®Planning appeal decision
Land to the East of Langford Road, Biggleswade and North of Queens Way, and Denny Crescent, Langford, Central Bedfordshire, SG18 9QH
outline planning application for the erection of up to 170 dwellings including affordable housing, with public open space, landscaping, sustainable drainage system (SuDS) and vehicular access, all matters reserved except for means of access
- Authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- Dillon C
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the location of the appeal proposal is justified, having regard to the adopted strategy for windfall development and current 5-year housing land supply position
- the effect of the appeal proposal on the character and appearance of the area, with particular regard to Langford and its landscape context
- whether the loss of best and most versatile land is justified
- the effect on local non-designated heritage assets
- whether the proposed planning obligations meet the terms of Regulation 122 of the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 (as amended) (the CIL Regulations), with particular regard to the monitoring fee sought by the Council
What decided it
The absence of a demonstrable 5-year housing land supply engaged the tilted balance, and the substantial benefits of housing delivery outweighed the limited identified harms.
The identified benefits, including substantial weight for housing delivery and moderate weight for economic, community, green infrastructure and biodiversity benefits, outweighed the limited harms from policy conflict, heritage impact and loss of agricultural land, such that adverse impacts did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits under paragraph 11(d) of the Framework.
Framework references: 11, 76, 77, 209
Plan policies cited: Policy SP7, Policy PD4, Policy EN2, Policy PD2, Policy EE5, Policy HE1, Policy DC5, Policy EE2, Policy T1, Policy T2, Policy HQ2, Policy HQ3, Policy EE13, Policy H4, Policy H6, Policy EN4, Policy EN1, Policy PD3, Policy HQ1, Policy IF1, Policy IF2, Policy IF3, Policy IF5, Policy T5
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.