Tewkesbury Council challenges Pickles' development approval

The Council argued that Pickles' approval is against the Government's policy of removing top-down planning decisions. Following legal advice, the Council said that Pickles did not take account of the Council's emerging Core Strategy and did not take account of local opinion.

Housing must be delivered in a way that is consistent with central Government policy, which focuses on locally-based decisions about the scale and location of housing development, the Council said.

Pickles approved plans proposed by Comparo Ltd, which sought permission to build an additional 450 homes at Homelands Farm, and Welbeck Strategic Land permission to build 550 homes to the north west of Bishop's Cleeve at a site known as Cleevelands.

"A senior planning barrister has advised that there is a strong case to challenge the Secretary of State's decision," said Councillor Derek Davies, lead member for the built environment of Tewkesbury Borough Council.

"There is an overarching principle in planning that requires policy to be interpreted and applied in such a way that is consistent with the reasons behind that policy," said Davies. "We feel that the Secretary of State has failed to apply this principle in this case."

"The council considers that these decisions go against the Government's declared policy of removing top-down planning and allowing planning decisions to be made at the local level by the communities that are most affected. It is inconsistent with the Localism Act and the principles behind that," he said.

The Council argued that the Government should not be "imposing" decisions in an "ad hoc" way through the appeal process and before decisions on the future development of the area have been made at a local level in accordance with the Government's localism agenda.

The Council argued that the "overarching principle" in planning requires policy to be interpreted and applied in such a way that is consistent with the reasons behind that policy. "We feel that the Secretary of State has failed to apply this principle in this case," the Council said.

"The Government's decision is inconsistent with the Localism Act and the principles behind that," it said.