Barnsley councillors authorise staff to fight developer's planning claim

The council has earmarked land for around 800 new homes off Lee Lane in Royston as part of its new Local Plan, which will seen thousands of new homes go up across the town before the mid-2030s.

In some areas so much housing is planned that the council wants a ‘masterplan’ in place, to ensure each development is planned as part of a jigsaw that includes the facilities communities will need, such as new schools.

That comes under legislation called a Section 106 agreement.

Masterplans should also ensure each developer shoulders a fair share of the costs involved in developing the overall area.

An early planning application went in for around 250 homes on part of the Royston site and the council understood the developer was willing to wait until a masterplan was in place - likely to be the autumn - before a planning decision was made on their proposals.

However, they have now challenged the council for not making a decision within a normal timeframe and have taken their dispute to a public inquiry.

That means a planning inspector will decide whether their application should be granted and if that happens it will effectively allow them to sidestep whatever restrictions may be set down in a forthcoming masterplan.

If the developer succeeded, it would also mean council staff would have to thrash out arrangements such as numbers of affordable homes which would be required and financial contributions for services like education and public transport. Normally, they would be negotiated with council staff and then agreed by elected members.Head of Planning Joe Jenkinson told councillors: “There are technical issues we consider unresolved. We will fight it on technical grounds.”He said Barnsley Council had taken a ‘pro-growth approach’ through the Local Plan.

Mr Jenkinson added: “We need to ensure there are benefits for communities in the form of new schools and green infrastructure.“We are on the verge of getting a masterplan framework in place.”