Battle won in South Staffordshire

Tyler Parkes is delighted to have obtained planning permission for 4 new houses in a small Staffordshire village after a 2-year long battle with the Council.

The site, within the development boundary of Acton Trussell, currently comprises a large single dwelling set within extensive grounds which is proposed for demolition.

We made a new planning application following an unsuccessful appeal of the original planning refusal. Whilst the first proposal had been recommended for approval by planning officers, it was refused by the Planning Committee and then dismissed by a Planning Inspector – but solely on the grounds of a technical issue with a financial contribution towards the Cannock Chase Special Area of Conservation.

Following our sourcing of a legal advice, the new application addressed the technical issue arising at the time of the appeal and was similarly supported by officers.

However, shortly before the Planning Committee, when the application was due to be heard last September, a neighbour raised an entirely new objection, never previously mentioned, suggesting that there may be a presence of Great Crested Newts (GCN) in the vicinity of the site.

Tyler Parkes instructed a professional Ecologist in this matter - but by then the season for surveying for GCNs had finished. The Council asked that the application be withdrawn, pending a full site survey for GCN the following Spring. This would have meant more cost for the client in having to pay another full planning submission fee. However, Tyler Parkes successfully persuaded the Council to defer the application and the eventual site survey found no evidence of any GCNs.

Gareth Jones, Director at Tyler Parkes, successfully addressed the Committee and planning permission was finally granted in June 2018, almost 2 years to the day since planning permission could (and should) have been granted originally.

Tyler Parkes are delighted to have been instrumental in overcoming the various obstacles and challenges in this seemingly straightforward proposal presented, and achieving a hard won success for our client.