Land off Radcliffe Moor Road, Bury

Planning appeal 3308871 at Land off Radcliffe Moor Road, Bury (Bury Metropolitan Borough Council) was allowed on 17 July 2023 by Inspector Coyne C, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the proposal would represent inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and any relevant Development Plan policies.

change of use of the land for use as outdoor sports pitches including engineering operations to form 4 pitches, the construction of a clubhouse, ancillary storage structures, creation of access from Radcliffe Moor Road, parking, landscaping, drainage, and associated works

Authority: Bury Metropolitan Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: leisure-sport · Change of use
Inspector: Coyne C

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposal would represent inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and any relevant Development Plan policies
If the proposed development is inappropriate, whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify the proposal

What decided it

The clearly identified need for youth sports football pitches in Bury, as evidenced by the Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sports Strategy, provided very special circumstances that clearly outweighed the moderate harm to Green Belt openness and countryside encroachment.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies: OL1/2OL1/5
National Planning Policy Framework: Paragraph 137Paragraph 147Paragraph 149Paragraph 150

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 applied

The 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.

Appeals plan, £15 a month

With an account

What an account adds to this decision

An appeal decision in the app, with the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out beside the letter — Every letter, there to read. We pick out the main issues, the policies and the judgments cited, so you can work through the letter faster.

Searching the full text of appeal decision letters in the app — Search inside every letter. By words or by meaning, filtered by authority, outcome, appeal type and procedure, with every locatable decision on the map and the Inspector named on each.

Start your free trial

More decisions in Bury Metropolitan Borough Council

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2023

Dismissed17 August 20266007316
Hilsden Farm, Radcliffe, Manchester, M26 1DW
Dismissed10 July 20266006642
Land Adjoining Plane Trees Farm, Bradley Fold Road, Ainsworth, BL2 5QR
Dismissed7 July 20266007933
Land Ar Rear of Westminster Avenue, Radcliffe, Manchester, M26 3WD
Allowed26 June 20266006965
Land off Bentley Lane, Bury, BL9 6RZ
Dismissed16 March 20263360490
Stand Cricket And Tennis Club Hamilton Road, Manchester, M45 7WF

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.