Rye housing plans dismissed by planning inspector

In a decision notice published earlier this month, a planning inspector has upheld a Rother District Council decision to refuse planning permission to build six houses on land in Ferry Road.

The proposed development was refused by council planners in October 2020, on the grounds it would both harm the appearance of the area and be on land susceptible to flooding. 

The applicant disputed this view, arguing that the site was suitable for development.

Under planning rules, any council which does not have a five-year supply of land for housing (such as Rother) must err in favour of ‘sustainable development’ when making planning decisions. In other words, the council is expected to approve housing applications unless there are clear reasons not to. 

However, planning rules also do not allow housing to be built in flood risk areas unless there are no other nearby sites available for development. The process of checking whether there are no other nearby sites is known as the ‘sequential test’.

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The applicant argued no other sites had been shown to be ‘reasonably available’. The planning inspector disagreed, however, concluding that the site would not pass this test.

The inspector also described the land as a “overgrown but valuable green corridor”, which would be lost as a result of development. 

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The inspector said: “The proposed development does not pass the sequential test for the location of development in relation to flood risk and would harm the character and appearance of the area.

“It would not accord with the development plan and there are no other material considerations to outweigh this finding. Therefore, for the reasons given, the appeal should not succeed.”

For further details on the proposed development see application reference RR/2019/840/P on the Rother District Council website.

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