Berkeley Group Holdings PLC (LSE:BKG) is taking Michael Gove to court over his decision to block one of its developments because he did not like the look of the homes.
The Times reported the FTSE 100-listed housebuilder has written to the housing secretary informing him that it intends to challenge his “irrational decision” to overrule planning inspectors and refuse permission for the 165-home development in Kent.
It wants him to “agree to the immediate quashing of [his] decision”.
Gove said Berkeley’s plans for the homes were of a “generic suburban nature” and did not “reflect the expectations” of the local design code.
The homes were due to be built in Crane Valley, an area of outstanding natural beauty 16 miles from Tunbridge Wells.
In April 2021, the then-secretary of state called in the application. An independent inspector completed a report into it and this was submitted to ministers.
The inspector recommended that the application be approved and permission granted, subject to conditions.
However, Gove then decided to refuse permission. A letter dated April 6 which details his thinking says that “the harm to the landscape and scenic beauty... attracts great weight”.
The decision is believed to be the first time Gove has used his powers as housing secretary to block a development on aesthetic grounds since he pledged last year to crack down on “ugly identikit” houses “plonked down without regard to the shape and character of existing communities”.
The letter from Berkeley’s lawyers, seen by The Times, outlines six reasons that it thinks the decision was wrong. It claims that the refusal was partly based on “erroneous and out-of-date conclusions”, particularly with regards to the shortfall of housing in the local area, which Gove had said was “slight”.
Berkeley also questioned how Gove could reject planning because of “bad design without any reasoning or indeed without referring to any evidence”.