®Planning appeal decision
Land to South of 116 East Lancashire Road, Lowton, Wigan
Planning appeal 3258450 at Land to South of 116 East Lancashire Road, Lowton, Wigan (Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council) was dismissed on 7 July 2021 by Inspector Taylor K, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the site is suitable for residential development, having regard to its location, the proposed land use and the amount of development.
demolition of existing buildings and erection of up to 9 dwellings
- Authority
- Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Taylor K
- Postcode
- WA3 1LE
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the site is suitable for residential development, having regard to its location, the proposed land use and the amount of development
- Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and any relevant development plan policies
- The effect of the proposal on the openness of the Green Belt
- If the development is inappropriate within the Green Belt, whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations, and if so whether this amounts to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal
What decided it
The proposed development would cause demonstrable harm to the openness of the Green Belt by occupying a greater footprint than existing permanent buildings and spreading across currently undeveloped areas, and this harm was not clearly outweighed by the moderate benefits of housing delivery and economic activity.
The moderate benefits of housing delivery, economic benefits of construction, and social benefits of future occupants were outweighed by the harm to Green Belt openness and the inappropriateness of the development, such that very special circumstances did not exist.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy CP8 of the Wigan Local Plan Core Strategy, Development Plan Document, 2013
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 133Paragraph 143Paragraph 145
- Judgments
- R (Lee Valley Regional Park Authority) v Broxbourne Borough Council, January 2015 EWHC 185 (Admin); R (on the application of Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster) and others) (Respondents) v North Yorkshire County Council (Appellant) [2020] UKSC 3
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision
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The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.