Developer wins appeal to build another 1,000 homes at Darwin Green in Cambridge
A developer has won an appeal to build a further 1,000 homes at the Darwin Green development in Cambridge.
The outline application for the next phases of the development had been opposed by the Environment Agency, which argued it should not go ahead while there is not a way to supply the new homes with water sustainably.
However, the developers, Barratt David Wilson Homes and The North West Cambridge Consortium of Landowners, argued the new homes were not due to be built for a few years, at which point they said the issue could be resolved.
An inquiry was held in January to hear the arguments on both sides, and the government announced on Wednesday (25 September) that it would allow the appeal and grant planning permission.
The outline planning application proposed to build up to 1,000 homes, a new primary school and secondary school, as well as new shops, community facilities and a new country park. The development will form part of the wider Darwin Green development on the edge of Cambridge.
The developers lodged an appeal with the planning inspectorate due to non-determination.
Councillors from Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council met in October last year to discuss the plans after the appeal had been lodged.
Councillors said they believed the application should be refused due to the Environment Agency’s concerns about water supply.
Papers published on Wednesday reveal the planning inspector had recommended the application should be approved.
The report said: “Taking all matters into account, whilst I do not find all of the Environment Agency’s evidence compelling, I am satisfied, overall, that the weight of evidence before the inquiry suggests that abstraction pressure is contributing to ecological deterioration.
“However, there is insufficient evidence to fully understand the potential impact of the appeal development.
“It is common ground that the impact in terms of water demand will be felt cumulatively with abstraction also needed to serve other planned growth and it is not possible to isolate the exact location of abstraction servicing the appeal proposal.
“However, the proposal would add to pressure on existing waterbodies and cumulatively add to any existing pressure on the ecology of surface waterbodies.”
The inspector said a new water resources management plan, and the joint statement issued after the inquiry about addressing water scarcity in the Greater Cambridge area, would “offer a viable solution to the issues of water supply to the appeal development”.
The planning inspector recommended that the appeal was allowed and outlined planning permission granted for the homes.
The recommendation was then sent to the Secretary of State, who was asked to make a final decision on the appeal.
The decision was made by Rushanara Ali MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Building Safety and Homelessness, on behalf of the Secretary of State Angela Rayner MP.
The letter published by the government said the Secretary of State had “carefully considered” the effects of the development on water supply and said they agreed with the inspector’s conclusions.
It said: “The Secretary of State agrees with the inspector’s judgement that while the weight of evidence before the inquiry suggests that abstraction pressure is contributing to ecological deterioration, there is insufficient evidence to fully understand the potential impact of the appeal development.
“She also agrees with the inspector’s judgement that the proposal would add to pressure on existing waterbodies and cumulatively add to any existing pressure on the ecology of surface waterbodies.
“The Secretary of State agrees with the inspector’s judgement that a published water resources management plan agreed by Defra, with input from the Environment Agency, is most likely to be in place prior to development commencing on site.
“She further agrees that the appeal development would not have an adverse impact on the demand for potable water use and associated abstraction and that it therefore would not result in risk of deterioration to waterbodies in the Greater Cambridge area.”
The Secretary of State’s decision can be challenged through an application to the High Court within six weeks of the decision letter being published; a statutory review could then take place.