Queensway decision 'of national significance'
News article
Statement of Accounts
Secretary of State Eric Pickles has backed Fylde Council in refusing planning permission for 1,150 new houses at Queensway.
Fylde Council failed to grant permission last year – a refusal that could have been overturned at appeal.
Planning councillors believe that Mr Pickles’s decision is of “national significance” as it follows a recent Whitehall announcement to abolish Regional Spatial Strategies.
Councillor Trevor Fiddler, Fylde Council Cabinet member for Planning, said: “This is fantastic news for people in Fylde and vindicates our stance. This land is classed as countryside and wasn’t schemed for housing in the Local Plan.
“Developers often appeal against council decisions on the grounds that Spatial Strategies specify the number of homes required in each district. Developers have very often won appeals on the grounds that councils haven’t identified as many sites for housing as the Regional Spatial Strategy specified.
“Abolition of spatial strategies returns planning matters to local councils which are answerable to local people. The Queensway appeal was one of the first in the country to be adjudicated in the light of abolition of spatial strategies. It is of national significance.
“Queensway is an internationally important site for wildlife as whooper and Bewick swans from the Ribble estuary – an international wildlife site – spend a significant proportion of their time there.”
Mr Pickles’s decision overruled a decision from planning inspectors that the developer should win the appeal and that the 1,150 houses should go ahead.
“By abolition of spatial strategies, Mr Pickles has returned local decisions to local councils – and future generations of Fylde residents will benefit from that.”
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