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Plan for 'incongruous' Eldwick greenbelt homes rejected
Plan for 'incongruous' Eldwick greenbelt homes rejected

BBC News

time22-06-2025

  • Business
  • BBC News

Plan for 'incongruous' Eldwick greenbelt homes rejected

Plans to build homes on a greenbelt site have been refused after the proposed properties were described as "imposing and incongruous".The application for five homes in Eldwick, near Bingley, was turned down by Bradford Council, whose planners said it was "inappropriate".The Squire's Farm development near Moorland Grange Farm, off Otley Road, would have provided much-needed "multigenerational" homes, according to property firm rejecting the proposals, planning officers said the buildings would "take up a large portion of the site which would harm the landscape character and visual amenity of the site itself". Plans were submitted by Acrehowe in March and received 18 objections, many of which raised concerns about building homes on the greenbelt site – part of a small hamlet of properties surrounding Eldwick stated in its application that there were already farm buildings on the site, and those could be converted to housing or accommodation without the need for planning permission, through the "permitted development" route, according to the Local Democracy Reporting the preferred option was for the five large homes that made up the planning application, it added. 'No meaningful contribution' The application said: "While the alternatives are deliverable without planning permission, they will deliver a built form outcome that remains somewhat unappealing to the market."We consider that the provision of multigenerational homes will have a significant positive impact on the identified groups with protected characteristics, whereas a refusal will have a significant negative impact."Rejecting the application, council planning officers said the benefits of the five homes would not outweigh the loss of greenbelt said: "It is appreciated that economic and social benefits could be derived through the delivery of new homes."However, these benefits need to be balanced against the harm to the public interest that would be caused by loss of openness and conflict with the purposes of the greenbelt."In terms of the contribution of the site to the district housing land supply the proposed development of five dwellings, without the provision of any affordable housing, would not form any meaningful contribution to the district such that it might constitute a very special circumstance."The proposed buildings would create "a large, imposing and incongruous development taking up a large portion of the site which would harm the landscape character and visual amenity of the site itself", planners added. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

Developer submits plans for revived Perton cemetery
Developer submits plans for revived Perton cemetery

BBC News

time18-06-2025

  • General
  • BBC News

Developer submits plans for revived Perton cemetery

A new nine hectare burial ground as part of a revived cemetery scheme has been for a cemetery on the site in Perton, Staffordshire, was granted in 2001, followed by approval for access via Jenny Walkers Lane in 2003, but apart from some landscaping, there is no clear evidence the development started. The latest proposals for the site, which is near Wolverhampton, are now set to be considered by planning officers at South Staffordshire Council, with a decision expected later this proposal represented "an acceptable and appropriate form of development within the green belt", a planning and design statement said. The new application is substantially the same as previous granted applications, including a 30-space car park in a similar place.A memorial garden is also planned at the centre of the development would "provide a significant benefit to wildlife", an initial biodiversity study site is within the green belt, which means any development is inappropriate and should only be granted in very special circumstances. In this case, the applicant noted national planning policy included cemeteries and burial grounds as an exception, provided the openness of the green belt was preserved. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

Medway Council rejects flats plan for Chatham school building
Medway Council rejects flats plan for Chatham school building

BBC News

time17-06-2025

  • General
  • BBC News

Medway Council rejects flats plan for Chatham school building

An application to turn an Edwardian building into 11 flats and build eight homes in its garden has been of the former St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School site in Chatham, Kent, was the subject of a planning application to create a mixture of one and two-bed flats, and eight three-bed houses towards the back of the plot on Maidstone the application has been rejected by planning officers on the grounds that the eight houses represented an over-development of the site, according to the Local Democracy Reporting also raised concerns that the entire application failed to "adequately address the impact of the development on heritage assets". In a report from Medway Council on 9 June, officers said plans "would result in a cramped over-development of the site, with poor living conditions for future occupants and harmful to the site and its surroundings including the conservation area".In relation to the historic elements, officers say although the plans protect the exterior, they represent a significant internal change, including the removal of the main staircase, which would harm its historic also said building eight homes on what were the gardens of the house showed no recognition of their historical all of the former gardens would be needed to be built upon for the homes and associated infrastructure, such as roads and parking spaces, the report objecting to the plans raised concerns about the impact on the building, the new homes being overcrowded and out of keeping with the area, and the impact of new residents on local amenities and the road Victorian Society also objected, saying the plans would likely mean the loss of historical elements inside the house and negatively impact the Maidstone Road Conservation report said: "Whilst no overriding objection in raised in principle to the reuse and possible development of the rear of the site for residential purposes, the current submission is not acceptable."The rest of the site, where there are more modern school buildings, is the subject of another, separate application for an Aldi supermarket which was submitted in June.

Councils ‘way short' of planning officers to tackle housing crisis, Unison warns
Councils ‘way short' of planning officers to tackle housing crisis, Unison warns

Yahoo

time15-06-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Councils ‘way short' of planning officers to tackle housing crisis, Unison warns

A shortage of planning officers at England's councils could derail efforts to tackle the housing crisis, a union is warning. Unison said its research found councils are 'way short' of staffing levels if they are to process enough planning applications. Without sufficient planning officers, many families, first-time buyers and low-paid public sector workers will struggle to get much-needed homes because of planning approval delays, the union said. The government has pledged to recruit hundreds of extra planning staff across English councils, and to use artificial intelligence to cut planning red tape, but Unison said local authorities will need almost three times as many extra workers. The research will be among the issues discussed at the union's annual local government conference in Liverpool today. Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: 'Councils must be able to recruit more planning staff if communities are to get the homes, schools and services they need. 'Local planning teams have been hollowed out by a decade and a half of cuts by successive Conservative governments, yet staff still handle around 350,000 planning applications each year. 'The Treasury's pledge to recruit more planning workers is a boost, but won't be enough to ease the pressure, clear backlogs or support the country's future growth. 'If there's any hope of hitting the 1.3 million housebuilding target, the central government must provide the extra resources to recruit and retain staff. 'Authorities need long-term, sustainable funding if communities are to get the homes they need and the economy is to thrive.' A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: 'Despite inheriting the worst housing crisis in living memory, the Government is taking decisive action to speed up planning and build 1.5 million homes through our Plan for Change. 'The recruitment of 300 additional planners is just one part of this, alongside investing £46 million of funding from the autumn budget to boost council planning capacity and enabling local planning authorities to cover their own costs through planning fees.'

Proposal to build 170 homes on village edge
Proposal to build 170 homes on village edge

Yahoo

time13-05-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Proposal to build 170 homes on village edge

Developers have submitted plans to build 170 homes on the edge of Fleckney. David Wilson Homes wants to construct the properties on a 18.6 acre (7.5 hectares) area of farmland to the north of the village. Planning officers at Harborough District Council are considering the scheme for a site off Long Grey and Garner Way. Documents lodged with the authority said the company proposed 40% of the homes would be affordable properties. They also said the new estate would include areas of green space, including allotments. A decision on the planning application is expected to be made later this year. Another planning application has been submitted for a further 170 homes on an adjacent field, off Leicester Road, which officers are considering. Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. Harborough District Council

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