Object

Representation ID: 66796

Received: 26/06/2014

Respondent: Gallagher Estates

Agent: Pegasus Group

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

It is necessary for the authority to allocate additional sites to make up the housing shortfall in order to meet objectively assessed housing need. Land identified as South of Gallows Hill should be allocated for this purpose for 450 dwellings with associated green infrastructure. The site is available now, offers a suitable location for development now and there is every prospect that a number of houses can be delivered within five years. The site has sustainability benefits similar to land South of Harbury lane and the sole reason why the site is not allocated for development is due to the heritage settings assessment. Technical work undertaken by Turley Associates raises concerns regarding the robustness of the Council's evidence base and draws very different conclusions in terms of the acceptability of development on the site. This reaches the conclusion that only a very limited degree of harm would arise from development south of Gallows Hill. In the context of the NPPF, paragraph 134 this constitutes less than substantial harm where the harm is to be weighed against the public benefits of the proposal. Indeed this approach is advocated in proposed Policy HE4 of the Draft Local Plan. It is not the case, as advanced in the Council's evidence base and SA, that because there is harm, no matter how limited that is, that a site should not be developed. Such an interpretation is not consistent with the NPPF, is not justified and is unsound. This would be in the public benefit consistent with paragraph 134, NPPF as it would deliver sustainable development in a location that would not require further incursions into the statutory Green Belt.