IM Properties wins appeal
IM Land has won its appeal to build 750 homes on brownfield land in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
Secretary of state Sajid Javid granted the permission to the subsidiary of IM Properties after the initial proposals were refused by Lichfield District Council in January 2014.
IM Land has won its appeal to build 750 homes on brownfield land in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
Secretary of state Sajid Javid granted the permission to the subsidiary of IM Properties after the initial proposals were refused by Lichfield District Council in January 2014.
IM Land’s strategic land director, Jonathan Dyke, said: “This is nearly three years of extremely hard work and significant resources to get to the point where we can deliver a scheme which will have a positive impact on the area.”
According to IM Land, the 60-acre site near Curborough meets all requirements set out in the Housing White Paper for utilising suitable available land outside of the green belt to meet council’s housing objectives.
The development was originally refused because it did not sit within the council’s development plan.
In a report to the secretary of state, the inspector said: “In essence, the case for the council is that the proposal is not in accordance with the development plan and that there are no material considerations to outweigh a decision in accordance with the plan.
“The appeal site lies outside the settlement boundary in both the now superseded local plan and the very recently adopted local plan strategy. It is not an allocated site in the local plan strategy.”
The inspector’s report recommended the appeal be rejected.
However, the secretary of state concluded that while the scheme is not in accordance with the development plan overall, and the local plan implemented in 2015 does show a robust figure for housing need, due to existing housing shortfalls and other concerns, the social and economic benefits outweigh any harm caused by the development.
The plans include 233 affordable homes, a primary school, care village, retail units, a community centre, playing fields and public open space.
Lichfield is the third major planning decision for IMP and IM Land in the past six months. Outline planning has been secured for developments in Solihull and Stratford Upon Avon, which, combined, will create an additional 1,750 new homes and associated community facilities.
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