Brewery House conversion appeal upheld

Planning permission has been awarded for the conversion of a large residential property in Knowsley into a children's home following an appeal.

Once converted, Brewery House in Tarbock Village will be operated by New Start Homes, a charitable organisation that takes on the parental responsibility of troubled children, and owner of the building.

The approval follows an appeal that was lodged against Knowsley Council after their decision to refuse the original planning application on highway-related grounds.

The applicability of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges or Manual for Streets visibility standards in various highway situations is one of the most keenly contested disputes between local authorities and developers.

Manchester-based transport consultant SCP was appointed to assist New Start Homes in the preparation of technical evidence to support the appeal, and was able to successfully demonstrate that the use of less onerous MfS-based visibility standards were appropriate in the semi-rural location of the appeal site.

Lee Kendall, principal transport planner at SCP, said: "The applicability of MfS-based visibility standards will probably continue to be a hot topic of debate in transport planning circles, but this decision at least demonstrates that common sense does eventually prevail when a coherent argument is put across in the right way."

Neil Baynes, managing director of New Start Homes, said: "We are pleased with the support, guidance and input SCP has provided us with the way it has dealt with the local authority and the Iispectorate."