Kirton-in-Lindsey is a small town in the North Lincolnshire countryside between Gainsborough and Scunthorpe. The Strategic Land Group have agreed to work with the owners of a 10.4 acre field on the western edge of the village to promote it for residential development.
At the time we agreed to work with the landowner, the site fell outside the existing settlement boundary of the town. However, North Lincolnshire council were preparing a new local plan to help them meet their housing need until 2036. Their existing plan - which came into force in 2011 - pre-dated the major changes to national planning policy introduced by the National Planning Policy Framework in 2012. The plan review was therefore also intended to address those differences.
Our original intention was to promote the site as a potential development allocation through that local plan process. However, in common with our all projects, we kept the planning position under continual review to see if an opportunity for an early application presented itself.
Although the council had been reporting a housing land supply of in excess of six years, we felt this was likely to deteriorate over time. That was, in part, due to the reliance for housing delivery on a single, large-scale housing allocation - known as Lincolnshire Lakes - which was dependent on the delivery of a new motorway junction.
This duly happened and, in 2019, the council published an updated assessment of their housing land supply which claimed the position to be over five years by just five dwellings. Five years is the minimum housing land supply that national planning policy says local authorities must maintain. When the supply drops below this level, the so-called "tilted balance" comes into effect and some local policies - like those preventing housing development on greenfield sites adjoining settlements - are no longer considered to be as important.
Our own review of the new evidence concluded that the real supply position was nearer four years and so we submitted an outline planning application. Access was a key issue to address as the approach to the site was via a series of narrow, winding streets that broadly followed the original Anglo-Saxon street pattern. Despite considerable local opposition, we managed to secure support from council officers and the application was recommended for approval. However, councillors took a different view and unanimously refused the application in August 2020.
The grounds of refusal were weak and we therefore appealed that refusal. Our appeal was allowed in March 2021 and planning permission was granted. In addition to securing consent, the planning inspector made a full award of costs against the council in recognition of their unreasonable behaviour. Furthermore, the Inspector agreed with our view that the £200,000 payment the council had requested to provide extra primary school places was not required, and confirmed it did not need to be paid.
We are currently carrying out further technical due diligence before bringing the site to market. To ensure you receive details of the site, register your details here.
Kirton-in-Lindsey is a small town in the North Lincolnshire countryside between Gainsborough and Scunthorpe. The Strategic Land Group have agreed to work with the owners of a 10.4 acre field on the western edge of the village to promote it for residential development.
At the time we agreed to work with the landowner, the site fell outside the existing settlement boundary of the town. However, North Lincolnshire council were preparing a new local plan to help them meet their housing need until 2036. Their existing plan - which came into force in 2011 - pre-dated the major changes to national planning policy introduced by the National Planning Policy Framework in 2012. The plan review was therefore also intended to address those differences.
Our original intention was to promote the site as a potential development allocation through that local plan process. However, in common with our all projects, we kept the planning position under continual review to see if an opportunity for an early application presented itself.
Although the council had been reporting a housing land supply of in excess of six years, we felt this was likely to deteriorate over time. That was, in part, due to the reliance for housing delivery on a single, large-scale housing allocation - known as Lincolnshire Lakes - which was dependent on the delivery of a new motorway junction.
This duly happened and, in 2019, the council published an updated assessment of their housing land supply which claimed the position to be over five years by just five dwellings. Five years is the minimum housing land supply that national planning policy says local authorities must maintain. When the supply drops below this level, the so-called "tilted balance" comes into effect and some local policies - like those preventing housing development on greenfield sites adjoining settlements - are no longer considered to be as important.
Our own review of the new evidence concluded that the real supply position was nearer four years and so we submitted an outline planning application. Access was a key issue to address as the approach to the site was via a series of narrow, winding streets that broadly followed the original Anglo-Saxon street pattern. Despite considerable local opposition, we managed to secure support from council officers and the application was recommended for approval. However, councillors took a different view and unanimously refused the application in August 2020.
The grounds of refusal were weak and we therefore appealed that refusal. Our appeal was allowed in March 2021 and planning permission was granted. In addition to securing consent, the planning inspector made a full award of costs against the council in recognition of their unreasonable behaviour. Furthermore, the Inspector agreed with our view that the £200,000 payment the council had requested to provide extra primary school places was not required, and confirmed it did not need to be paid.
We are currently carrying out further technical due diligence before bringing the site to market. To ensure you receive details of the site, register your details here.
Kirton-in-Lindsey is a small town in the North Lincolnshire countryside between Gainsborough and Scunthorpe. The Strategic Land Group have agreed to work with the owners of a 10.4 acre field on the western edge of the village to promote it for residential development.
At the time we agreed to work with the landowner, the site fell outside the existing settlement boundary of the town. However, North Lincolnshire council were preparing a new local plan to help them meet their housing need until 2036. Their existing plan - which came into force in 2011 - pre-dated the major changes to national planning policy introduced by the National Planning Policy Framework in 2012. The plan review was therefore also intended to address those differences.
Our original intention was to promote the site as a potential development allocation through that local plan process. However, in common with our all projects, we kept the planning position under continual review to see if an opportunity for an early application presented itself.
Although the council had been reporting a housing land supply of in excess of six years, we felt this was likely to deteriorate over time. That was, in part, due to the reliance for housing delivery on a single, large-scale housing allocation - known as Lincolnshire Lakes - which was dependent on the delivery of a new motorway junction.
This duly happened and, in 2019, the council published an updated assessment of their housing land supply which claimed the position to be over five years by just five dwellings. Five years is the minimum housing land supply that national planning policy says local authorities must maintain. When the supply drops below this level, the so-called "tilted balance" comes into effect and some local policies - like those preventing housing development on greenfield sites adjoining settlements - are no longer considered to be as important.
Our own review of the new evidence concluded that the real supply position was nearer four years and so we submitted an outline planning application. Access was a key issue to address as the approach to the site was via a series of narrow, winding streets that broadly followed the original Anglo-Saxon street pattern. Despite considerable local opposition, we managed to secure support from council officers and the application was recommended for approval. However, councillors took a different view and unanimously refused the application in August 2020.
The grounds of refusal were weak and we therefore appealed that refusal. Our appeal was allowed in March 2021 and planning permission was granted. In addition to securing consent, the planning inspector made a full award of costs against the council in recognition of their unreasonable behaviour. Furthermore, the Inspector agreed with our view that the £200,000 payment the council had requested to provide extra primary school places was not required, and confirmed it did not need to be paid.
We are currently carrying out further technical due diligence before bringing the site to market. To ensure you receive details of the site, register your details here.
