Ben Willis,
Regen.net,
8 July 2009
A decision by a Nottinghamshire council to refuse planning permission for a 1,200-home development on green belt land has been overturned by the secretary of state.
Rushcliffe Borough Council said it was "disappointed" by communities secretary John Denham's decision to grant planning approval for the scheme at Sharphill Woods.
The authority originally threw out the scheme in July 2006 on the grounds that it would have created traffic and resulted in a loss of green belt land, but the developer David Wilson Homes appealed against the decision.
Responding to the latest decision, Neil Clarke, leader of Rushcliffe Council, said: "We are very disappointed that neither the inspector or the secretary of state have given due weight to the concerns that we have raised or taken account of the fact that we are part way through a local planning process with other Nottinghamshire authorities to identify the best places for any new development both locally and within the region.
"We will be looking very closely at the decision to ensure we do all we possibly can to protect residents' interests."
In justifying the decision to approve the scheme in spite of its green belt location, the secretary of state said "there is an urgent need for the release of land for housing in Rushcliffe".
