The High Court in London today backed a 29-dwelling development in the Cotswold village of Enstone, Chipping Norton.
West Oxfordshire District Council opposed the development, saying it would “encroach” on a “largely unspoilt” area of countryside.
However, following a planning inquiry earlier this year, a planning inspector disagreed and recommended granting planning permission. At a High Court hearing last week, lawyers for the council argued that the inspector had erred. But in a ruling today, Deputy Judge David Elvin QC disagreed.
While the council claimed that the proposed development was “within an extensive area of countryside that provides a rural setting for the village”, the inspector found that the site was “reasonably attractive… but it is nothing out of the ordinary”.
He found that the housing provided by the development “would be a weighty benefit for the area, by providing much needed private and affordable housing for local people”.
In addition, the council, he said, could not demonstrate a five-year supply. “I am satisfied that none of the reasons put forward for opposing the development establishes that the harm would be significant or would demonstrably outweigh the benefits,” he said.
At the High Court hearing, lawyers for the council argued that the inspector had not properly taken into account the council’s “Emerging Local Plan” – the council’s unfinished new Local Plan.
However, in his ruling the judge disagreed. He said that the council was trying to “elevate a relatively minor issue in the inquiry into a major issue before this court”.
“I consider the inspector’s decision to be clearly structured and well-reasoned and that it is perfectly clear why the inspector reached his conclusions,” he said.
“I do not consider that his reasons were inadequate, specifically with respect to his approach to the [Emerging Local Plan].”
West Oxfordshire District Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
Planning Court (David Elvin QC) 14 November 2018
