Outline planning permission was granted on appeal following a lengthy battle with the Local Planning Authority.
Walsingham Planning originally worked with volume housebuilder clients to secure an allocation for residential development at Newton Abbot, Devon and was subsequently instructed to prepare a Masterplan for the site and submit an outline planning application for over 200 dwellings. Negotiations with the LPA were protracted although the client was initially keen to obtain a local decision.
Despite the application being recommended for approval by the Planning Case Officer the proposals were refused by Planning Committee and an appeal was lodged. The appeal was heard by way of a Public Inquiry and Walsingham Planning provided expert witness evidence to support the proposals.
The appeal was called in by the Secretary of State due to the site’s relationship to the Newton Abbot Neighbourhood Plan and the decision was finally issued in April 2017. The case highlights that even sites which benefit from Local Plan allocations can be subject to significant delay and in some cases the most effective course of action is to appeal.