'Astonishing' intervention with Angela Rayner to take decision on 800 homes Shropshire green belt plan - not planning inspector

The government has ‘astonishingly’ intervened over a plan to build 800 homes on Shropshire green belt.

Mark Pritchard, Conservative MP for the Wrekin, revealed that the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner MP, has ‘called in’ the decision over proposals for a controversial development on land at Albrighton.

The application is for a total of 800 homes, a care home of up to 80 units, a secondary school and local centre on green belt fields.

The proposal, from Boningale Homes for land at Patshull Lane, has been met with consistent opposition from residents and was rejected by Shropshire Council last December.

The developers subsequently appealed to the Planning Inspectorate to have the matter decided by a planning inspector at a planning inquiry.

That inquiry started on Tuesday but after just two days it has been revealed that the Secretary of State has stepped in, saying she will take the final decision - not the planning inspector.

A letter from the Planning Inspectorate to Shropshire Council said: “Although under the Town and Country Planning (Determination of Appeals by Appointed Persons) (Prescribed Classes) Regulations 1997, the appeal was to have been decided by an Inspector, the Secretary of State considers that she should determine it herself.”

It comes after Ms Rayner said at the weekend the government only has a "slim chance" of meeting its target of building 1.5 million homes in England by the next election.

The result of the decision is that the inquiry will continue and the inspector will prepare a report with a recommendation, but the final decision will be taken by the Housing Secretary.

The letter from the government said: “The reasons for this direction are that the appeal involves proposals which raise important or novel issues of development control and/or legal difficulties, and proposals for significant development in the Green Belt. This direction is being served on the Inspector."

Mr Pritchard described the development as “astonishing”, warning it would put “unfair pressure” on the planning inspectorate.

The MP, who gave evidence to the inquiry on Tuesday, said: “For the Secretary of State to intervene just two days into a twelve day quasi-judicial planning inquiry is chillingly egregious, given she has called the application in for her determination, without even reading all the evidence, which is impossible, because the planning inquiry has not ended yet.

“Her intervention also puts unfair pressure on the Planning Inspectorate, who she has now directed to make a 'recommendation' - rather than a decision.”

Mr Pritchard said he was concerned that the Albrighton proposal would now be used as a test case for turning green belt into ‘grey belt’ - a government plan to allow construction on what it described as low quality green belt.

The Wrekin MP said: “This should raise alarm bells across Shropshire and the entire country.

“What is the point of a planning inquiry hearing evidence from people if the Secretary of State, mid-inquiry, is going to intervene to determine applications herself, without having heard all the evidence?

“I suspect it is because Albrighton is a test case of this government destructive plans to turn England's green belt into grey-belt, at a stroke of Angela Rayner's pen. This intervention sets a worrying precedent for England's green and pleasant land, which is now in real peril.”

A Shropshire Council spokesman confirmed the development and said: “We have received notification that the Secretary of State will determine the Patshull Road, Albrighton appeal.

“The public inquiry remains the forum for the evidence to be heard and tested.

“The council will continue to present its case in accordance with the inquiry timetable and will work with the Planning Inspectorate to ensure that residents and interested parties are kept informed of the process.”

Albrighton Development Action Group (ADAG), which has campaigned against the plans, has also reacted to the development, saying it remains confident the appeal will be dismissed.

A spokesman said: “ADAG is not against house building - we object to unsustainable overdevelopment on the green belt in areas where existing housebuilding is ongoing.

“We have argued for some time that the green belt grab in Albrighton is of national planning importance and is potentially the biggest test case of its type to date.

“If we are successful, then we will give confidence to hundreds of places across the country that their vital open spaces and productive farmland can be protected for their children now and for the generations to come.

“The Secretary of State’s decision to recover the appeal came on the start of day two, after the Planning Inspector had heard lived experiences of 37 independent local people and organisations on how this overdevelopment will have a detrimental effect on our lives and the community we call home.

“Our conviction to deliver the best possible material considerations and sound planning and transport arguments to win this appeal remains unchanged.

“ADAG is confident that both the Planning Inspector and Angela Rayner will make the right decision and dismiss this appeal based on their own National Planning Policy Framework and the simple fact the identified land is - to this very day - productive farmland and core green belt.”

The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government has been contacted for comment.