The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture has overturned a planning refusal, granting approval in principle for a new estate Dandara would like to build.
It plans to build on land adjacent to Main Road, Trollaby Lane, and Strang Road, Union Mills and would still require full approval before any building work could begin.
The original application, refused in January 2025, was appealed by Dandara, which argued that the Planning Committee’s decision failed to properly assess the need for housing.
In its appeal, the company stated: “It is incorrect to suggest that [Cabinet Office approval] is the only mechanism which can be used to assess the need for new housing.”
The appeal also highlighted that the Area Plan Inspector had concluded that developers could submit planning applications for Strategic Reserve Sites without waiting for Cabinet Office assessment.
Pressing Needs
Issued this week, Lawrie Hooper, acting on behalf of Minister Clare Barber, agreed Dandara had “demonstrated a current, sufficiently pressing need for residential development of the site”,
He approved the appeal subject to 21 conditions, including requirements for detailed reserved matters submissions on design, drainage, and environmental impact.
Key conditions include the submission of an Environmental Impact Assessment, a Travel Plan, and a Road Safety Audit.
DEFA confirmed that the site’s allocation in the Area Plan for the East supported its suitability for development, stating: “As an allocated site, these are all matters that can be dealt with by condition at the detailed stage.”
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