A HOUSING developer has won a government appeal against a council’s decision to reject its plans for new homes.
An application to build seven houses and demolish a derelict barn on land to the north of Ennerdale Country House Hotel in Cleator, was refused by Copeland Council’s planning panel in October 2021.
A decision notice published by Copeland Council outlining the reasons for refusal said that inadequate information had been submitted to demonstrate that the visibility splays and a cost effective scheme of mitigating traffic were deliverable.
Andrew Butler, of A2B Developments, based at Rheda Park, in Frizington, lodged an appeal against the decision with the Planning Inspectorate, which has now been upheld.
In his appeal, Mr Butler said the Planning Committee had not taken notice of the advice of the highway engineer, who said that the visibility splays were acceptable and that there would be no impact on highway safety.
He said the Copeland Planning Office had recommended the application be approved and the plans aligned with the requirements of the Copeland Local Plan.
A decision notice published by the Planning Inspectorate last week said the appeal was allowed and outline planning permission had been granted for the development, subject to a number of conditions.
These include a design for a traffic management scheme for the A5086 including full engineering, drainage, and construction details being submitted to and approved by the local planning authority, before the development begins.
In the decision notice, the planning inspector recognised that the main issue was the effect of the development on highway safety.
But the inspector said that speed surveys on the A5086 that were submitted with the plans had been carried out by “suitably qualified professionals”, using a recognised method, across a number of days, and there was “no clear reason to disagree with their conclusions”.
Following a site visit, the inspector said the proposed 60m visibility splays were “considered suitable in this location” and concluded that the proposal “would not adversely affect highways safety”.
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