Westmorland and Furness Council could face significant costs as multiple refused planning applications are appealed by developers and individuals, with a number of appeals already successfully overturning the council’s decisions.
The council is also facing multiple appeals against enforcement notices that have been lodged with the Planning Inspectorate.
The former Eden District Council was forced to pay a £73,000 claim from a developer over plans to build 73 homes in Penrith, where permission was initially refused and later overturned by the Planning Inspector following an appeal.
Since taking over as the local council and planning authority on 1 April 2023, Westmorland and Furness Council has faced an above-average number of planning appeals — almost double the number faced by neighbouring Cumberland Council — with some of those appeals successfully overturned by Planning Inspectors.
Currently, the council has 16 active appeals against it which the Planning Inspector will rule on, with some appeals in the last two weeks resulting in successful outcomes against the council’s decisions.
In the last week, Government Planning Inspectors overturned refused plans to convert two barns just outside Penrith at Clifton Dykes into houses after Lonsdale Estates submitted an appeal to the Planning Inspector.
Westmorland and Furness Council planning officers refused the applications in February, stating: “The proposed alterations to the existing building are considered to go beyond what is considered as a conversion. The nature of the proposed development with the addition of significant new structural elements is considered to amount to a rebuild.”
The Planning Inspector, on issuing his decision to overturn Westmorland and Furness Council’s refusal of the applications, said: “At the time of my site visit the buildings were being used for the storage of hay and an interested party has provided photographs showing the buildings being used for agricultural storage and suggested that they are an integral part of the working farm. Nevertheless, the appellant has indicated that Tarn Hill Farm continues to function as a dairy farm and the buildings are considered to be isolated and not required for the agricultural operation. There is no substantive evidence that it would be undesirable for the buildings to change from agricultural use to dwellinghouse without the occupancy being restricted to primary residence.”
Persimmon Homes has also now lodged a planning appeal against a refusal by the council to remove a planning condition imposed on its Saddle Back View housing development in Penrith. The housing developer had applied last year for a variation of condition 27 in its original planning application that required some properties to have non-opening windows. The company applied to allow the option of opening windows in place of non-opening windows.
In December 2024, the council’s planning officers argued that new national noise rules over noise from the M6, A6 and the West Coast Main Line meant that most properties in the development could not have windows that open on the elevations facing the M6 and railway on the site, and those close to the A6.
Planning officers said at the time: “The proposed development could result in a number of properties not being able to achieve a satisfactory level of internal noise mitigation to ensure that the amenity of both initial and future occupiers can be adequately provided to ensure there is no harm to health.”
At the planning meeting that refused the plans, Planning Committee Chair Cllr Simpkins said: “We must act to protect the children who can’t close a window and act to protect the council from legal action in the future.”
Cllr Murray said he: “Would not dream of buying a house that he could not open windows.”
Members of the Planning Committee voted to follow officer recommendations to refuse the application, with six in favour and two abstentions.
Now Persimmon has lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspector that could see the council landed with compensation and cost claims if Planning Inspectors overturn the refusal and allow the windows in the houses to open.
Developers are also turning to the planning inspector to determine applications the council has failed to give a decision on in the set legal timeframes for applications resulting in the decisions on housing development and may more applications be decided by a planning in sector not the council or local planners.
Westmorland and Furness Council has a number of applications originally submitted to Eden Council for housing development still to be determined that could see appeals to the inspector made to determine some dating back over 4 years.
Lowther Estate Trust is one of those that has lodged a planning appeal against Westmorland and Furness Council’s failure to determine an application for a proposed residential dwellings just outside Penrith at Yanwath Hall
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