®Planning appeal decision
Land South of Steppingley Road,, Flitwick, Bedfordshire, MK45 1FY
a full application for the erection of 170 dwellings including new access roads, landscaping, open space, SUDS attenuation and other associated infrastructure and engineering works
- Authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- Rollings G
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area
- The effect of the proposed development on Flitwick Wood Ancient Woodland, County Wildlife Site and Local Nature Reserve
- The effect of the proposed development on highway safety
What decided it
The absence of a five-year housing land supply and the out-of-date status of the Council's housing delivery policies engaged the tilted balance, under which the substantial benefits of housing delivery were not significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the limited harms identified.
The very substantial benefit of housing delivery, together with substantial affordable/self-build housing benefits and moderate s.106 and design benefits, outweighed the moderate harm from increased traffic congestion, such that adverse impacts did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits under paragraph 11d) of the Framework or against the Local Plan as a whole.
Framework references: 11, 15, 57, 58, 63, 116
Plan policies cited: Policy EE5, Policy EE8, Site Allocation HAS17, Policy EE3, Policy EE4, Policy T2, Policy H4, Policy EE13, Policy HQ1, Policy HQ2, Policy HQ3, Policy EE1, Policy EE12, Policy T4
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.