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Dismissed2 July 20266005047

Land Adjacent To Oakmere Avenue, Withnell, PR6 8AX

Planning appeal 6005047 at Land Adjacent To Oakmere Avenue, Withnell, PR6 8AX (Chorley Borough Council) was dismissed on 2 July 2026 by Inspector E Heron, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the site is suitable for residential development relating to location, land use and amount of development, with particular regard to whether the development would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt.

Permission in principle application for a minimum of 1 dwelling and a maximum of 5 dwellings

Authority
Chorley Borough Council
Appeal type
minor · Planning
Procedure
Written
Development
residential
Inspector
E Heron
Postcode
PR6 8AX

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • whether the site is suitable for residential development relating to location, land use and amount of development, with particular regard to whether the development would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt
  • the effect of the development on the openness of the Green Belt
  • the effect on the character and appearance of the area, including density and efficient use of land
  • whether harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm is outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to very special circumstances required to justify the proposal

What decided it

The proposal fails to satisfy criterion (c) of paragraph 155 of the Framework because the site location does not offer sustainable transport solutions or safe and suitable access for all users, and the very special circumstances necessary to justify inappropriate Green Belt development do not exist.

The substantial weight afforded to Green Belt harm (inappropriateness and loss of openness) and harm to location, sustainable transport access and inefficient land use is not outweighed by the limited weight given to housing supply benefits and social/economic benefits, therefore very special circumstances do not exist.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy 1 of the Core StrategyPolicy 5 of the Core StrategyPolicy BNE5 of the Local PlanPolicy 7 of the Central Lancashire Adopted Core Strategy
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 11Paragraph 110Paragraph 115Paragraph 129Paragraph 130Paragraph 155Paragraph 156
Judgments
Woodcock Holdings Ltd v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2015] EWHC 1173 (Admin); New Dawn Homes Ltd v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government & Tewksbury Borough Council [2016] EWHC 3314 (Admin)

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.

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The decision letter

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More decisions in Chorley Borough Council

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2026

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  4. Dismissed6 October 20266012610
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  5. Dismissed2 July 20266007888
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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.