A planning inspector has intervened to grant outline permission for 80 new homes on green belt land in Hockley Heath, overturning a refusal by Solihull Council and ordering the authority to pay appeal costs.
The decision follows an appeal by developer Rosconn Group against the council's refusal of its application for land off Stratford Road in the village. The inspector, K Townend, ruled the proposal would not constitute inappropriate development in the green belt and that the council's refusal was based on grounds unrelated to the scheme.
Application details and objections
Rosconn Group originally submitted an outline planning application in July last year for 80 homes on 2.25 hectares of land off Stratford Road. The applicant also sought permission to demolish two existing homes – 2210 and 2212 Stratford Road – to create a new access point to the site.
During a public consultation, 85 letters of objection were submitted to the council before the scheme went before the planning committee in December. At that meeting, Stuart Swinton, speaking on behalf of residents, told planners they were “deeply concerned about the tsunami of development proposals in the village”. He also highlighted flooding issues in Hockley Heath “for many years”, showing slides with pictures of flooding from the previous September.
Planning agent Donna Savage argued the scheme was “policy compliant” and noted there had been no technical objections on highways or drainage grounds. Despite this, eight councillors voted against the application, leading to refusal on the grounds of flood risk and a lack of “very special circumstances” to justify building on green belt land.
Inspector's findings and costs ruling
Rosconn Group appealed, and Inspector Townend carried out a site visit in June. In the appeal decision, the inspector addressed the flooding concerns directly, stating: “Flooding is an existing problem and a result of ineffective sewers in the road. The demolition of the two existing dwellings would remove what currently outflows from these houses into the system.”
The inspector also noted that surface water from the development would be attenuated on site and connected to a drainage system in Rashwood Close and School Road, which had been confirmed as having capacity for the proposal. “This proposed connection would take the water away from Stratford Road. The development would, therefore, result in betterment,” the inspector wrote.
In a separate decision, the inspector ordered Solihull Council to pay appeal costs, criticising the authority's conduct. The inspector wrote: “Planning permission was refused on flood risk and infrastructure grounds which were not related to the proposal. This amounts to unreasonable behaviour by the council. The applicant has had to appeal the refusal and commit resources to the hearing to ensure the proposal would be acceptable. Ultimately, the council has prevented development which clearly should have been permitted. The applicants have incurred unnecessary expense. A full award of costs is justified and should be granted.”
Impact and next steps
Meriden and Solihull East MP Saqib Bhatti, local councillors, and villagers had all objected to the plans. The full appeal decision is available by searching for application PL/2025/01366/PPOL on Solihull Council's public access planning portal.
The inspector's decision means the 80-home development can now proceed, subject to any reserved matters approval, and the council must reimburse the developer's appeal costs.
