Planning inquiry to be held over rejected Warwickshire homes

Cala Homes wants to build the development on land near the Grade II listed Woodcote House in leek Wootton

A planning inquiry is to be held over proposals for 83 new homes near Warwickshire Police's headquarters.

Councillors have continued to oppose the plans to build the development in Woodcote Lane, Leek Wootton.

A second application by the applicants Cala Homes to gain permission for the site had been described as "identical" in the council's report.

It was unanimously refused by Warwick District Council's planning committee on Wednesday.

Cala Homes said it had the inquiry was expected to begin on 31 October.

The firm had previously launched an appeal over its initial 2022 application for the 35-acre site and had made amendments, after the local authority did not reach a decision within the permitted time period.

In September, councillors advocated refusal for the plans, due to the position, nature and scale of the housing in relation to the Grade II listed Woodcote House nearby and its garden.

People living nearby had also objected to the plans in May, having raised concerns that there were numerous protected species including otters, bats and badgers on the site.

Following the meeting on Wednesday, which took place behind closed doors, monitoring officer Graham Leach delivered the wording of what councillors had agreed with planning officers.

The committee reflected the wish to refuse the application "on the grounds of harm to the setting of the Grade II listed building and locally listed park," adding there was "no public benefits to outweigh this harm".

It was also deemed that "the proposal cannot deliver biodiversity on site" in line with planning policies.

In response, Cala Homes said it had addressed concerns regarding traffic on the site which was "allocated for new housing in Warwick District's Local Plan in September 2017".

"We have worked closely with Warwick District Council to create plans for a sustainable development that will deliver much-needed new homes and our designs will be in line with all planning policy including biodiversity net gain," a spokesperson for the firm said.