Knowle relocation project: "The chance of Pegasus winning an appeal is probably not that great"

In December, the PegasusLife planning application failed:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: BREAKING NEWS >>> planning application REFUSED by District Council

Some five months later, in a Cabinet paper to be presented to the Audit and Scrutiny Cttees on Tuesday, the political leadership  looks at 'Knowle Future' - where it chooses to focus on the 'positive':
 The appropriateness of a residential use on the Knowle has been established through allocation in the adopted Local Plan.
 The recent refusal of planning permission for the development proposed by Pegasus Life accepted the principle of residential / care home development on the Knowle site.
180417-a-and-g-and-s-and-overview-agenda-combined.pdf

And yet, what it will not do is consider the actual reasons for refusal back in December:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: planning application REFUSED by District Council >>> further reports

When Planning Officers contradicted their own planning policies:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: planning application to be considered by District Council: Tuesday 6th December >>> planning officers brush aside planning policies

This will all surely count against the anticipated appeal by PegasusLife - as pointed out by the EDA blog:

KNOWLE: MAGIC BEAN OR WHITE ELEPHANT?

16 APR 2017

The big question is ‘what is the chance of Pegasus winning an appeal?’

Probably not that great:

The application is for more than a hundred units when the Local Plan allocation is for fifty.

The application does not include any affordable.

The application is opposed by Sidmouth Town Council and a large and vociferous group of local residents.

Most importantly, the Planning Consultants at the time of the provisional sale to Pegasus foresaw that the application would be refused. So did the Planning Team, who miraculously changed their minds when the application came forward. Both EDDC and Pegasus were warned in advance that the Development Management Committee could not approve the application. Remember: this information came into the public domain as a result of the successful Freedom of Information request.

If the application goes to inquiry, as seems likely, then we, and EDDC, will have to wait for 24 months with little confidence that the appeal will be successful.

Then comes the situation of ‘what happens next?’ Well, we know the answer because Grant Thornton have helpfully predicted four scenarios, all of which will lead to receipts well below the price currently agreed with Pegasus.

The whole process would have to begin again, against a backdrop of a planning appeal refusal. New tender, new negotiation, new design, new application, and perhaps even another refusal.

Eventually an application will succeed, and a sale result, but we could easily be four years down the road, and at a substantially reduced price in possibly a very different property market.


Knowle: magic bean or white elephant? | East Devon Watch
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