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Deep concern at minister’s approval of 165 homes in National Landscape
Is new government signalling to the development industry that any piece of our countryside is now fair game for building?
CPRE Kent is extremely disappointed with the decision by Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, to grant planning permission for 165 houses on land adjacent to Turnden, Hartley Road, Cranbrook.
This decision, made on behalf of Secretary of State Angela Rayner, follows the earlier refusal by the previous Secretary of State, Michael Gove, who rejected the development partly because he agreed with CPRE Kent’s argument that it did not meet the strict national planning policy tests required to justify development within the High Weald National Landscape (formerly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).
Significantly, while Mr Gove acknowledged a shortfall in the housing land supply, he rightly, in our view, dismissed this shortfall in favour of prioritising the protection of the High Weald National Landscape.
Regrettably, the developer, Berkeley Homes, successfully challenged Mr Gove’s decision in court, leading to the quashing of that decision.
In the new decision issued last week (Friday, November 22), Ms Rayner has taken a very different approach. Despite accepting that there is a sufficient supply of housing relative to national policy, she has nonetheless decided that the delivery of new homes should carry ‘significant weight’, overriding national policies designed to protect our country’s National Landscapes.
While the details of the case are complex, this decision appears to be a political one, aimed at signalling the new government’s intention to push through more housing under any circumstances.
However, this is an unallocated site within a designated National Landscape, where there is already a policy-compliant housing supply. By approving this development in such a context, we fear the new government is signalling to the development industry that any piece of our precious countryside is now fair game for major developments.
