Latest news with #PlanningInspector
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Retirement homes to go ahead on old council site
Plans to build a retirement complex on a site next to parkland in a seaside town in Devon will go ahead. Housing developer McCarthy and Stone said it wanted to build a 70-bed care home with 88 retirement flats on the site of the former council offices at The Knowle in Sidmouth. The plans were initially rejected by East Devon District Council but permission was granted following an appeal to the Planning Inspector. The old offices were severely damaged by fire in a suspected case of arson in March 2023. Devon and Cornwall Police said a man in his 20s was arrested on suspicion of arson in an investigation but no further action was taken. The Planning Inspector said the main issues in question were the "character and appearance" of the area and the impact on neighbouring houses. The buildings to the south and the east of the site are surrounded by The Knowle, a "substantial area of publicly-accessible parkland" which has an amphitheatre and arboretum. The buildings had previously been the headquarters of East Devon District Council but they were left empty when the council moved to new premises in Honiton in February 2019. The Planning Inspector did not believe the new buildings "would appear excessive in terms of their scale or height" and granted permission for the plans. Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ Council building arson linked to earlier fire Fire service get Sidmouth fire under control Plans to build on former council offices rejected East Devon District Council Planning Inspectorate
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Government to decide on plan for hundreds of homes
A plan to build hundreds of homes in Derbyshire will be decided by the government after a district council refused the application. Derbyshire Dales District Council refused outline permission for a development of 423 homes in the Gritstone Road area of Matlock in March, largely due to the perceived flood risk. William Davis Homes is seeking to build 345 and 78 homes as part of a hybrid application on a site known locally as the Matlock Wolds, and has appealed the council's decision. A public inquiry will now be held by the planning inspector, which is due to start on 11 March. The council held an "extraordinary" meeting on Thursday to discuss the inquiry. The inquiry will focus purely on the 345 rejected homes, a short report published for Thursday's meeting said. It added that the council is retaining a slew of private planning experts from previous appeals for the upcoming inquiry, to be funded from a £250,000 pot agreed by councillors last year. The new report says there is a risk that the total £250,000 pot of money may not be enough should the inspector decide the council must meet some of the developer's appeal costs, and more money would need to be approved. The council's rejection of the plans largely hinged on the perceived flood risk posed by development on green fields and by large flood water collection ponds forming part of the scheme, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. More than 2,500 people signed a petition by the Wolds Action Group opposing the scheme, and a total of 462 objection letters were submitted to the council. A council statement said the extraordinary meeting confirmed its view that the plans would have "adverse impacts" on Matlock in their current form. "However, the unequivocal advice of technical and legal experts hired by the council is that these impacts can be overcome by planning conditions," the statement said. The statement said the council "reluctantly agreed" to focus on "securing the best possible planning conditions attached to any permission the Planning Inspector might grant, rather than defending refusal". It added: "It was agreed that to ignore such clear expert advice would not only be irresponsible but also pose significant financial risks to the council, which would be borne by taxpayers of the whole of the Derbyshire Dales." Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. Derbyshire Dales District Council Local Democracy Reporting Service
BBC News
27-01-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Matlock: Government to decide on plan for hundreds of homes
A plan to build hundreds of homes in Derbyshire will be decided by the government after a district council refused the Dales District Council refused outline permission for a development of 423 homes in the Gritstone Road area of Matlock in March, largely due to the perceived flood Davis Homes is seeking to build 345 and 78 homes as part of a hybrid application on a site known locally as the Matlock Wolds, and has appealed the council's decision.A public inquiry will now be held by the planning inspector, which is due to start on 11 March. The council held an "extraordinary" meeting on Thursday to discuss the inquiry will focus purely on the 345 rejected homes, a short report published for Thursday's meeting added that the council is retaining a slew of private planning experts from previous appeals for the upcoming inquiry, to be funded from a £250,000 pot agreed by councillors last new report says there is a risk that the total £250,000 pot of money may not be enough should the inspector decide the council must meet some of the developer's appeal costs, and more money would need to be approved. The council's rejection of the plans largely hinged on the perceived flood risk posed by development on green fields and by large flood water collection ponds forming part of the scheme, the Local Democracy Reporting Service than 2,500 people signed a petition by the Wolds Action Group opposing the scheme, and a total of 462 objection letters were submitted to the council.A council statement said the extraordinary meeting confirmed its view that the plans would have "adverse impacts" on Matlock in their current form."However, the unequivocal advice of technical and legal experts hired by the council is that these impacts can be overcome by planning conditions," the statement statement said the council "reluctantly agreed" to focus on "securing the best possible planning conditions attached to any permission the Planning Inspector might grant, rather than defending refusal".It added: "It was agreed that to ignore such clear expert advice would not only be irresponsible but also pose significant financial risks to the council, which would be borne by taxpayers of the whole of the Derbyshire Dales."
