Decision not to build 350 new homes overturned

The proposed site near the A10 is not in the Green Belt and is surrounded by houses

A development of 350 homes is now set to be built after the Planning Inspectorate overturned the council’s refusal of outline planning permission.

In February, East Herts Council told Countryside Partnerships Ltd and Wattsdown Developments Ltd they could not proceed with the proposed development on the west of Buntingford, next to the A10.

The inspector said houses were being built too slowly in East Hertfordshire and the benefits of new homes outweighed any harm to the area.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the proposed site was not on Green Belt land and was surrounded by houses, an industrial site and water treatment works.

If a council does not have land for new homes, the Planning Inspectorate can make its decision about a new site using the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

Under the NPPF, developments must be allowed to go ahead “unless any adverse impacts … would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits”.

East Herts Council argued they could show a deliverable five-year housing supply of 6,307 additional homes between 2003 and 2028 – higher than the identified housing need of 5,205 – but the developers said the deliverable supply was only 4,088.

The inspector concluded the correct deliverable supply figure was 4,671 which was below East Herts’ identified housing need.

The inspector said the development “would make an important contribution in reducing the council’s housing shortfall”.

Forty per cent of the 350 homes on the site would be classed as affordable, according to the government definition of the term, including a mix of affordable rent and shared ownership.

Concerns had been raised about potential poor drainage at the site, but the inspector said the developers had addressed the issues and a planning condition requiring improvements was expected to be made.