Secretary of State allows 1,150 homes in Lancashire following previous refusal

In his decision, Pickles attached "considerable" weight to the benefits of the link road and balanced this against Fylde Borough Council's lack of housing supply. He concluded that both schemes "are in accordance with national policy including the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)".

Developer Kensington PT Partnership appealed against Fylde Borough Council's non determination of its plans for a proposed 1,150 residential development on green belt land, with provision for a school and 34 hectares of parkland.

Pickles had previously refused an application by Kensington PT for residential development on the site, on the grounds of prematurity. The High Court later quashed his decision following a case involving CALA Homes, because he had attached little weight to the Regional Spatial Strategies.

In his decision letter, (146-Pages / 754KB PDF) Pickles found that Fylde Borough Council only had 1.4 years of housing supply, against a requirement in the NPPF to have five years housing supply, with either a 5% or 20% buffer. This means the NPPF's 'presumption in favour of sustainable development' takes effect.

"The Secretary of State therefore gives little weight to the fact that the appeal site is not allocated for housing in the Local Plan – especially having regard to the agreement between the developer and the Council that there is currently only a 1.4 year supply of housing land in the Borough against RS requirements," the decision letter said.

Pickles also attached little weight to the fact the proposed development is on green belt land and is not allocated for development in the Council's Local Plan.

"While permitting the appeal scheme would pre-empt decisions on revised settlement boundaries and on the release of agricultural land, these need to be balanced against the ability of the appeal scheme to secure the implementation of the Link Road, the fact that Queensway is the only location where major housing for St Annes could be accommodated and the fact that there is no substantive objection to the appeal scheme on the basis of impact on character and appearance," the decision letter said.

"Taken together, the factors in favour of developing the appeal site now outweigh the risk of thereby pre-empting decisions in an indeterminate future," it said.

Pickles allowed the appeal for the proposed development because of its contribution to housing, including affordable housing and attached "considerable" weight to the ability of the appeal scheme to secure the implementation of the Link Road.

"The proposed scheme would make an appropriate contribution towards the substantial housing needs of the area, including the need for affordable housing, and he considers this to be an important material consideration to which he gives considerable weight," the decision letter said.

"He also considers that, as the Link Road scheme will not only provide access to the appeal site but also provide wider planning benefits, there are very special circumstances to justify the harm which it will cause to the openness of the Green Belt," it said.