Flats plan quashed over 'lack of daylight'
Xsite ArchitectureA decision to block a housing development because some flats would not get enough daylight has been backed by the government's planning inspector.
Newcastle City Council's planning committee rejected a proposal for 57 flats in Lime Street, in the Ouseburn Valley.
The committee had been recommended to give the project the go ahead, but it decided the complex would be harmful to the conservation area and that some flats would not get adequate light.
The developer, Property@LimeSt, appealed the ruling but the Planning Inspectorate upheld the decision.
The inspector accepted that the benefits of regenerating the disused plot would outweigh any harm caused to the local area, but that the lighting issue which would affect some properties would "not provide satisfactory living conditions".
The development would have required the demolition of buildings including a former MOT centre and pigeon cree.
The developer said the development plans had "evolved over a period of years in close cooperation" with planners at the city council, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The firm claimed that councillors' reasons for refusing the application in November 2023 did not stand up to "close examination" and it would replace "deteriorated buildings".
However, the planning inspector ruled the benefits of the scheme did not outweigh the potential living conditions of future residents which could result in "significant harm".