A “Called-in” Planning Application
The Client
The Board of Trustees of a large building complex.
The Case
The team prepared and lodged a detailed planning application after protracted negotiations with the local planning authority. Although the application related to a substantial area of land located in open countryside outside the existing settlement development boundaries described in the Development Plan, nevertheless the team had persuaded the local planning authority that the application should be approved. Given the substantial size of the development scheme the Secretary of State intervened and called-in the planning application. He appointed one of his senior Planning Inspectors to convene a Public Local Inquiry. The team deployed its own planning advocate who called a series of witnesses from the team to give evidence in support of the planning application.
A complex planning obligation was also submitted to the Planning Inspector and a virtual reality computerised representation of the scheme, as built, was submitted to the Inspector.
The Outcome
The Planning Inspector recommended approval of the planning application in his report to the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of State finally agreed with his representations, thereby granting planning permission for a very valuable development.