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Allowed8 December 20253365143

Land to the South of 28 Station Road , West Rainton, Houghton Le Spring, Durham, DH4 6SF

Planning appeal 3365143 at Land to the South of 28 Station Road , West Rainton, Houghton Le Spring, Durham, DH4 6SF (Durham County Council) was allowed on 8 December 2025 by Inspector Clark L, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether there have been adequate measures to demonstrate the need for the community hub and, if so, whether there would be harm arising from not providing it.

Erection of 20 affordable dwellings comprising 12 bungalows and 8 houses

Authority
Durham County Council
Appeal type
major · Planning Appeal
Procedure
Written Representations
Development
residential · Major dwellings
Inspector
Clark L
Postcode
DH4 6SF

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • Whether there have been adequate measures to demonstrate the need for the community hub and, if so, whether there would be harm arising from not providing it

What decided it

The appellant's robust and sustained marketing efforts over approximately 9 years demonstrating no realistic prospect of a retailer coming forward, combined with the availability of local facilities and services within walking distance and accessible by public transport, justified the departure from the original community hub requirement.

The benefits of delivering 20 affordable homes to meet an undisputed local housing need outweighed the loss of the opportunity to provide the community hub, given the demonstrated lack of commercial viability and the availability of alternative local facilities and services to serve the development sustainably.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
CDP Policy 9CDP Policy 6CDP Policy 21CDP Policy 15
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 96Paragraph 88Paragraph 98Paragraph 11Paragraph 58

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

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The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2025

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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.

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every appeal around it, with its letter to read and the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out.