Bloor and Gladman overturn Fylde housing decision
Following a public inquiry, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has granted outline planning permission to Bloor Homes and Gladman Developments to build 320 homes in Kirkham, Lancashire.
The proposed homes would be spread across two separate neighbouring sites and were subject to planning appeals by Bloor Homes and Gladman Developments respectively. NJL Consulting acted on behalf of both developers during the appeal process.
Both sites in Blackpool Road are greenfield and located outside the existing boundary of the town's residential area.
As they formed part of a potentially larger development site, Fylde Council initially rejected both applications because of a fear that the proposals would lead to uncoordinated development. Concerns were also raised as to the potential landscape impacts. However, during the appeal process the council were successfully convinced that this would not be the case and opted not to defend their position at the inquiry as a consequence.
Richard Kimblin of No.5 Chambers and John Barrett of Kings Chambers were jointly instructed by the developers.
Paul Smith, partner at NJL, said: "We worked hard with the council to demonstrate that their concerns could be satisfactorily addressed simply through imposing conditions, leading to their acceptance of the proposals. This was a good example of the growing acceptance by local authorities that they can't defend the indefensible."
