointed out that the Government’s "Planning for Growth" ministerial statement expects local planning authorities to allow development and growth "wherever possible, except where key sustainable development principles in national planning policy would be compromised".
The inspector acknowledged the traffic concerns submitted by the Highways Agency and Council, but found that the Council’s reason for refusing the appeal scheme was not based on specific highway safety concerns but on a more generalised concern about the capacity of the local highway network to cater for traffic from the development, and the negative impacts that this would have on the amenities of existing residents.
"It is not clear to me, from the evidence presented, that the Council’s Planning Committee had a clear and rational explanation for rejecting the technical evidence at the time of its decision," the planning inspector said in the Costs order letter (2-page / 95KB PDF).
Maplebrom must now submit details of its costs to Bromsgrove District Council, with a view to reaching agreement as to the amount.
