Update: Earlswood Road, Dorridge – approval secured for up to five open-market homes in the grey belt

Tyler Parkes previously reported on the successful planning appeal at land between 39 and 79 Earlswood Road, Dorridge, where Permission in Principle was granted for up to five self/custom-build plots.

There has now been a further important development. A new Permission in Principle application has been approved for the same site, again for up to five dwellings, but this time without the homes being described as self or custom-build. The approval therefore confirms the acceptability in principle of up to five open-market homes on the site.

This is significant because the new application was, in all other respects, the same as the scheme previously allowed at appeal. The Council’s report recognised that the appeal Inspector had given only limited weight to the self/custom-build element, because there was no mechanism in place to secure the homes for that purpose. The Council therefore accepted that removing the self/custom-build reference did not materially alter the planning balance.

The main planning considerations remained the same. The site lies within the Green Belt, but the Inspector previously accepted its status as grey belt and confirmed that the site was previously developed land. Significant weight was also given to Solihull’s housing land supply shortfall, recorded as 2.13 years as at April 2024.

The latest approval is important because it confirms that the positive planning balance was not dependent on the homes being self/custom-build. Instead, the key factors were the site’s grey belt and previously developed land status, Solihull’s significant housing land supply shortfall, and the ability of a small site to make a useful contribution to housing delivery.

As with all Permission in Principle approvals, this does not allow development to start. Detailed matters including layout, design, access, parking, ecology, landscaping, drainage and neighbour impact will still need to be considered at the Technical Details Consent stage.

This case is a useful reminder that small grey belt sites can have real planning potential where the evidence is carefully prepared and the planning balance is properly presented.

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