Cala Homes wins court battle against housing figures

11:25am Wednesday 10th November 2010 in News

Barton Farm developer wins legal fight Barton Farm developer wins legal fight

Barton Farm - In Depth

A decision by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to scrap regional housing targets was ruled unlawful by the High Court today.

Housing developer Cala Homes (South) Ltd which wants to build hundreds of new homes in Hampshire argued that Mr Pickles was wrongly seeking to revoke regional planning strategies through discretionary powers.

Today Mr Justice Sales, sitting in London, ruled that the Cala Homes argument was ''well founded''.

Planning lawyers say today's ruling could have a crucial impact on housing and development projects across England.

But Communities and Local Government minister Bob Neill said: ''This judgment changes very little.

''Later this month we will be introducing the Localism Bill to Parliament, which will sweep away the controversial regional strategies. ''

Allowing Cala's legal challenge, Mr Justice Sales said its arguments were ''well founded''.

Government sources indicated that there would be no appeal against the judge's ruling as it would not be a prudent use of taxpayers' cash.

Cala Homes, has a pending appeal against Winchester City Council's failure to determine an application for ''a significant number of houses'' at Barton Farm.

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The development would fulfil a ''crucial part'' of the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South East of England.

Mr Pickles' decision was ''highly prejudicial'' as it meant the Winchester appeal would have to be determined against a new background, consisting only of the local development plan documents for that area.

Barton Farm has been reported as the Scottish developer's largest project in England, but local councillors have twice blocked the scheme.

The developers hope success in the High Court against Mr Pickles, and the restoration of housing targets, could swing the local appeal in their favour.

Winchester council was told by the previous government to build 12,000 homes in its area by 2026.

It was estimated that Barton Farm could provide a site for 2,000 houses before Mr Pickles scrapped the Winchester target.

Cala Homes asked for a postponement of its local appeal until after the outcome of today's High Court action.

Comments(14)

Barney123 says...
11:35am Wed 10 Nov 10

You can't stop progress!

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ohmywell says...
11:48am Wed 10 Nov 10

It would be a lovely place to live. lets hope they start building soon.

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Walter K says...
11:54am Wed 10 Nov 10

The "Brown Envelope Brigade" have had it all their way for far too long. Local Plans are still (legitemately or otherwise) open to interpretation by Councillors - so I haven't got a problem with Courts/Judges intervening at times.

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Irate Wintonian says...
12:49pm Wed 10 Nov 10

Hooray.
.
Bring on the diggers and all the associated jobs that this site will create!

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down fader says...
1:15pm Wed 10 Nov 10

just think of all the extra traffic!

I bet the infrastructure wont support all these people moving in, no bus or trains etc

We dont need anymore cars - infact we need to cut them in the next ten years by 90% or we will be in big trouble

sw site-less very apt

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St Retford says...
2:01pm Wed 10 Nov 10

This government is beyond parody. They should be funding a massive nationwide programme of much-needed housing as it is a guaranteed way to stimulate the economy and improve our infrastructure. Not only is it refusing to do that, but it is stamping on private developers willing to do the job for them.

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RadicalEmu says...
2:19pm Wed 10 Nov 10

Reading about Mr Pickles and Barton Farm.., I'm thinking about a children's book.

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Ted Rogers says...
3:07pm Wed 10 Nov 10

2000 homes will never be built on this site.

Well done Cala you have just won a battle, but you will never win the war, as stated in the article, new legislation being introduced will supercede the now outdated regional plan.

Find a suitable brownfield site, this green belt should and will be protected.

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Shoong says...
3:11pm Wed 10 Nov 10

Ted Rogers wrote:
2000 homes will never be built on this site.

Well done Cala you have just won a battle, but you will never win the war, as stated in the article, new legislation being introduced will supercede the now outdated regional plan.

Find a suitable brownfield site, this green belt should and will be protected.
I can't think of any brownfield sites off the top of my head, can anyone help?

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Poppy22 says...
3:47pm Wed 10 Nov 10

Shoong wrote:
Ted Rogers wrote: 2000 homes will never be built on this site. Well done Cala you have just won a battle, but you will never win the war, as stated in the article, new legislation being introduced will supercede the now outdated regional plan. Find a suitable brownfield site, this green belt should and will be protected.
I can't think of any brownfield sites off the top of my head, can anyone help?
Just drive around any of the Hampshire towns and cities - plenty of boarded up old garages etc sitting on brownfield sites! There must be more large sites too (like the old Pirelli sites in Eastleigh and Southampton that have been used for housing - good decision and more attractive than derelict, rat-infested brownsite areas). And force people to do up up or sell houses which are run down and not lived in too. After all that, if we still need more NEW houses (for whom??) then and only then start to think about using up green spaces.

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Shoong says...
4:01pm Wed 10 Nov 10

Poppy22 wrote:
Shoong wrote:
Ted Rogers wrote: 2000 homes will never be built on this site. Well done Cala you have just won a battle, but you will never win the war, as stated in the article, new legislation being introduced will supercede the now outdated regional plan. Find a suitable brownfield site, this green belt should and will be protected.
I can't think of any brownfield sites off the top of my head, can anyone help?
Just drive around any of the Hampshire towns and cities - plenty of boarded up old garages etc sitting on brownfield sites! There must be more large sites too (like the old Pirelli sites in Eastleigh and Southampton that have been used for housing - good decision and more attractive than derelict, rat-infested brownsite areas). And force people to do up up or sell houses which are run down and not lived in too. After all that, if we still need more NEW houses (for whom??) then and only then start to think about using up green spaces.
Sure, but you mention Eastleigh & Southampton - this is a proposed Winchester development.

As you don't mention Winchester I can only assume your unfamiliar with the city.

I'm not sure about this either, it's important to understand that most houses we live in (including you & me) were built on green land in the first place.

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cmth40 says...
6:01pm Wed 10 Nov 10

ohmywell wrote:
It would be a lovely place to live. lets hope they start building soon.
to ohmywell,bitterne,i say you dont live here so please get some facts,once this happens part of winchester will become more congested,they talk of cutting through and approx 9 roads will desend onto a area near the already small railway bridge,and as for irate,wintonian,thin
k again if your hoping for a job they intend bringing the scotish labour with them,why give an english man a job when they have their own needing work,fromm wellworthy road the rest of andover road will be closed as traffic will go round the new estate.so nice and cosy for them chaos for everyone else

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Lib Lob says...
10:54am Thu 11 Nov 10

Well-off, baby-boomer NIMBYs may well be concerned about losing that marvellous view out of their kitchen window, but they would do well to remember that when their house was built, it was built on someone else's marvellous view. These new houses are required for hard-working young people like me (Winchester born and raised) who cannot currently find/afford a house in this city (check the prices due to demand in Badger Farm). The development should go ahead, but the focus should be on making sure these are affordable family homes not luxury apartments, like the many that currenly stand empty in the city centre (yet they continue to build), and also on the creation of jobs and industry on brownfield sites within the city (this is crucial) and encouraging a generation of Winchester youth to stay rather than flee this ageing city.

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