In Forest of Dean District Council v Secretary of State for Communities And Local Government& Anor [2016] EWHC 2429 (Admin), the local authority failed to quash the grant of permission for 95 homes in the open countryside on appeal. The development was in an undesignated landscape area. The authority claimed it was 'valued' nonetheless (so engaging NPPF 109 – requiring a starting point of "protection and enhancement" rather than a planning balance).
Out of the ordinary
Valued landscape is that which is "out of the ordinary", rather than designated or simply popular (Stroud District Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2015] EWHC 488 (Admin)). The Inspector decided there were "no particular landscape features, characteristics or elements that demonstrate that the appeal site is in [landscape assessment] terms representative of the wider landscape i.e. a particularly important example which takes this site beyond representing anything more than countryside in general". However he also concluded that 'valued landscape' must mean a landscape that is considered to be of value because of particular attributes that have been designated through the adoption of a local planning policy document.
The Secretary of State accepted the claimant's argument, that this was a misapplication of NPPF 109, but resisted quashing of the decision on the basis that the decision would have inevitably been the same. The developer fought back harder, on the basis that the Inspector properly found the landscape not to be valued because it lacked the necessary attributes, and so approached the NPPF 109 policy lawfully.
The claim was dismissed on the basis that while the Inspector's phrasing was in places "less than optimal", he had ultimately properly determined the issue having addressed the critical question of whether the landscape had extra-ordinary aspects taking it beyond 'mere countryside'. The outcome would therefore have been no different.
The status and effect of valued but undesignated landscape is an increasingly common element of objections to greenfield housing schemes. Understanding whether there is any underlying objective basis for local perception of value is crucial to deal properly with these issues.
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