While the recent Housing Delivery Test results might have brought despair to CPRE Kent, this week brings far better news for those who care about the county’s countryside, with two extremely significant appeal decisions being handed down.
On Monday (January 31) the Planning Inspectorate dismissed an appeal for 800 homes in the Green Belt at Broke Hill, north of Sevenoaks. Then on Wednesday we had an appeal for 374 homes, a care home and relief road dismissed for a site within the AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) at Hawkhurst Golf Club.
Common to both appeals was confirmation that, where planning policies protect areas of particular importance and provide a clear reason for refusing the development, the so-called ‘tilted balance’ presumption in favour of granting planning permission does not apply.
For Broke Hill, the policies of particular importance related to protection of the Green Belt. For Hawkhurst, it was protection of the High Weald AONB that was important. For both relevant councils – Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells – the presumption in favour of granting planning permission is otherwise engaged (as reported last week).
This is to be welcomed as there has been erosion of this protection over recent years, with inspectors increasingly finding the need for housing more important than Green Belt or AONB protection.
These appeals, however, reaffirm that within Kent’s Green Belt and AONBs the ‘presumption’ penalty does not apply while also providing precedent that the need to provide housing does not automatically override this protection.
This is good news.
There is always a flip side, though. And that is the continued pursuit of housing numbers over all else only increases pressure on those areas of countryside without Green Belt and AONB protection. Here it can be expected that the ‘presumption’ penalty will be imposed with even more vigour.
That is why CPRE Kent will continue to support calls for the presumption penalty to be scraped and a refocus on housing quality over quantity.
Nigel Britten, CPRE Kent’s Sevenoaks chair, made representations and spoke at the Broke Hill appeal, while the Tunbridge Wells committee made written representations to the Hawkhurst appeal.
- The Broke Hill appeal decision can be viewed here
- The Hawkhurst Golf Club appeal decision can be viewed here
Friday, February 4, 2022