Harborough council wins appeal battle over its refusal of homes that were 'harmful to character of the area'

Applicant Adrian Symonds, of Symonds & Newey, was hoping to overturn a decision made by Harborough District Council (HDC) in March of last year.

The developer wanted to build seven, large, two-storey homes with four or more bedrooms and with twin and single garages next to playing fields in Ashby Road, Ullesthorpe, but HDC refused to grant permission. Nine homes already exist on the site.

The company appealed that decision to the government’s Planning Inspectorate, which can overrule planning decisions by local councils. However, in this case it backed HDC ‘s refusal, and agreed that the additional homes could not be built.

The site in question is located to the north east of Ullesthorpe, approximately half a mile from the village centre. Planning records show that a planning application for 24 homes on the site was refused in January 2018.

A subsequent outline application – for approval in principle, with the details of the development to be worked out at a later stage – was put forward in September 2018 to build nine houses, which was approved in 2019. A subsequent, detailed application for the development was approved in 2021, and documents note that those homes are now complete.

However, when the developer requested permission to build an additional seven homes in the area, the authority said no.

It said that development on the site would only be allowed where it achieved a high standard of design, taking into account the characteristics of the surrounding area, and that Symonds & Newey’s scheme did not meet those criteria, stating that the seven additional homes would remove all open space and introduce a “cramped form of development”.

In making its decision, announced on Thursday, May 8, the Planning Inspectorate said that earlier, approved, plans for the location acknowledged that the proposed site of the seven homes was to be kept as formal open space. It added that “the open and undeveloped appearance” of the plot contributed to the “openness and spaciousness of the area on the approach into Ullesthorpe”, and made a “positive contribution to the area’s semi-rural character”.

It concluded that any adverse impacts of the proposed development would significantly outweigh any benefits. Decisions made by the Planning Inspectorate can be challenged in the High Court if an applicant believes it made a legal mistake in reaching its conclusion.