‘Unreasonable’ Chorley suffers double-whammy at appeal
More than 100 homes across two schemes have been given the green light by the Planning Inspectorate, with the council also ordered to pay costs.
Conlon Holdings has won an appeal over the refusal of its plans for 76 affordable homes in Charnock Richard.
Landowner Conlon, working with Maybern Planning, submitted its proposals to Chorely Council in March 2021.
The scheme features a mix of one- to four-bedroom houses and apartments available for shared ownership and affordable rent.
Housing association Jigsaw Homes is lined up to manage the properties upon completion of the development.
Chorley Council rejected the scheme, proposed for a five-acre plot off Charter Lane, despite officers recommending it should be approved.
The authority’s planning committee refused permission for the development due to its scale and concerns about the impact it would have on local roads.
However, the committee’s reasons for refusal were later withdrawn and Chorley did not contest the appeal. As a result, the authority is being ordered to pay Conlon’s costs because it acted unreasonably in the view of the inspector.
“Unreasonable behaviour is demonstrated by the withdrawal of both reasons for refusal, which ultimately resulted in preventing or delaying development which should clearly be permitted,” the inspector’s report states.
Chorley was also ordered to pay costs to a private landowner bidding to redevelop 3.7 acres of agricultural land off Blackburn Road into 40 homes.
Smith&Love, acting on behalf of the applicant, lodged plans for the scheme in July 2021 and ultimately appealed against the non-determination of the proposal.
The inspector said the provision of up to 40 additional homes, including 35% affordable housing, “would contribute to boosting the supply of housing in Chorley…[which is] currently constrained due to an inability to demonstrate a deliverable five-year housing land supply with a significant shortfall having been identified”.
Smith&Love’s application for the award of costs was also partially successful.
The inspector concluded the council should foot some of the applicant’s bill, due to the “wasted expense incurred when preparing additional evidence relating to access for pedestrians and cycling infrastructure”.
Ifl land around Chorley continues to be developed T its present rate it will cease to be a pleasant green place to live and will just be a boring, commonplace development.
By Margaret Hayes
Have all the brownfield sites been already developed. If not why is greenfield being used?
By Margaret Hayes
Planning is broken and we need committees made up of professionals that can understand policy and reasoning for an officers recommendation and put hyper local politics aside. Yet another Local Authority wasting public monies. Some of them need to go into special measures and applications made straight to the Inspectorate.
By Les Payne
@Margaret Hayes – I am all for the brownfield sites being developed first but coming from a site professional perspective they are extortionate to develop on. So you could potentially lose any “affordable housing” on that area. A good solution would be for councils to remediate the ground in brownfield sites and then sell them on. The risks with brownfield is the ground and what it was used for before. Sometimes we just need to accept that housing is required.
By Brownfield
I hope these landowners and builders don’t have children or grandchildren because they are rapidly destroying any chance this planet has of survival beyond the next 40 years. They are totally irresponsible.
By Anonymous
Unfortunately, planning is all too often rejected by the ‘dinosaurs’ sitting on these committees, based on nothing other than personal opinions rather than looking at things from a professional standpoint. Great to see the Planning Inspectorate taking a firm stand against ‘beige’ of Chorley Council!
By BuildaBear
Anonymous 12:05 pm – if they had children or grandchildren they won’t be living in Chorley anyway because the Council has been avoiding its responsibility to build houses for them for years.
By Mr N Imby
Funny that bolton passed all plans submitted today as well
By Anonymous
Who are all these houses for ?
Building on green belt in the North West appears to be the Norm. What green spaces we have left like Rivington are oversubscribed most days.
There are plenty of green spaces for people to enjoy in the South of the country, why not for us in the North?
By Anonymous
It’s quite sad reading the negative comments, for the anonymous negatives, just have a look on google maps on your phone… zoom out and you will see the majority of the country is still green. The country is 91% greenspace, have a rethink and allow the next generation the chance of a similar quality of life which you have enjoyed. Remember…. your house was once a field so why should you be allowed that benefit and then behold the next generation of such?
By realist
Instead of wasting public money toing and froing on the Charter Lane issue, Chorley Bororough Council should commandeer land through the golf club to build a link road to the A49 in order to have any chance of coping with the increase in traffic on an already busy country lane.
By David Woods