Richborough’s King’s Newton housing plans approved on appeal
Up to 135 homes will be built near Melbourne in Derbyshire, after government planning inspectors decided the local authority’s housing supply calculations “could not be relied upon”.
Land company Richborough lodged outline plans for a 15-acre agricultural site near King’s Newton, on the northern edge of Melbourne, in March last year.
The development is earmarked for two agricultural fields outside the development boundary of Melbourne, and while Richborough admitted that the proposals were “not wholly in accordance with the development plan”, they argued that the lack of an up to date local plan – and the area’s unmet housing supply needs – meant the existing development boundary was “out of date”.
South Derbyshire District Council had refused the scheme in July, arguing that the authority could clearly demonstrate a five-year land supply, and that there was no outstanding need for the homes that the development would provide.
However, government inspectors disagreed after the case was taken to appeal, describing the council’s approach to calculating the area’s unmet housing need as unreliable, while calculating a shortfall in the local authority’s housing supply figures.
Overruling the original decision, inspectors said there were “multiple issues” with South Derbyshire District Council’s approach to dealing with a so-called “discount” to housing requirements, designed to accommodate unmet housing needs for the city of Derby.
“It uses an out-of-date housing requirement and the discount applies in only three of the five years. The appellant was correct when it said in closing that the attempt by the council to cut across different methodologies and different plan periods is incapable of yielding a sensible or workable outcome,” the inspector’s report said.
“Consequently, the council’s approach to this matter cannot be relied upon.”
The application was given the go-ahead by the Planning Inspectorate on 8 January.
Anabel Christmas, senior regional director at Richborough said: “We are pleased with this appeal outcome, and the planning inspector’s decision reflects the extensive work that Richborough has put into this planning application. With support from our inhouse Technical, Design and Planning Delivery Teams, we have created a thoughtfully designed development that responds to local needed while respecting the surrounding environment.
“We look forward to marketing this site with a view to finding a suitable development partner who will deliver our vision of creating a vibrant new community, while providing much needed new family homes for Melbourne.”
Plans and documents relating to the application can be found on South Derbyshire’s planning portal, using reference: DMPA/2025/0438
