Decision Details

Motion I

Proposer: Councillor Barber

Council welcomes the announcement by the Secretary of State for Levelling-up, Housing and Communities that he favours allowing communities to take back control of their futures and create greener and more beautiful places to live.

 
Council also recognises that there can be a gulf between Ministerial aspirations and real world decisions, as evidenced by the recent appeal decision in West Bergholt, where despite the community planning positively for growth via their adopted and up to date Neighbourhood Plan, an inspector saw fit to allow additional development on an unallocated site.


Council resolves to write to the Secretary of State emphasising the importance of protecting the right of communities to shape their localities and their right to object to individual planning applications. Council also asks that he direct the Planning Inspectorate to attach significantly greater weight to the ability of up to date Local and Neighbourhood Plan allocated sites meeting development requirements, when interpreting the presumption in favour of sustainable development.