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Housing developer Persimmon is seeking a Judicial Review into a Welsh Government decision to reject plans for 300 new homes on green space.
The original application for Grove Park, near Cefn Fforest, was recommended for approval by Caerphilly Council planners, but in October 2018 councillors rejected the proposal following strong local opposition.
Persimmon took that decision to an appeal and lost after Minister for Housing and Local Government Julie James MS, finally rejected the plans in October last year.
The controversial plans had included a range of two, three and four-bedroom houses, open spaces and a new access road built from Heol Pit-y-Cieliogod and Beaumaris Way.
A two-day planning appeal hearing was held in October 2019, but a change in planning policy was blamed by Welsh Government for the original delay.
What was the change in planning policy?
The plans for 300 homes were for an area outside a designated development boundary in the council’s Local Development Plan (LDP).
Under a policy called TAN 1, such plans would have favoured developers.
As it stood, the policy meant local authorities in Wales had to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply.
As Caerphilly County Borough Council does not have this, planning applications for housing developments rejected by the local authority were likely to get the go-ahead on appeal to the Welsh Government. This policy was suspended in May 2018 and scrapped altogether in March this year.
This has meant statements for the Grove Park appeal had to be resubmitted and the appeal considered afresh.
The Planning Inspectorate report had recommended for the appeal to go ahead, but the housing minister disagreed.
In a letter outlining her decision, minister Julie James MS wrote: “I am committed to a plan-led system in Wales and I consider the primacy of the adopted LDP is key to providing certainty for communities and developers, regarding the type and scale of development that will be permitted in local authority areas throughout Wales.
“Whilst I accept the proposed development would provide some benefits, particularly the provision of affordable housing, I am not satisfied these benefits outweigh the identified conflict with LDP policies, which have been designed by the local planning authority in order to control housing development outside defined settlement policy boundaries.”
Mrs James also pointed out that there are nearby sites earmarked for development in the LDP that have yet to built on. Aberbargoed being one of them.
Why are Persimmon seeking a Judicial Review?
What is a Judicial Review?
Judicial review is a type of court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body.
In other words, judicial reviews are a challenge to the way in which a decision has been made, rather than the rights and wrongs of the conclusion reached.
It is not really concerned with the conclusions of that process and whether those were ‘right’, as long as the right procedures have been followed. The court will not substitute what it thinks is the ‘correct’ decision.
This may mean that the public body will be able to make the same decision again, so long as it does so in a lawful way.
Source: https://www.judiciary.uk/you-and-the-judiciary/judicial-review/
In legal submissions to the High Court, Persimmon is claiming the Minister relied “heavily” on the idea that the site at Aberbargoed could be used, even though the planning inspector had argued it was “not deliverable”.
By basing her decision on the suitability of Aberbargoed, Persimmon is claiming the Minister “erred in law”.
When approached by Caerphilly Observer, the Welsh Government said it did not comment on potential legal action.
A spokesman for Persimmon said: “We are disappointed by the decision and are keeping our options open as we consider our next steps.”
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