'Especially harmful' 48-home plan in Harborough district village can be built, planning inspector rules

The development, in Gaulby Road, Billesdon, was refused by every councillor on Harborough District Council's (HDC's) planning committee in May last year over concerns regarding its scale and layout.

At the time, councillors on HDC’s planning committee ruled that the proposal did not “respect the existing form and character” of the area, and would not integrate well with existing buildings. They added that the development would be “especially harmful in views from the public right of way crossing through the south of the site”. This is depsite HDC planning officers recommending that councillors approved the plans.

There was much opposition to the plans, with 106 objections submitted, and one letter sent in support of it. The local parish council also spoke against it at the planning meeting, on Tuesday May 14.

Applicant Church Farm Billesdon Ltd lodged an appeal against HDC’s decision, saying it “strongly contested the reason for refusal” and “firmly believed that the evidence presented demonstrated that planning permission should have been granted”. The applicant added that it believed the “range of benefits offered by the scheme were significant” and “sufficient to outweigh the limited harm resulting from the perceived impact stated by the council”.

The applicant also said the appeal case “drew attention to the deficiencies in the way in which the members of the council’s planning committee assessed the proposal”. Church Farm Billesdon told the Planning Inspectorate that its original plan was for a “residential development” of up to 56 homes, but following statutory consultation, that number was reduced to 48. The applicant said that HDC planning officers – who advise the councillors on the planning committee but do not sit on it themselves – had “accepted” the lower number of homes.

The Planning Inspectorate backed the applicant over HDC and granted outline planning permission – meaning the development was accepted in principle, with the details to be worked out at a later stage – for up to 48 homes. Church Farm Billesdon has indicated that 30 of the properties will be self-build/custom built homes, and 18 will be ‘affordable’ first homes.

The site covers two areas of land over some 6.5 hectares either side of Gaulby Road, to the south-western side of the village of Billesdon. Both areas of the former grazing land are described as falling “away from Gaulby Road into the respective shallow valleys of Billesdon and Burton Brooks”.

In making its decision to approve the appeal, the Planning Inspectorate set out several conditions, including:

• a construction traffic management plan to ensure highway safety during the development period;
• a habitat management and monitoring plan;
• testing to measure how quickly water can pass through soil – to be carried out prior to the development commencing;
• a design code – a set of rules that dictate how a place is designed – to ensure a high design standard is achieved;
• construction environmental management plans to control the impacts of the construction phase on biodiversity, flood risk, neighbours’ living conditions and highway safety;
• details of the proposed car park, including lighting and security strategies, to ensure the safety and workability of the parking provision.