Council wrong to refuse planning permission for housing development

The High court has ruled that a local authority was wrong to refuse outline planning permission for a housing development on a greenfield site.

The court heard that the authority had identified the site as being suitable for development but still decided to refuse planning permission. This was because it believed that there was a sufficient supply of nearby brownfield sites available. It submitted that developing greenfield sites in preference to brownfield sites would have a detrimental effect on the regeneration of urban areas.

The developer appealed to the planning inspector who overturned the authority’s decision and gave several reasons for doing so. He said there weren’t enough homes to meet the anticipated future demand in the area. The authority had already identified the site as suitable for development and had failed to show that there was an adequate supply of brownfield sites.

The inspector concluded that in this particular case, the site was too small to have any significant effect on the regeneration of urban areas. It was therefore appropriate to grant outline permission, subject to conditions.

The authority appealed to the High Court but that has now upheld the inspector’s decision.

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July 2010

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