Local authority in Kent to defend opposition to 8,400-home scheme after Rayner calls in application

The document said: “The proposal is not in accordance with the development plan and does not benefit from the ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ as set out in Paragraph 11 of the NPPF [National Planning Policy Framework].

“While the proposal would provide a number of economic, social and environmental benefits, these are outweighed by the harm, including the harm to heritage assets, landscape and other impacts resulting from the proposals.

“The harmful aspects of the development are in breach of the development plan and the benefits do not amount to material considerations sufficient to outweigh the development plan breach.”

It appears to be the first application called in by Ms Rayner since the government increased housing targets for councils by around 50% and strengthened local affordability assessments as part of its new NPPF.

Elliott Jayes, vice-chair of the planning committee at Swale Council, said: “We will work closely with the secretary of state as they make their determination, but we will robustly explain the council’s reasons for recommending refusal.

“We understand the importance of these two applications, but would appreciate being informed of the secretary of state’s decision less than three hours until the planning committee meeting so we can adequately prepare our response.

“The planning committee meeting on 7 November 2024 still went ahead, and members of the committee discussed the council’s response to the secretary of state’s request for information and agreed with the officer’s recommendation for refusal.”

The council has six weeks to respond to the application being called in, with the start of the inquiry expected to be within the next 22 weeks.

The housing targets have received some push back from local authorities, as one Greater London Authority member called for planning permissions to be shorter to incentivise developers to build out more quickly on sites across the capital.

A Liberal Democrat councillor called for a transition phase for councils to build up to the mandatory housing targets.

A recent survey found that the majority of county and unitary councils support national housing targets but believe the figures for their areas are excessive.