Council's reason given for refusing new house behind home 'makes no sense'
A government planning inspector has dismissed a council's decision to refuse a planning application due to ‘garden grabbing’ as nonsense.
The application was for a three-bedroom house at the rear of 67 Manor Abbey Road in Halesowen and was originally dismissed by Dudley Council in September 2023.
The authority rejected the plan, saying it would "create an unjustified and contrived form of ‘garden grabbing’ that would form an uncharacteristic and incongruous alteration and addition to the street scene".
The decision was appealed and sent to the government planning inspectorate who dismissed the appeal but planning inspector John Felgate pulled no punches in criticising the council’s wording.
Mr Felgate said: “I fully accept the appellant’s argument that residential development on garden land, within an urban area such as this, is not objectionable in principle.
