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A planning inspector has considered the planning application to demolish the Lodge (including Hope House) and build 32 houses. The application was rejected by the planning committee, but the developer appealed to government to have it considered again. The inspector has allowed the development, and the council needs to reimburse the developers for the full costs of the appeal. You can read more about the decision here.
The inspector discussed the concerns with sewage overflows into the north sea and the Ofwat notice that Northumbrian Water is not operating and maintaining its wastewater assets adequately. The inspector concluded that sewage is part of a separate permitting regime and not part of making a planning decision. They also stated that: Although the Council considers that is (sic) cannot be assumed that the pollution control regime governing the handling of wastewater is operating effectively, this is a separate regime governed by separate legislation. (...). If the Council’s approach is correct, all housing development that would be served by NW would be unacceptable. This simply cannot be the case, especially when considering the severe housing shortage in the area. Northumbrian Water maintain that they can cope with the additional sewage. The inspector therefore allowed the development. The current system is failing. Planning assumes the wastewater permitting regime works, yet it has been shown not to. At the same time, the planning regime is not putting any new requirements to improve wastewater treatment. The Inspector could have required that these homes only be occupied once measures were in place to prevent unlawful discharges, but did not. This leaves wastewater issues unaddressed. The Lodge will need to be demolished within 12 months. Before doing this, an archaeologist will make a record of Hope House. Building works will need to start within 2 years.
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