®Planning appeal decision
Land West of Longwood Lane , Walsall , WS5 3AS
for up to 115 dwellings with all matters reserved except for access position onto Longwood Lane, comprising of a mix of market and affordable dwellings, green infrastructure, and associated facilitating works
- Authority
- Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council
- Appeal type
- other · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- residential · Unknown
- Inspector
- Gilbert-Wooldridge T
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposal on biodiversity, species and habitats, including the Wood End Farm Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation (SLINC)
- The effect of the proposal on trees, including ancient and veteran specimens
- The effect of the proposal on highway safety and capacity, including on the junction between Longwood Lane and Sutton Road
- The extent of the shortfall in the Council's 5 year housing land supply
- Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt, having particular regard to paragraph 155 of the NPPF and any relevant development plan policies
- The overall planning balance, having regard to any relevant material considerations including any proposed benefits
What decided it
The tilted balance under NPPF paragraph 11(d)(ii), triggered by the substantial shortfall in the Council's housing land supply, meant the benefits of housing delivery and Golden Rules compliance outweighed the identified biodiversity and tree harms.
Very significant weight for the delivery of 115 dwellings and significant weight for compliance with the Golden Rules, together with moderate weight for economic, ecological and play space benefits, outweighed the significant harm to biodiversity and moderate harm to trees, such that the adverse impacts did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits under NPPF paragraph 11(d)(ii).
Framework references: 11, 58, 109, 110, 115, 116, 142, 143, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 187, 192, 193, 194
Plan policies cited: CS Policy ENV1, CS Policy ENV2, CS Policy ENV3, UDP Policy ENV18, UDP Policy ENV23, UDP Policy ENV24, SAD Policy EN1, SAD Policy GB1, CS Policy CSP2, CS Policy TRAN2, SAD Policy T4, CS Policy HOU3, CS Policy HOU5, CS Policy DEL1, UDP Policy GP3, UDP Policy LC1
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.