The Secretary of State has ruled that Cheshire East Council do not have a five year supply of housing land.
Eric Pickles made this announcement when allowing the appeal of Fox Strategic Land and Property against the Council's refusal to grant them planning permission to build 280 homes in Sandbach.
The Secretary of State disagreed with the inspector's recommendation that the appeal be dismissed and granted planning permission for the development off Abbey Road and Middlewich Road. (reference 10/3471C)
One of the reasons the Secretary of State gave for overturning the inspector's decision is that the Council has not demonstrated a 5 year land supply, despite the publication of the updated SHLAA, and that there no evidence to suggest that the proposed development would not be capable of contributing to the land supply within 5 years.
The report stated "Having considered these matters very carefully, the Secretary of State is of the view that the Council has not demonstrated a 5 year supply of deliverable housing sites against even the most favourable assessment of the 5 year housing requirement."
The report went on to say "Whilst the Secretary of State notes and encourages the Council's progress with the LP (Local Plan)and the evidence base to underpin it, he is not persuaded, on the evidence before him, that the updated SHLAA provides a robust assessment of 5 year land supply."
Cheshire East Council approved its SHLAA (Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment) outlining the Borough's five-year housing land supply in February 2013.
The SHLAA is required by national planning policy, set out in the National Planning Policy Framework, and is a key component of the evidence base to support the delivery of sufficient land for housing; to meet the community's need for more homes; and to inform housing policy within the Cheshire East Local Plan.
It can also assist the Council in resisting applications for housing development in inappropriate locations.
Council Leader Councillor Michael Jones said: "We are content to win the planning appeal in respect of Sandbach Road North and are determined to protect the Cheshire's countryside and this decision goes to prove the value of the 'countryside argument'.
"However, we are disappointed that the Secretary of State and the Planning Inspector have seen fit to turn down two other appeals (Abbey Road and Congleton Road). We put up a strong defence of our decision to refuse these planning applications.
"The Planning Inspector agreed that we had met the housing requirement of 5,750 homes. But because of the recession and the stall on house building this figure has now inflated to 9,000 homes over five years. This is a relatively new target.
"The pressure of this target means it could encourages more speculative planning applications, affecting our countryside compared with more sustainable development.
"Friday's decisions by the Secretary of State do not help Cheshire East in its fight against unplanned, speculative developments. Cheshire East Council believes in sustainable development for the beautiful borough of Cheshire East.
"We believe these decisions to allow hundreds of homes in Sandbach and Congleton to be built is the wrong decision for Cheshire East and we will now be exploring all our possible options in order to reconsider our position and carefully choose our next steps.
"Cheshire East Council is committed to defending the rights of our residents, especially where we believe developments impact negatively upon people's lives."
Comments
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Simply because greenfield sites are so much cheaper. Why bother clearing a brownfield site with all the health and safety considerations when you can march into the greenbelt?
This from a Conservative council led by a Conservative government in a Conservative stronghold.
You would have thought Tories politicians both local and national would have highlighted this in their manifesto?
Leader of Cheshire East Council Councillor Michael Jones said: “The Council has approached all our MPs and we are enthused that they are collectively representing the residents of Cheshire East on these important matters. A debate has already taken place last week in Westminster with the Planning Minister, Nick Boles, at which our concerns were fully voiced.
“I am pleased that the support of our MPs is robust and they recognise the need for action. We are continuing to look at as many sites as possible in order to create the buffer in our housing numbers as recommended by the Secretary of State.
“We have already achieved a significant contribution towards our five year housing supply and will continue to work tirelessly until we meet the target set by the Secretary of State or in the event there are further policy changes.
“I am pleased to say in the housing debate last week the Minister has already moved his position on some of the policies which affect Cheshire East and we are currently seeking clarification on his comments.”