On a called in decision the Secretary of State has granted permission for 860 houses in Rugby, Warwickshire. The application had originally be refused on transport and air quality grounds, however, a third party opposition group also sought to raise issues in connection with Heritage, Flooding and the schemes s.106 package.
The Inspector and Secretary of State accepted the appellants arguments that the residual cumulative transport impacts of the proposal would not be severe and would not lead to any significant harm to highway safety and would be compliant with both the NPPF and development plan. Further, it was accepted that rather than causing harm the appeal proposal could actually lead to a marginal improvement in air quality.
The appellants had accepted there would be some less than substantial harm to heritage assets, however, they argued this was outweighed by the benefits of the scheme. Again the Inspector and Secretary of State agreed with this argument attaching weight to the benefits of the scheme including housing provision, indirect economic benefits to the economy and local services in Rugby, jobs created during construction and at the new primary school, provision of affordable housing, the community use of the school, the improved recreational and sporting facilities, improvements to public transport and cycle infrastructure, improvements to air quality and to the drainage of the site.
Paul Tucker QC and Freddie Humphreys represented the Appellants and were instructed by Marrons Planning on behalf of David Wilson Homes (East Midlands) and Gallagher Estates Ltd.
For a copy of the judgment please click here.
