Council backtracks on planning refusal at planning inquiry over five year housing land supply

Peterborough refused outline planning permission to the project in the village of Glinton in January 2025 after finding that the development did not fall into any of the categories of development allowed in the open countryside under the council's development policies.

The council also said the proposal would, by virtue of its density, scale, form and location, "result in significant harm to the character and appearance of the area, including the rural setting of the village".

It also cited "insufficient" information to demonstrate that the proposal would be acceptable in highway safety terms.

The developer behind the application, Larkfleet Group, later appealed the decision to the Planning Inspectorate.

In a statement of common ground submitted a week before the inquiry, both parties agreed that the council was unable to demonstrate a five-year housing supply.

"Consequently, the Council's 'most important policies' for determining the appeal are out of date and the 'tilted balance' under Paragraph 11d of the NPPF is engaged," the document states.

The five-year housing land supply is a calculation of whether there is a deliverable supply of homes to meet the planned housing requirement over the next 5 years.
Larkfleet and the council disagreed on the figure, with the developer arguing that Peterborough had a supply of 3.42 years.

The council meanwhile contended that it had a housing supply of 4.88 years.

Despite the disagreement, both parties agreed for the purposes of the appeal that under either scenario, planning permission should be granted for the appeal scheme.

According to a BBC report, the inquiry session ended after just three hours as both parties agreed that, under either scenario, planning permission should be granted.

Adam Carey