North Herts District Council is facing a £70,000 bill following the successful appeal to build 167 new homes in Codicote, it has been revealed.

In September, inspectors overruled the district council to grant planning permission for a new development on land to the south of Heath Lane.

The plans, submitted by Ashill Land Ltd, were rejected in March 2021, but that decision was overturned after the inspector ruled that the council's housing supply was so inadequate the scheme should go ahead.

The decision was made after a four-day public inquiry, in which inspector Peter Rose ruled that the harm to the green belt would be outweighed by bringing in a significant number of new homes.

Mr Rose also ruled that the council's "unreasonable behaviour" meant they should pay some of the costs of the appeal – now estimated to be around £43,000.

The district council had said their refusal was partly because it would be premature to approve plans while still working on their Emerging Local Plan, but dropped this part of its defence on the final day of the inquiry.

The Inspector ruled the late withdrawal of this argument meant the appellant would have incurred unnecessary cost in 'responding to an unreasonable ground for refusal'.

At a meeting of the district council's Planning Control Committee on November 4 Simon Ellis, the council's Development and Conservation Manager, said they had received a cost claim from the developers this week of £43,000.

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The council will now assess whether that is a legitimate amount to pay out.

That payment will be in addition to "around £30,000" in the council's legal fees in trying to defend the committee's refusal of planning permission.

The now-approved development will include 67 affordable homes – 45 for affordable rents and 22 under shared ownership – including one-bedroom flats, and houses across two, three and four-bedrooms.

These will be the first affordable homes approved in Codicote in 14 years.

The remaining 100 homes on the site will include 24 two-bedroom houses, 43 three-bedroom houses, 30 four-bedroom houses and three five-bedroom homes.

Mr Ellis added in response to this and other recent appeals, the council will invite the Planning Advisory Service to review the committee's decisions and hold a training course for councillors in the new year.

The site had been earmarked for 140 homes in the council's Emerging Local Plan, but this has not yet been adopted by the council.

However, the inspector said that waiting for the final publication of the plan before approving the scheme was unnecessary considering the shortage of new housing in the district.

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