Local residents’ views ‘ignored’ as council loses homes appeal

Leeds Council’s chief planning officer Phil Crabtree says that national guidelines, rather than local views, appeared to have taken precedence in a planning inspector’s recent decision to grant permission for homes at Church Fields, Boston Spa.

Hundreds of residents, backed by Wetherby councillors, had opposed the plans, and the city council turned down the application.

But the developer appealed and the Planning Inspectorate overturned the council’s decision following a public inquiry.

A report last month by the planning inspector was critical of the council for pursuing objections and putting developers to unnecessary expense.

Mr Crabtree says it is now becoming increasingly difficult for the authority to resist the development of sites which have been allocated for future housing development.

The authority has been trying to encourage the regeneration of brownfield sites, ahead of green field areas around suburbs.

The planning inspector said that the early release of future housing sites would not undermine the council’s regeneration strategy.

In a report on the Church Fields appeals by Taylor Wimpey, Mr Crabtree says the decision has some implications for the council.

He said it was “disappointing to note that the inspector seemed to place a greater emphasis on national guidance in assessing design and conservation issues, rather than planning policies at a local level, including the Boston Spa Conservation Area Appraisal, and placing limited weight on the views of the local community.”

A partial award of costs was made to the developer against the council following the successful appeal by the firm.

Other similar cases have also gone against the authority.

The inspector noted there were strong similarities to this case and other recent appeals “...and that the council had failed to explain why it has persisted in pursuing objections that have been so clearly rejected in other recent decisions”.

Members of the city council’s Plans Panel East are due to discuss the issues raised at a meeting tomorrow.

Committee member John Procter (Tory, Wetherby) said: “As ward councillor for the area – and like many local people – I was devastated when the planning inspector delivered his verdict.

“The whole community here in Boston Spa had pulled to together to work with the city council to get our message across that due to its sheer scale, this build will irrevocably change the character of the village.

“Of course questions need to be asked as to whether the council could have done anything differently, but there is no denying that despite the Government’s best efforts to scrap top-down housing targets, there is a burning desire amongst developers to push through large projects such as Church Fields before the much-anticipated Localism Bill becomes legislation.

“It is a tragedy, that knowing the Government’s intentions regarding housing targets, the planning inspector could not have delayed making his decision until the full details of the Localism Bill were laid bare.

“Going forward, Taylor Wimpey and the council must ensure that they involve local people in shaping this development to encourage cohesion and to allay residents fears as much as humanely possible.”

A spokesman for Leeds Council said yesterday that the authority would continue to develop its longer-term housing strategy in the light of the Church Fields ruling.

The spokesman said the costs awarded against the council had yet to be finalised.