Full Set of Bromsgrove Garage Site Approvals Achieved

Building on appeal successes in 2013, Tetlow King Planning (TKP) is delighted to have now secured a full set of planning permissions for Bromsgrove District Housing Trust (bdht) on several redundant garage sites across the District.

A longstanding client, bdht is the principal provider of affordable housing in Bromsgrove District, having been originally established as a local stock voluntary transfer housing association, taking over all of the Council’s housing stock.

Eleven planning applications were submitted to Bromsgrove District Council in mid-2012, to provide a total of 41 affordable homes.

Seven of the 11 applications were approved by the Council. Four were refused by Planning Committee leading to immediate appeals.

Two appeals for separate sites in the villages of Romsley and Alvechurch were approved in mid 2013. The latter also saw a partial award of costs to bdht against the Council. The full set has been concluded with the final two appeal decisions issued on 27.12.13. The same Inspector considered two garage sites in the Bromsgrove suburb of Catshill to allow a combined total of nine new homes in a range of sizes, types and affordable tenures. In both cases, the Inspector recognised that no technical or planning policy objections had been raised by the Council’s officers; moreover, the members of the Council’s Planning Committee had not put forward any planning reasons that could be substantiated in refusing the application in March 2013.

Members’ single refusal reason for both sites, on visual impact and a resultant loss of amenity for the adjoining occupiers, was thoroughly examined in the appeals, which were dealt with under the written representations procedure. The sites are enclosed by the back gardens of existing homes, many of which are also bdht-owned, with direct access from the garages between the existing properties onto the nearest residential road. The Inspector agreed that the careful design and layout of the schemes ensures that surrounding occupiers’ living conditions will not be harmed and that improvements will be achieved through site remediation and natural surveillance.  The Inspector also agreed that specific separation distances defined in Supplementary Planning Guidance are met.

Securing 11 sites has given bdht a viable development programme to deliver the 41 affordable homes over the next year. These are much needed in the District, which has one of the worst affordability problems in the West Midlands region and a housing waiting list that has recently grown to over 3,500 households.