Date: 17/07/2006
High Peak Borough Council is determined to oppose plans to build over 100 houses on countryside on the outskirts of Buxton. A Public Inquiry opening on 25 July will decide whether a plan by High Peak Land Ltd to build on a 6 Ha (15 acre) greenfield site near Harpur Hill can go ahead.
A planning application was submitted last summer for residential development on farmland south of Harpur Hill. This application was refused by High Peak Borough Council on 8 August 2005, but the applicants have now appealed that decision.
Councillor Alan Wells, Executive Member for Economic Regeneration said: "This site was considered by the Inspector at the Local Plan Inquiry in 2003 and its use for housing was firmly rejected. The area is designated as countryside within the development plan - and we want it to remain that way. We believe proposals for development should be brought forward after the full involvement of the community - and we are not prepared to see areas of countryside carved up on a piecemeal basis."
The planning inquiry opens at 10.00am at Buxton Rugby Club, Harpur Hill. The appeal will be determined by an independent inspector from the Government's Planning Inspectorate.