Planning inspector rejects 420-home planning appeal on carbon and landscape grounds

Last Friday, the planning inspector, on behalf of the secretary of state, rejected an appeal by developers Ian and Kathleen Griffiths and Gladman Developments to build on a 23.5-hectare site in Ledbury, west of the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). 

The developers hoped to overturn Herefordshire Council’s planning refusal, arguing that the local authority was unable to demonstrate a five-year housing supply – a national planning policy that requires councils to have enough sites ready for development to meet their housing needs for the next five years.

Town and Country Planning Act 1990

Document Status: In force/Current

Scope: England, Wales

Key Dates SHOW

Commentary:

07/07/2015 Amending Act (Planning (Wales) Act 2015) published., 27/10/2015 Amending Order (WSI 2015/1794) published., 22/02/2016 Amending Regulations (WSI 2016/53) published, in relation to Wales only., 27/04/2017 Amending Act (Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017) published.
02/11/2017 Amending Regulations (SI 2017/1012) published., 28/11/2018 Amending Regulations (SI 2018/1232) published.

Compliance:

24/05/1990 Received Royal Assent

Legal Status SHOW

Legal Status This Act consolidates, with amendments, certain enactments relating to town and country planning in England and Wales (excluding special controls in respect of buildings and areas of special architectural or historic interest and in respect of hazardous substances). It received Royal Assent on 24 May 1990 and has been extensively amended (see Legal Outline).

Legal Outline

The Act has been subsequently amended, including by:

• the Greater London Authority Act 2007;
• the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/3538);
• the Planning (Wales) Act 2015, which, among other things, establishes a new National Development Framework for Wales
• the Town and Country Planning (Power to Override Easements and Applications by Statutory Undertakers) (Wales) Order 2015 (WSI 2015/1794);
• the Developments of National Significance (Specified Criteria and Prescribed Secondary Consents) (Wales) Regulations 2016 (WSI 2016/53);
• the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017;
  
• the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/1012); and
• the Environmental Assessments and Miscellaneous Planning (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/1232), primarily to update references to reflect the UK’s withdrawal from the EU expected from 29 March 2019.

For a complete overview:

View ENDS Summary

But the inspector said the site’s isolated location and lack of access to facilities and public transport would be “contrary to the environmental role of planning in moving to a low carbon economy” in terms of “limiting the need to travel and offering a genuine choice of transport modes”. 

The inspector also argued that the development would be “harmful to the character and appearance of the area, including the landscape setting of the settlement and the setting of the Malvern Hills AONB, through its large scale encroachment into the open countryside and loss of features characteristic of the local area”.

• Phosphates crisis: How the ‘Dutch case’ is stifling housebuilding in England

Meanwhile, Herefordshire Council is struggling to process planning applications for up to 1,000 homes, due to updated legal advice from wildlife regulator Natural England. 

Natural England has told the council it cannot support any planning applications affecting the River Lugg – a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and part of the River Wye Special Area of Conservation (SAC) –  unless there was certainty that the level of phosphates in the river could be brought down.

To view the planning inspector’s decision in full visit the planning appeals portal here. Planning Appeal Ref: APP/W1850/W/19/3225309