Campaigners against 400 homes near Kedleston Hall lose last appeal

Campaigners fighting plans to build 400 homes near a National Trust property have been denied a final appeal.

The 17-hectare planned development near the Grade I-listed Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire was initially rejected, then approved but later overturned.

Then in 2018, the Court of Appeal reinstated planning permission and campaigners have now been denied a final appeal at the Supreme Court.

A protester said the system was "stacked against ordinary people".

The development site, on farmland off Kedleston Road and Memorial Road, is 550m away from the edge of the hall's parkland.

Campaign group Kedleston Voice was told the Supreme Court would not hear their case because the submission did not raise an arguable point of law.

The group argued that Kedleston Hall was a national heritage asset that had been protected for hundreds of years and members did not want houses spoiling its "picturesque countryside".

Campaigner Isobel Shorrock said: "There's nothing else we can do legally.

"I'm just really glad that when I have to drive past them [the new homes] - which will be as little as possible - I'll know I did everything, and the community did everything that we possibly could.

"The sad thing is it shows that while as residents we achieved a lot, the system is massively stacked against ordinary people."

The planning application was rejected by Amber Valley Borough Council in July 2015, despite a need for housing in the area.

Developer Catesby Estates then appealed, and government planning inspector John Gray granted outline consent in August 2016 following a public inquiry.

However, in 2017, a High Court judge overturned the application after the Kedleston Voice campaign group challenged the decision.

The judge said the inspector had failed to focus on the "historic, social and economic connections" between the hall and the site.

In 2018, the Court of Appeal reinstated planning permission.

Catesby Estates said it was "delighted" with the latest ruling.

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