High Court ruling on Yatton homes prompts calls to change planning rules
The court found an inspector could weigh wider benefits and lifetime safety when approving 190 homes, despite the scheme failing the flood-risk sequential test.
The High Court ruled that a planning inspector was entitled to approve Persimmon Homes’ proposal for 190 houses in Yatton, North Somerset, despite the scheme failing the flood-risk sequential test. The court did not itself grant planning permission.
The site is in flood zone 3a, the highest risk category before functional floodplain. The inspector identified 12 alternative sites at lower risk, but was entitled to consider the proposal’s wider benefits and whether it could be made safe over its lifetime.
The Environment Agency objected on flood-risk grounds. North Somerset Council and residents also opposed the development. Persimmon said its plans had undergone detailed scrutiny at a public inquiry before an independent inspector approved them.
The ruling has prompted calls to change the National Planning Policy Framework. Tessa Munt, chair of the flooding and flooded communities all-party parliamentary group, plans to meet Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook to seek changes.
The source reports concern that the judgment could influence other applications, but does not establish how it will affect future cases or whether the planning framework will change.
