黑洞社区

Berkeley Group has launched a legal challenge against Michael Gove鈥檚 decision last month to block its plans for 165 homes in the Kent Weald on design grounds, against the advice of a planning inspector.

The scheme, sited within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), was called in by the housing secretary in April 2021 despite being approved by the local authority, and was turned down last month on the basis it was 鈥済eneric鈥� and not 鈥渟ensitively designed having regard to its setting鈥�.

A spokesperson for Berkeley Group said the firm 鈥渨ill apply to the High Court for a statutory review of secretary of state Michael Gove鈥檚 decision of April 6 to reject the company鈥檚 proposed development at Cranbrook in Kent鈥�.

The spokesperson said the firm was challenging the decision on six grounds, including the design of the homes.

Berkeley鈥檚 claim, seen by 黑洞社区鈥檚 sister title Housing Today, states: 鈥淭he Defendant [the secretary of state] makes a number of assertions of bad design without any reasoning or indeed without referring to any evidence on which he relies鈥�, and goes on to allege his refusal on design grounds was 鈥渋rrational鈥�.

It also says Gove鈥檚 conclusions on the local authority鈥檚 five-year land supply and draft local plan were 鈥渆rroneous and out-of-date鈥�.

The planning inspector had recommended that the scheme, designed by Kent-based practice OSP Architecture, be approved, given the local authority鈥檚 shortfall against its five-year housing land supply, and the 鈥減ackage of exceptional benefits鈥�, including 40% affordable housing, landscape enhancements with limited associated harm and biodiversity enhancements, to be provided by the scheme.

But housing minister Rachael Maclean, who made the decision on behalf of Gove, said in the decision letter: 鈥淲hile he [the secretary of state] agrees with the inspector that the proposed development would deliver landscape enhancements he does not find the proposal to be of a high standard which has evolved through thoughtful regard to its context.

鈥淥verall, he does not find that the scheme is sensitively designed having regard to its setting. He finds that the design of the proposal does not reflect the expectations of the High Weald Housing Design Guide, being of a generic suburban nature which does not reproduce the constituent elements of local settlements. He also considers that the layout of the scheme does not respond to its AONB setting.鈥�

The Berkeley spokesperson added: 鈥淭he proposal for 165 high-quality, individually designed new homes (including 66 affordable homes) was developed in close consultation with local partners and had strong support at local level.

鈥淎pproved by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, and also by The Planning Inspectorate (an executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities), it was vetoed by Mr Gove after a three-year planning process.鈥�

Prior to news of the legal challenge, last month鈥檚 decision , with Rico Wojtulewicz, head of housing and planning policy at the National Federation of Builders, describing it as 鈥減olitical expediency鈥�.

David O鈥橪eary, executive director of policy at the Home Builders Federation said: 鈥淭he housing secretary is personally intervening to block developments that local communities actually want to see go ahead. This may be clever politics but the long-term social and economic consequences will be huge.鈥�

The news comes after housing secretary Michael Gove caved in to backbench pressure last December and agreed to scrap mandatory local housing targets and push for greater development on brownfield land.

Berkeley鈥檚 scheme at Crane Valley, near Tunbridge Wells, had been originally given the go ahead by a planning inspector following a public inquiry in September 2021.