A High Court judge has ruled that the Planning Inspectorate must reconsider an appeal by Hopkins Development whose 58-home scheme on the edge of Wincanton had been rejected by South Somerset District Council. The council’s stance was subsequently upheld by the inspector who considered the appeal.
However, after a legal challenge the appeal refusal has been quashed. Judge Roderick Denyer QC ruled that the decision had breached rules of natural justice because the inspector decided against the scheme partly because of the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area and whether the site was in a sustainable location. These had not been raised as important issues during the hearing.
The judge said the failure of the inspector to notify the parties that these were significant issues amounted to a failure to allow the applicants ‘a fair crack of the whip’.
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