Planning appeal success for High Peak Access on land at Pikes Lane, Whitfield, Glossop. Application to create 23 dwellings.  

High Peak Access had objected to these plans on accessibility grounds. High Peak Borough Council considered the application and refused planning permission on a number of grounds, including accessibility. The developer appealed against the decision and the case was heard by an Inspector in November 2022.

High Peak Access was invited to speak at the appeal hearing in support of concerns over disability access and we presented our arguments at the hearing on the 8th  November.

The decision of the Inspector was to dismiss the appeal, supporting the decision to refuse planning approval on two grounds, one of which was concerns over the developer’s ability to meet disabled access standards in accordance with the High Peak Local Plan.

The relevant Section of the Planning Inspectors Report is shown below:

Parts c) and e) of Policy H3 of the High Peak Borough Council Local Plan 2016, require all new residential development to contribute positively to the promotion of an inclusive community and to be delivered to meet accessibility standards set out in the Optional Requirement M4(2) of Part M of the Building Regulations. This requirement is further endorsed by the evidence in the Housing and Economic Local Needs Assessment (HELNA) which recommends that c.50% of new housing should meet these accessibility standards. 

At the hearing the appellant claimed that all the proposed new dwellings would be capable of adaptation to meet accessibility standards. However, no detailed evidence has been put forward to demonstrate how the dimensions, capacity or shape of internal spaces for each individual dwelling could be adapted to achieve this. The appellant also conceded that the topography of the site would be likely to prohibit the provision of level access to some of the properties. In particular, I was advised that the dwellings on proposed plots 5 and 6 would be likely to include stepped access due to the drop in levels on the site. The appellant considered it possible that Plots 11 – 19 would be able to incorporate level access, however, no detailed analysis has been undertaken to determine the overall proportion of properties which would be affected. 

The appellant suggested that these matters could be addressed through conditions requiring details of the adaptable internal spaces and a levels drawing showing where level access could be provided. However, in the absence of this information, I cannot be certain that the proposal would adequately address the requirements at parts c) and e) of Policy H3. 42. Overall, the absence of one-bedroomed units taken together with the accessibility issues identified means that the proposal would not provide an appropriate housing mix. In that regard, it would conflict with the housing mix and accessibility requirements of Policies SS1, S5, H3 and H4 of the Adopted High Peak Local Plan 2016 and the Framework. 

 >> Redcourt, Pikes Lane, Glossop - Statement to the Planning Inquiry HPK/2020/0334 - 7 Nov 2022