The Council's planning committee had rejected the proposals for the 15 hectare site by developer Jelson Homes despite recommendations by the Council's planning officers to approve the scheme. The committee's reasons for refusal were based on visibility issues at a highway junction at the site.
The SoS said that he agreed with the findings by a planning inspector that, despite the "perceived deficiency" in respect of visibility, the junction operated safely and should not "trigger prevention of the proposed scheme".
"It would not be unreasonable to conclude that the safety of the junction would not be materially diminished by the extra traffic from the proposed development," the SoS said.
The SoS said that he gave "substantial weight" to the inspector's findings that the Council was unable to demonstrate a five year supply of deliverable housing sites as required under the National Planning Policy Framework.
He concluded that the proposed development site was in a sustainable location for housing development and that the adverse impacts of granting permission would not "significantly and demonstrably" outweigh the benefits of the scheme.
