Lawyers for the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government failed to overturn a ruling that blocked the development of an affordable housing project in a rural Norfolk village.The Court of Appeal ruled today that Lang J was right when she quashed planning permission for 15 affordable houses in a field on the edge of the village of Old Hunstanton. The judges rejected arguments from lawyers for the Secretary of State that her ruling was too narrow and legalistic.
In the ruling, which took place a year ago, Lang said that the development was in violation of planning rules because the homes would be inhabited by people from outside the village.
The case concerns the interpretation of a planning policy known a “rural exception”, under which rural areas that need affordable housing developments are allowed an exception to the normal development restraints that apply in rural areas as long as the housing is “to meet local needs”.
Lang J ruled the proposed development did not “meet local needs” because there was not a need for 15 affordable houses in Old Hunstanton and its surrounding rural area. The development would, instead, help meet the needs of the nearby town of Hunstanton. As a result, she ruled that the proposed development was in violation of planning policy.
John Dobson, chairman of the Old Hunstanton Parish Council, attended the hearing today. “It is a shame that the Secretary of State and ministers rely so much on their officials,” he said. “The officials have got it wrong twice now. We recognize the need for housing in rural areas, but that doesn’t mean that they should be able to ride roughshod over small parish councils.”
Old Hunstanton Parish Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Court of Appeal ) 7July 2016 (Laws LJ, Tomlinson LJ, Lewison LJ)