All posts tagged stockton

Prism Planning have just won a significant planning appeal relating to a site in Ingleby Barwick known as Blair Avenue which should change the way that a lot of planning is carried out in the Stockton area.

The site was a piece of land effectively left over from the historic development of the village of Ingleby Barwick and lay close to the village centre. The developer wanted to build a housing scheme for the over 55’s. The council were concerned that the site was an important area of open space and needed to be kept open. The Inspector disagreed with the Council position, noting that their evidence base was sketchy and out of date. None of the policies referred to by the Council should have been used in the way the Council sought.

However the real significance of the case is that the Inspector went on to apply the Community Infrastructure Regulations (CIL) to the Councils position and to note that their planning guidance on open space was fundamentally flawed. In particular the Council couldn’t reasonably demand money from a developer without analysing the problems of the area and being very specific about how the money would be used to improve the area.
The Inspector also went on to note that the Councils approach towards delivering off site affordable housing was similarly flawed, being overly complex and uncertain and preferred the simple and clear approach cited by Prism. Moreover the approach put forward by Prism was consistent with the way in which the government were funding and delivering affordable housing in the future.

These two key legal points should result in a very different approach being taken by the Council in the future which will more directly and transparently benefit local communities. In the future, the Council will need to accurately diagnose local opens space issues and propose specific solutions, instead of money being stored away for use on other sites as officers see fit. Communities will be able to expect a better understanding of their specific problems and also to expect improvements to doorstep provision.

The Inspector went on to agree with all the key points argued by Prism and found for the appellant, granting permission for a sheltered housing scheme on the site.