黑洞社区

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has used his planning powers to refuse consent for a 500-home Broadway Malyan masterplanned development in West Yorkshire 鈥� on the final day before parliament was dissolved.

The scheme, earmarked for a 25ha green belt site on the edge of Burley in Wharfedale, near Ilkley, had the support of Bradford council and was recommended for approval by a planning inspector following a public inquiry earlier this year.

But Jenrick overruled both the local authority and the inspector to block the outline scheme, commissioned by developer CEG, which would also have delivered a new primary school for the area and made a feature of the site of a Roman temporary camp uncovered during preparatory work.

In a decision letter published ahead of parliament鈥檚 dissolution last week, the housing secretary disagreed with both the council and the planning inspector鈥檚 arguments that there were 鈥渧ery special circumstances鈥� that justified green-belt development.

Bradford鈥檚 support for the scheme rested on the case that delivering hundreds of new homes, a new school and making a feature of the camp constituted very special circumstances in planning terms.

Jenrick鈥檚 letter accepted that 鈥渟ubstantial weight鈥� should be given to the scheme鈥檚 delivery of 500 new homes.

He also agreed that there were 鈥渟ignificant heritage benefits鈥� in incorporating part of the Roman temporary camp into the scheme for both conservation and educational purposes.

But the , dated November 5, said the proposals would 鈥渓ead to both encroachment into the countryside and would result in the sprawl of the Burley in Wharfedale built-up area鈥�, and concluded that none of the benefits outweighed the fact that it was inappropriate development.

It added: 鈥淗e has concluded that the very special circumstances needed to justify this development do not exist.鈥�

The Bradford scheme was called in by Jenrick鈥檚 predecessor, James Brokenshire.