Nine homes at Land South Of The Straits, The Straits, Hoghton

What was proposed

Permission in principle was sought for nine homes, with technical details left for a later application.

“The application is for ‘Permission in Principle’ for 9no. dwellinghouses. This type of application seeks only to establish the principle of the development. Technical matters cannot be considered.”

“It should be noted that during the application process, the application was made invalid as the site area was in excess of 1 hectare. The site area was subsequently reduced to under a hectare and a re-notification process was undertaken.”

Officer report

The site

The approximately 0.99-hectare site is south of The Straits, partly within Hoghton’s settlement boundary and partly within Green Belt.

“The site is situated on the southern side of the Straits and extends in an ‘L shape’ to the rear of those residential properties extending from Torwood, Station Road to no.5 Willowfield Chase. To the southeast is the railway line and to the south / west, the site is bordered by agricultural land, which is shown to be in the ownership of the applicant (as indicated by the blue edge on the Location Plan.”

“The northern most section of the site is situated within Green Belt and the remainder of the site falls with the settlement boundary of Hoghton, as defined by the Chorley Local Plan 2012 -2026 Policies Map and the submitted Central Lancashire Local Plan Policies Map. The site area is approximately 0.99 hectares.”

Officer report

Earlier planning history

An earlier outline proposal for nine homes was refused in 2019 and its appeal was dismissed in 2020.

“Ref: 18/00821/OUT Decision: REFOPP Decision Date: May 2019 Description: Outline application for the erection of 9no. dwellings (with all matters reserved save for access)”

“Appeal Ref: APP/D2320/W/19/3240410 Decision: Dismissed Decision Date: February 2020 Description: Outline application for the erection of 9no. dwellings (with all matters reserved save for access)”

Officer report

What officers recommended

Officers recommended approval because the Green Belt part was considered grey belt, housing supply was short, and the proposal was acceptable in principle.

“The part of the site which is situated in the Green Belt has been satisfactorily assessed to be considered as Grey Belt as part of this stage 1 assessment and the proposal for housing is not therefore inappropriate development in the Green Belt.”

“The benefits of the proposed development are the contribution it would make to housing supply and no adverse impacts are identified. The proposed development is, therefore, acceptable as a matter of principle, in planning policy terms.”

Officer report

Who spoke

The speakers included an objector, a parish councillor, a ward councillor and the agent.

The committee vote

The committee voted eight in favour, two against and one abstention on the proposal to grant permission in principle.

“After careful consideration, it was proposed by Councillor Alex Hilton, seconded by Councillor Craige Southern, and subsequently resolved (8 for, 2 against, 1 abstain) that the application for permission in principle be granted.”

Minutes