Green Belt retirement village approved on appeal

*Image credit: Illustrative Masterplan, LDA Design*

Axis Land Partnerships Ltd has secured permission on appeal for a new C2 retirement village in the Cambridge Green Belt. The scheme will comprise up to 14,335sqm of floorspace and will deliver s.170 residential units, as well as making provision for 30% C3 affordable housing units. Inspector M Woodward BA (Hons) MA MRTPI concluded that the village would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt and would harm the openness of the Green Belt, would cause less than substantial harm to nearby heritage assets and would contravene relevant landscape protection policies – but concluded that there were very special circumstances to justify the grant of consent, foremost amongst which are the scheme’s contribution to housing need in an area of sustained market failure and an absence of any alternative sites.

A copy of the appeal decision can be found here.

Robert Walton KC acted for Axis Land Partnerships Ltd, instructed by Carter Jonas LLP. The witness team was:

• Jessamy Venables, BSc (Hons) MSc MRICS: Director, Carterwood (Need)
• Peter Canavan, BA (HONS) MSC MRTPI: Partner, Carter Jonas (Alternative Sites Assessment)
• Charles Crawford, MA (Cantab), Dip LA, CMLI: Director, LDA Design (Green Belt and Landscape & Visual matters)
• Rob Sutton, BSc (Hons) MCIfA: Director, Cotswold Archaeology (Heritage).
• Colin Brown, BA (Hons) MRTPI: Partner, Carter Jonas (Planning).