Developer’s planning appeal victory for flats and shops on Stoke Ferry site
A developer has won a fight to build flats and shops in a West Norfolk village after taking his cause to government officials.
Paul Bishopp, of Norton Hill, has been granted permission to create two retail units, with two homes above, on brownfield land in Stoke Ferry.
It follows a vote by West Norfolk Council’s planning committee members to block the scheme.
They said it was “morally wrong” that previous promises that a new village hall would be built as part of the project were dropped by the development firm.
An earlier bid for housing as part of a phased development was approved for this section of land off Furlong Road, outside the development boundary of Stoke Ferry, on the proviso a village hall would be built.
But this never came to fruition after previous developers Chalcroft went bust, and the site has been left untouched for a decade.
The bid’s approval has caused anger among villagers, with Cllr Sue Lintern saying the new development would offer “little for the community”.
Cllr Martin Storey said villagers had been “abandoned” by the developer.
This led councillors to block the project, as it was outside the development boundary, and due to the harm it could cause to the conservation area not outweighing any potential benefits.
However, after the decision, Mr Bishopp appealed to the Planning Inspectorate – the government department that presides over planning disputes.
The official chose to overrule borough planning councillors as there was no evidence presented to support the claim that the scheme would cause harm.
The inspector said: “No harm to the character or appearance of the area is suggested, nor any technical objections such as highway safety, nature conservation or flooding.”
Therefore, the official ruled that the project could go ahead, albeit with a number of conditions. This includes better control of foul and surface water drainage.
The inspector also ruled that the council must pay for the costs of the appeal.
