Persimmon Homes (North East) Ltd v Newcastle City Council & Ors

Facts

The claimant, Persimmon Homes (North East) Limited, controls part of the Upper Callerton site within the Callerton Neighbourhood Growth Area on the north-western fringe of Newcastle, allocated for approximately 3,000 homes by the Core Strategy adopted by Newcastle City Council and Gateshead Council in March 2015. Policy CS3 required development to accord with approved masterplans demonstrating a comprehensive, phased and coordinated approach to infrastructure delivery, and policy NN1 required road connections including an Access Road and connections to the A696 and, if appropriate, the A69, together with mitigation of cumulative traffic impacts. The Core Strategy inspector had endorsed the links between the Callerton sites as taking traffic off the congested Stamfordham Road. Consultants WYG, and independently JMP, concluded that Lower and Middle Callerton could be built out, with junction mitigation, before the access road between Middle and Upper Callerton was needed, applying the "severe" residual cumulative impact test in paragraph 32 of the National Planning Policy Framework. The council adopted the Callerton Master Plan and Design Code on 12 October 2016 as informal planning guidance and, on 11 November 2016, granted planning permission to Bellway Homes for 600 dwellings at East Middle Callerton and to Commercial Estates Group for up to 550 dwellings, a primary school and retail facilities at West Middle Callerton. The claimant challenged all three decisions. Kerr J refused permission on the papers on 18 January 2017; the renewed applications came before the Planning Court as rolled-up hearings.