Council will not defend decision to block homes plan

A Derbyshire council says it has "reluctantly agreed" not to defend its refusal of a plan to build hundreds of homes.

Derbyshire Dales District Council says this decision came following an extraordinary meeting on Thursday regarding the application to build 423 homes in the Gritstone Road area of Matlock.

The authority refused to grant William Davis Homes outline permission in March, largely due to the perceived flood risk, which was appealed by the developer.

A public inquiry will now be held by the government's planning inspector, which is due to start on 11 March.

The council's rejection of the plans largely hinged on the perceived flood risk posed by development on green fields and by large flood water collection ponds forming part of the scheme, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A statement from the council on Friday said it will "focus on securing the best possible planning conditions attached to any permission the Planning Inspector might grant".

The statement added: "Should the Planning Inspector grant any permission, the council intends to retain the services of an independent drainage consultant to ensure any conditions related to drainage are properly discharged by the developer."

The applicant is seeking to build 345 and 78 homes as part of a hybrid application on a site known locally as the Matlock Wolds.

The inquiry will focus purely on the 345 rejected homes, a short report published for Thursday's meeting said.

The council statement said the extraordinary meeting confirmed its view that the plans would have "adverse impacts" on Matlock in their current form.

"However, the unequivocal advice of technical and legal experts hired by the council is that these impacts can be overcome by planning conditions," the statement said.

The statement said the council "reluctantly agreed" to focus on "securing the best possible planning conditions attached to any permission the Planning Inspector might grant, rather than defending refusal".

It added: "It was agreed that to ignore such clear expert advice would not only be irresponsible but also pose significant financial risks to the council, which would be borne by taxpayers of the whole of the Derbyshire Dales."

More than 2,500 people signed a petition by the Wolds Action Group opposing the scheme, and a total of 462 objection letters were submitted to the council.

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