®Planning appeal decision
Former Mondi/Holcombe Mill, Bridge Street, Ramsbottom, BL0 0BS
the erection of 72 dwellings including the retention and conversion of 2 existing buildings, the retention of a chimney and the demolition of a derelict building, together with engineering operations to create a development platform and associated parking, landscaping, drainage, the layout of internal estate roads and footways and other associated works
- Authority
- Bury Metropolitan Borough Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- Hitchcock R
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect of the development on flood risk
- the effect of the development on highway safety and capacity
What decided it
The development would fail to meet the exception test for flood risk development because it could not be demonstrated to be safe for its lifetime for vulnerable occupants, particularly regarding safe evacuation routes during flood events, and there was insufficient evidence to rule out residual flood risks from multiple sources.
Although the Council could not demonstrate a 5-year housing land supply (1.7 years) which would normally engage the tilted balance in favour of sustainable development, the flood risk policies in the Framework provide a clear reason for refusal under paragraph 11(d)(i), displacing the presumption in favour of sustainable development; the potential adverse impacts of granting permission would not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits.
Framework references: 11, 55, 111, 163, 164, 165, 167, 219
Plan policies cited: Policy EN5/1, Policy H2/2, Policy HT4, Policy H4/1
The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.