Council to pay care provider for rejecting plans

City of Wolverhampton Council had originally rejected the plans due to a bigger demand for family houses

A council has been told to pay costs to a care provider after it "unreasonably" rejected its plans to open a children's home.

A government planning inspector said the city of Wolverhampton Council must pay full costs to Ashlee Homes Supported Living after it blocked the conversion of a home in Merridale Road in the city.

The local authority's planners said there was no demand for children's homes in Wolverhampton but a "significant" demand for family housing, which led to the rejection.

The decision was then appealed by the government's planning inspector who overturned the ruling, calling the council's reasoning "vague and generalised".

'No clear evidence'

In a report the inspector said: "The council also opted not to submit a statement of case to defend the reasons for refusal and/or respond to the applicant's case and the additional evidence provided".

The council had also failed to provide comments from the council's children's services, the report added.

"All in all, the council behaved unreasonably as it failed to provide clear evidence or objective analysis to substantiate their reason for refusal, particularly on appeal."

When rejecting the application earlier this year, the council had said: "The key issue in this case is the effect of the proposal on the overall supply of housing in Wolverhampton.

"The property is a good quality recently constructed two-storey detached dwelling house on a prominent corner in an established area close to local amenities and schools and not far from Bantock Park.

"There is currently a significant demand for new houses in Wolverhampton and a significant undersupply of land for new housing as set out in the draft Wolverhampton Local Plan."