Lightwood’s public inquiry relating to its application for 45 units at land south of Ovingdean Road sat for 4 days from 24 April 2018 and closed on 27 April with an accompanied site visit later in the day.
In the absence of Brighton & Hove City Council defending its decision, the appeal was defended by the Deans Preservation Group (DPG) who had been afforded Rule 6 Party status. Whilst the application was originally refused by Brighton & Hove Council for four reasons, the DPG chose not to defend two of them and concentrated their case on the impact of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area, and the ecology and biodiversity of the site, supported by relevant consultants.
Lightwood was represented by Christopher Boyle QC.
North Dorset District Council Planning Committee have resolved to grant consent for Lightwood’s application for 60 dwellings on land at Thornhill Road, Stalbridge.
Lightwood has been actively promoting the land at Stalbridge through planning policy since 2014, working collaboratively with officers, members, town councillors and residents. Identified as a sustainable area for growth, Stalbridge became victim to a number of speculative applications which accelerated the submission of Lightwood’s applications at Barrow Hill (98 units) and Thornhill Road (60 units) so as to be heard at the same committee.
Despite both Lightwood applications being recommended for approval, the proposals at Barrow Hill were refused by the committee but will be appealed.
Brighton & Hove’s Planning Committee has decided not to defend its decision at appeal to refuse Lightwood’s planning application for 45 homes on land south of Ovingdean Road.
The discussion on 7th February included legal advice relating to a live appeal so had to be held in a confidential session.
Councillors were recommended to withdraw two of the four reasons for refusal and to then consider the resulting planning balance of the appealed proposal. Weighing up the planning benefits the scheme would bring against the remaining reasons for refusal they agreed that the Local Planning Authority should no longer defend the planning appeal.
Lightwood will be pursuing an application for the full award of costs.
Lightwood, represented by Christopher Boyle QC, attended the Examination of the Braintree, Colchester and Tendring Local Plans to challenge the soundness of the proposed shared spatial strategy for North Essex and its evidence base.
Whilst already subject to a number of soundness and legal compliance issues, the local authorities failed in their duty to submit the representations made by Lightwood to the Regulation 19 Local Plan to the Planning Inspectorate. As a result Lightwood was not invited to the Examination and was only able to attend the second week.
Consequently there will be a re-running of the Matter 1 hearing session to enable the Inspector to hear Lightwood’s evidence. However the question as to whether this ‘cures’ the failings of Braintree District Council to comply with the Duty to Co-operate, the requirements of the Sustainability Appraisal and the legislative requirements in the preparation and submission of the Section 1 Plan remains.
Located on a prominent plot at the junction of two roads to the east of Cold Ash in Thatcham, the site comprises 6 detached units which have been carefully designed to respond to the varying levels across the site.
Following extensive dialogue and pre application meetings with West Berkshire District Council, the scheme was modified to accommodate concerns over scale and massing and highway safety to the satisfaction of the case officer.
Lightwood’s entire land interest at Murrell Green has been included in the ‘area of search’ for a new settlement in Hart’s Submission Local Plan which goes out to publication consultation on 9th February 2018 for a six week period.
Hart DC recognise that the risk of not planning now for a longer term approach is there will be a gap in housing supply making the Council vulnerable to future planning applications as well as limiting the ability to plan for longer term larger infrastructure needs.
Whilst a change from that presented in the draft Local Plan, the amended strategy will allow Hart DC time to undertake further work in respect of a longer-term strategy for meeting future housing needs, including full and proper consideration of the location of a new settlement and its broader implications.
The new settlement proposal will then be taken forward through a stand-alone Development Plan Document (DPD) which would be started on adoption of the Local Plan: Strategy and Sites.
Despite being located in a Conservation Area, the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and within the Green Belt, Lightwood has secured an officer delegated planning permission for a large detached family home in Compton, Guildford.
The enviable position in the centre of this charming village, is well positioned for Guildford and Godalming, is close to the A3 to London and the south coast and is only 45 minutes to London on the train from Farncombe.
The Planning Inspectorate has allowed the appeal by Lightwood against the decision of Elmbridge Borough Council Planning Committee to refuse an application for a two storey office building on an underutilised brownfield site in Thames Ditton.
Despite gaining the support of the planning officer and going to committee with a recommendation to approve, it was unanimously refused on the basis that it would fail to enhance the street scene and would result in a form of development out of keeping with and detrimental to the character and appearance of the area.
The subservient and considered proposal was recognised by the Inspector as being “sympathetic to the local area… and would add positive visual interest”.
Lightwood has now secured a resolution to grant outline planning permission on land at Staplegrove Farm in Taunton. Whilst the land was not originally included in the urban extension North of Taunton, through working with Taunton Deane officers and informing the masterplan process, it was allocated as part of the wider North Taunton Urban Extension (NTUE) through Taunton Deane Site Allocations and Development Management Plan.
The NTUE consists of 1628 houses of which 15% are affordable homes and includes a primary school, 2 hectares of employment land, a local centre and the delivery of a spine road all set in a scheme that has been landscape and ecologically led from the outset. The scheme will not only deliver much needed housing among vast green open spaces but also improve the habitats for the European Protected Species that are on site which include the Lesser Horseshoe Bat, Dormice and Great Crested Newts.
Lightwood Group Director, Phil Chichester was invited by Bosch to speak at their transforMOTION exhibition held at Somerset House on the 8th September.
The panel discussion on the ’Future of Mobility in Cities’ explored the difficulties and practicalities of implementing new transport solutions and the policy vacuum caused by a the current planning system.
By 2050, more than six billion people will be living in megacities, with urban traffic tripling. The need for new safe, stress free and sustainable ways of moving around to maintain our quality of life has never been greater. The transforMOTION event showcased a variety of innovative solutions that use automated and connected technologies to demonstrate what the future of mobility will look like.
