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Search the Public Notice PortalA STANSTED housing developer has called on the Secretary of State to intervene after two major developments were rejected.
Chairman of City and Country Tim Sargeant described the decision by Uttlesford Council as a "fundamental misapplication of national planning policy".
On June 10, Uttlesford’s planning committee refused two residential schemes in Stansted Mountfitchet and Birchanger, totalling 480 homes, despite planning officers recommending approval.
Mr Sargeant said: "We are not simply challenging a planning decision; we are questioning whether the current system is capable of delivering the homes the country needs.
"We were extremely disappointed by the decision taken by Uttlesford Council’s planning committee, which undermines recommendations from its own planning officers who described the proposals as ‘exceptional’.
"Despite extensive technical evidence and the clear recommendation of the council’s planning officers, the committee took an adverse stance on matters including Green Belt policy and housing need, failing even to mention the high-quality design and to properly evaluate and weigh the numerous other enhancements that these applications possess.
"We believe the committee’s decision is inconsistent with both local evidence and national planning policy, particularly at a time when councils are being asked to play a central role in addressing the country’s acute housing shortage."
Of the 480 homes proposed, 240 would have been affordable.
City and Country said this would have more than tripled the 69 affordable homes Uttlesford delivered last year.
Around 1,400 households are currently on the council’s housing waiting list.
Mr Sargeant said: "At a time when the UK continues to face a housing crisis, decisions such as this will only exacerbate the issue.
"This case raises a wider question for Government.
"If schemes that comply with national policy, deliver significant affordable housing and receive officer support can still be refused, how will the country achieve its housing ambitions?"
The developer has now requested that the Secretary of State call in the applications for determination.
City and Country argues that the refusal raises issues of more than local importance, including the interpretation of recently introduced grey belt policy, the application of the presumption in favour of sustainable development, and the delivery of the government's wider housing objectives.
The Stansted scheme included plans for a shop, café, nursery, care home, and land for a village hall.
The Birchanger proposal focused on landscape improvements, biodiversity, and protecting the identity of the two settlements.
Both schemes aimed to achieve a biodiversity net gain of more than 20 per cent and featured a habitat bank, community orchard, and the reinstatement of historic woodlands and hedgerows.
Planning officers described the scheme as "exemplary and exceptional" and said both schemes met national policy requirements.
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The sites had also been supported in principle by an independent planning inspector.
Despite this, the committee voted to refuse both applications, citing concerns over green belt policy and housing need.
Mr Sargeant said: "Greater clarity and consistency in the application of national planning policy is essential if the government is to deliver 1.5 million homes and ensure high-quality, sustainable communities are brought forward in the right locations."
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