®Planning appeal decision
Council Depot, Bescar Brow Lane, Scarisbrick, Ormskirk, L40 9QH
Planning appeal 3279582 at Council Depot, Bescar Brow Lane, Scarisbrick, Ormskirk, L40 9QH (West Lancashire District Council) was dismissed on 11 November 2021 by Inspector Caine M, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt for the purposes of the Framework and development plan policy.
Resubmission of a previously refused application for the erection of 8 no. new dwellings, all with private gardens, in-curtilage car parking and served by the existing crossover and a new internal access road, all following demolition of existing commercial buildings
- Authority
- West Lancashire District Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Caine M
- Postcode
- L40 9QH
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt for the purposes of the Framework and development plan policy
- If the proposal is inappropriate development, whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to very special circumstances necessary to justify it
What decided it
The proposed dwellings would have a greater impact on the openness of the Green Belt than the existing development, failing to meet the exception at paragraph 149(g) and constituting inappropriate development that cannot be justified by the other considerations advanced.
The substantial weight given to harm from inappropriateness in the Green Belt was not clearly outweighed by the moderate weight attached to character and appearance improvements, limited weight to viability arguments, and neutral weight to other considerations such as neighbouring amenity and ecology.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy GN1
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 149
- Judgments
- Skerritts of Nottingham Ltd v SSETR [2000] EWCA Civ 5569
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.