Carlisle refusal confirmed for Gleeson

Proposals for 163 homes off Brunstock Lane in Houghton have been rejected at committee in line with officer recommendation.

Cumberland Council officers had recommended refusal on two grounds: that the application reaches into open countryside, and that the need for more housing in the village of Houghton had not been demonstrated.

Committee agreed, with the decision notice published saying that “the scale of the proposed development would not be appropriate to the scale and character of Houghton”.

Although the site has other residential developments on two sides, it has not been allocated for housing under the area’s local plan.

Following the meeting, David Wright, founder and director of advisor Fellpath Planning, took to Linkedin, querying whether local policy is in sync with the supply situation.

Wright said: “Despite no objections from statutory consultees and despite the presenting planning officers confirming that Cumberland cannot currently demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, members voted unanimously to refuse the application, relying on Local Plan policies that are now nine years old and, in practice, out of alignment with the most recent NPPF.”

Although the supply issue was raised at committee, with the planning officer describing the latest update as “somewhat dated”, Wright said the matter had not been “front and centre”.

Stanwix Rural Parish Council had objected to the project, while 339 letters of objection were recorded.

Gleeson submitted its application in May 2023. Supporting documentation from PFK Planning and Development outlined a scheme comprising 16 two-bed bungalows, 19 two-bed two-storey houses, 86 three-bed houses, and 42 four-bed ones.

Of the 163 homes, 33 were designated as affordable – nine of which would be first homes, eight available for discounted sale, and 16 for affordable rent. Houghton sits less than three miles north-east of Carlisle city centre, a mile from Junction 44 of the M6.

You can learn more about the application by searching reference 23/0347 on the Carlisle section of Cumberland Council’s planning portal.

Housing need remains, as Wright summed up in the conclusion to his Linkedin post: “Over the coming weeks we will carefully consider our next steps. Our commitment remains to work constructively with Cumberland Council and local communities to help deliver the homes this this part of Cumbria urgently needs.”