Stafford Borough Council decision to refuse permission for two homes on edge of village overturned

Stafford Borough Council’s decision to refuse permission for two new homes on the edge of a village has been overturned by a planning inspector.

Planning officers said the development, proposed for land off Stafford Road, Woodseaves, would be outside of the designated settlement boundary and that the applicant had “failed to demonstrate that the dwellings are required to meet an identified need through a parish-based housing needs assessment.

An appeal was lodged against the refusal to grant outline consent for the homes. And a planning inspector found in favour of the applicant, a decision notice presented to the latest Stafford Borough Council planning committee meeting revealed.

The notice stated: “The appeal site comprises former agricultural land; it is currently being used as an access to, and for storage of building materials for, the housing development being undertaken at land adjacent to The Paddocks. The site is outside of the designated settlement and is therefore within the ‘open countryside’ for planning purposes.

“The appeal site is well located in relation to the Woodseaves settlement and is acknowledged within the The Plan for Stafford Borough as having good transport links to the larger settlements. Its location on the edge of the village, adjacent to other new housing development, bordered by roads and developing the remaining site along this stretch of Stafford Road, characterises the end of the village before entering open countryside.

“As such, the appeal site would not lead to isolated homes in the countryside. Whilst the proposal would only deliver two dwellings, this would nonetheless be valuable in boosting the housing stock and supporting the village functions – benefits would also ensue for the local economy.

“The council accepts that they can no longer demonstrate a deliverable five-year supply of housing land as required. It is agreed between parties that the council can demonstrate a housing land supply position of 3.65 years.

“This is significantly below Government expectations and is therefore evident that there is a pressing need for housing when considering this shortfall. In these circumstances, planning permission should be granted unless any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in the (National Planning Policy Framework) taken as a whole.

Speaking at the latest planning committee meeting, Gnosall and Woodseaves ward councillor Scott Spencer said: “Residents in and around that location are now saying to me a second application has been submitted for further development of that site. With this appeal allowed on this site, does that mean any subsequent application would be acceptable or does it go through the same process?”

Development manager John Holmes said: “The site in question for two houses is immediately adjacent to the settlement boundary. We no longer have a five-year housing land supply – as such the inspector found that the need for housing overrode any of our policies.

“We are going to get speculative applications over the next few years. Some will be acceptable and some won’t – I think it is difficult to generalise.”