Charity to challenge government on rural housing

A charity is preparing to take legal action against a government decision to permit a housing development in part of the Kent countryside.

The action relates to the granting of planning permission for 165 houses at Turnden, near Cranbrook.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Kent director, Andrea Griffiths, said it came against a backdrop of planning changes that would "drastically weaken the protection of our countryside".

A Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said the decision was made in line with the recommendation of the independent Planning Inspectorate.

Following a successful High Court challenge, the new Labour administration gave the proposal the green light in November, despite the development having previously been refused by the Conservatives.

The countryside charity has initiated legal proceedings by issuing a pre-action protocol letter as a preliminary step to challenging the decision, which was made by housing minister Matthew Pennycook on behalf of housing secretary Angela Rayner.

"As a countryside charity, CPRE Kent will not roll over without a fight and allow our most treasured landscapes to be wrecked on the altar of political dogma or expediency," Ms Griffiths said.

"The approval for the proposed scheme appears designed to send a message to developers that anywhere in our countryside is up for grabs, whatever level of protection a site might have.

"We believe that the case is of wider significance for the standard of statutory protection that such landscapes enjoy."

CPRE Kent said former secretary of state Michael Gove had agreed with its argument that the scheme did not meet the strict planning policy tests required to justify development in High Weald National Landscape - formerly Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Berkeley Homes successfully challenged Gove's decision in court, leading to the quashing of that decision and ultimately the decision by Pennycook.

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