An appeal against Cheshire East Council's refusal to grant planning permission for the development of a gypsy site off Moor Lane has been dismissed by the Secretary of State.
The Planning Inspector recommended that the appeal should be allowed and planning permission granted, however, the Secretary of State disagreed with the Inspector's conclusions and refused the appeal.
The controversial plans (reference 12/4247M) to change the use of the open land, which lies within the Green Belt, for the stationing of caravans for residential purposes, a utility/day room and additional hard standing were refused for the second time in January 2013. The Northern Planning Committee refused the application on the grounds that very special circumstances do not exist to justify inappropriate development in the green belt.
Green Planning Solutions, acting on behalf of the applicant Mr John Allen, submitted an appeal to the Secretary of State, on the grounds that a single pitch will create limited actual harm to the openness of the green belt which is outweighed by the lack of suitable and affordable sites in the area.
A document submitted with the planning application, which the Council received over 550 letters of objection to, said that Mr Allen's eldest son suffers from glaucoma. Therefore it was necessary to move closer to Manchester Eye Hospital as they need to attend regular appointments and sometimes require emergency specialist treatment.
The Secretary of State refused the appeal on the grounds that the proposal represents inappropriate development in the Green Belt and attributed substantial weight to this harm.
He considered that the harm arising from the development would not be clearly outweighed by other considerations, and he considered that the very special circumstances necessary for the granting of either a permanent or a temporary planning permission do not exist.
Cllr Gary Barton said "I am very pleased that the Secretary of State has listened to the concern of Cheshire East, Wilmslow Town Council, and, most importantly, local residents and refused this appeal. The applicant's claim for 'special circumstances' was weak at best and certainly did not provide a strong enough case to override the firmly established guidance that gypsy traveller sites constitute inappropriate development in the Green Belt.
"The initial recommendation from the planning inspector that the appeal be allowed was rightly rejected by the Secretary of State. I think this provides further evidence that the Planning Inspectorate are detached from the genuine concerns of communities across the country and, more importantly, that the planning inspectors are not doing enough to protect valued and important Green Belt land.
"I am very grateful for hundreds of letters, emails and phone calls I received during this process. The response from local residents has been an important part of achieving the right result."
Cllr Barton added "This decision can now only be challenged in the courts, and even then a successful challenge does not guarantee a reversal of the decision."
Click here to read the report on behalf of the Secretary of State.
Comments
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concerned.
Do they not realise that the Eye Hospital is in Central Manchester and that there is official accommodation for Travellers in Manchester?
Can't imagine how much money this has cost the local tax payer to quash something that should never have been deemed a worthwhile cause in the first place
The devil is in the detail. The article above states the application was for "the stationing of caravans" not singular. Be vigilent people this or similar will come again.
Full details of the decision can be found at: http://bit.ly/1xt4kIb
The report makes very interesting reading and, in theory, it's not quite over yet. The failure of the CEC Local Plan might not do finalising this issue any favours.