Refused plans for a housing estate in a Greater Manchester village described as 'choked up' and 'overdeveloped' have now been approved after the decision was taken to appeal.
Persimmon Homes have now been given the go-ahead to build the 57-home development at Pepper Lane in Standish, Wigan, following the decision by inspector Chris Baxter, published on October 21.
He allowed the appeal, which includes vehicle access, parking, landscaping, infrastructure and associated works following the demolition of a property at 71 Pepper Lane.
Mr Baxter said the main issues affecting his decision were the location of the development and the infrastructure in the surrounding area and whether it complies with relevant planning policy.
His decision has prompted an online backlash via the local pressure group Standish Voice, which had been campaigning against the development and which has frequently argued the village is already overdeveloped and choked up with traffic.
The council contended that the scheme would be against its current housing policy and that the cumulative impact of the proposal, along with other permissions granted for housing, would result in about 1,728 new homes on 'safeguarded land' in Standish.
However, Persimmon argued that the policy was out of date and of 'limited weight'.
The inspector's report said: "It is clear that the 1,000 dwellings stated in the policy has already been exceeded and this is not disputed by the parties."
He gave go-ahead for the homes despite the scheme's failure to comply with the Standish Neighbourhood Plan, which covers the full range of transport, health, education, open space, community and utilities infrastructure.
The appeal hearing last month heard from Standish councillors and Standish Voice, who said the village's infrastructure could not cope with more homes on top of the 2,000 built and being constructed over the past decade.
The report shows the inspector dismissed worries from the NHS locally about an increase in population potentially overwhelming GP services.
The report also notes a lack of evidence from Wigan council about the impact on local roads – despite the huge increase in congestion on Standish's streets over the past few years.
A spokesperson for Standish Voice said: "While this is not surprising given the Government's mantra of unfettered housebuilding, it is disappointing that local voices have been totally dismissed.
"Wigan's planning committee agreed with stark warnings from the NHS locally that our health services in Standish could be overwhelmed by passing this new scheme – raising fears of ever-worsening GP provision – and more than 170 people objected to the plans, including all Standish councillors.
"The planning inspector has dismissed this despite acknowledging that this application does not accord with aspects of our neighbourhood plan and borough local plan."
