Land to the Rear of, 5 Bescar Lane, Scarisbrick, L40 9QN

Planning appeal 6006286 at Land to the Rear of, 5 Bescar Lane, Scarisbrick, L40 9QN (West Lancashire District Council) was dismissed on 14 September 2026 by Inspector N Unwin, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the development is in an appropriate location with regard to matters of flood risk.

Permission in principle for a minimum of 4 dwellings and a maximum of 9 dwellings

Authority: West Lancashire District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning
Procedure: Written
Development: residential
Inspector: N Unwin
Postcode: L40 9QN

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the development is in an appropriate location with regard to matters of flood risk
whether the proposal would constitute inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to development plan policies and the Framework
the effect of the proposal on the supply of agricultural and peaty soil land

What decided it

The site's location within an area at risk of surface water flooding, combined with the failure to demonstrate through evidence that occupiers would remain safe from flooding for the development's lifetime without increasing flood risk elsewhere, substantially outweighed the moderate benefit of contributing 4-9 dwellings to the housing stock in an area with only 1.86 years of housing land supply.

the benefits of housing delivery (afforded moderate weight) were substantially outweighed by the considerable weight given to flood risk concerns

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies: Policy GN3Policy GN1Policy EN2Policy S5

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

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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.