On Wednesday 7th February we learned that at a Planning Appeal being held that day, the City Council had been aggressively challenged on their housing supply numbers by the developer's counsel. The nature of the challenge was in respect to the actual numbers of properties being built. In response the Council were advised by their legal team to withdraw from the proceedings, which they did.
On Thursday 8th February our Chairperson - Lindsay Philipson, together with a resident represented the village at the Planning Committee - where the Older Person's Village application was being considered. It was already known that the cards were stacked against those opposing the development, as the Officer's report had recommended approval.
A "Late Changes" document was issued to the Planning Committee, which included the wording:
"At a Planning Inquiry that opened on Tuesday 6th February 2018, during proceedings, the Council conceded that it does not have a five year supply of deliverable housing land. Therefore the development plan polices relevant to housing supply are out of date and the enhanced presumption in favour of sustainable development, as set out in Paragraph 14 of the Framework, must be applied in the consideration of all planning applications proposing new housing."
This is very bad news indeed for Preston and in particular any areas endeavouring to fight off unwelcome developments, that are contrary to the Local Plan.
It was no surprise when the application for the Older Person's Village was approved.
We will keep you posted of any further developments.