Rutland County Council have spoken out about the postponement of the 500-home proposal for Land West Of Main Road, Barleythorpe, Rutland, confirming that the appellants can either submit an Environmental Impact Statement or withdraw the proposal.

The 500-home planning application for land in Barleythorpe was submitted by De Merke Estates in July 2022.

This application was received on 13 July and was validated on 19 July 2022. 

Read more here.

However, the proposal put forward by De Merke Estates was not accompanied by an Environmental Impact Assessment; a decision that was deemed acceptable by Rutland County Council (RCC).

The development would be situated North of Barleythorpe. Image credit: De Merke Estates.

As such, a local group, Oakham Action, contacted the Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and communities, arguing that the proposal would likely cause significant environmental impact and therefore required a full environmental impact assessment.

The group said: "After detailed analysis, the Secretary of State agreed with our request and overturned a previous decision by Rutland County Council that environmental issues could be addressed as part of the standard application process."

Find out more about Oakham Action and read their statement regarding the 'indefinite' postponement of the build here.

Subsequently, a Direction issued on behalf of the Secretary of State on 16 February 2023 stated that the development proposed is classed as 'EIA development' within the meaning of The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017.

Rutland County Council said: "The Planning Inspector has confirmed that a Planning Inquiry regarding an application for 500 homes on land to west of Barleythorpe (Ref: 2022/0796/MAO) has been postponed. The inquiry was scheduled to begin on Tuesday 28 February 2023. 

"The postponement is due to a screening direction from the Secretary of State, advising that the appellant must produce and submit an Environmental Statement for the development, for consideration alongside their appeal. Alternatively, the appellant can withdraw the scheme. 

"There is currently no deadline for the appellant to confirm whether they intend to provide an Environmental Statement, or an indication of how long it may take to prepare. 

"Rutland County Council has submitted proofs of evidence to the Planning Inspectorate outlining why it considers that the appeal should be dismissed."