®Planning appeal decision
Land adjacent to Sheffield House, South-west of Ampthill Road (B530), Houghton Conquest, MK45 3JJ
demolition of the existing buildings and redevelopment for a 65-bed care home and associated access, parking and landscaping
- Authority
- Bedford Borough Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- community-institutional · Other Major Developments
- Inspector
- Gilbert-Wooldridge T
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area
- highway safety and accessibility
- parking provision
What decided it
The lack of a five-year housing land supply for both councils triggered the tilted balance under NPPF paragraph 11(d), and the significant benefits of delivering a 65-bed care home to address identified local needs and achieving substantial biodiversity net gain outweighed the moderate conflict with Policy 7S on community support.
The benefits of delivering a 65-bed care home to address identified local needs (significant weight), biodiversity net gain of nearly 70% in habitat units and over 520% in hedgerow units (significant weight), reuse of previously developed land (moderate weight), economic benefits from construction and operation (moderate weight), and public transport improvements (moderate weight) outweighed the moderate weight conflict with Bedford Borough Policy 7S regarding identifiable community support, resulting in permission being granted under the tilted balance.
Framework references: 11, 12, 9, 58
Plan policies cited: Central Bedfordshire Local Plan 2015-2035 Policy HQ1, Central Bedfordshire Local Plan 2015-2035 Policy EE5, Central Bedfordshire Local Plan 2015-2035 Policy SP7, Central Bedfordshire Local Plan 2015-2035 Policy T1, Central Bedfordshire Local Plan 2015-2035 Policy T2, Central Bedfordshire Local Plan 2015-2035 Policy T3, Central Bedfordshire Local Plan 2015-2035 Policy T4, Central Bedfordshire Local Plan 2015-2035 Policy EE9, Central Bedfordshire Local Plan 2015-2035 Policy HQ2, Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030 Policy 7S, Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030 Policy 28S, Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030 Policy 29, Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030 Policy 30, Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030 Policy 2S, Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030 Policy 31, Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030 Policy 60, Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030 Policy 33, Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030 Policy 36S, Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030 Policy 59S, Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030 Policy 86S, Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030 Policy 87
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.