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Housing Secretary Steve Reed has confirmed that he will launch a public inquiry into Uttlesford District Council’s decision to refuse planning applications for two residential developments in Stansted Mountfitchet and Birchanger. The inquiry follows the council’s rejection of proposals from developer City & Country for a total of 480 new homes, despite recommendations for approval from the authority’s own planning officers.

The proposed developments would have delivered 480 homes across two sites, with 240 properties designated as affordable housing. City & Country said the schemes would also have included investment in community facilities, transport improvements, infrastructure upgrades and measures to increase biodiversity. The company has described the sites as grey belt land.

The Secretary of State’s intervention means the planning decisions will now be examined through a formal inquiry process. Uttlesford District Council has been instructed to submit its statement of case by 12 August. The deadline falls six weeks after the start date set out in the call in letter issued on 1 July. A date for the inquiry itself will be agreed later this year.

Planning officers at Uttlesford District Council had recommended that both applications be approved. Their reports described the proposals as “exceptional”, but members of the council’s planning committee voted to refuse permission.

City & Country has argued that the committee’s decision did not properly reflect national planning policy or the professional advice provided by council officers.

Tim Sargeant, chairman of City & Country, welcomed the decision to call in the applications.

He said: “We remain firmly of the view that the Uttlesford planning committee’s decision was fundamentally flawed. Therefore, we are pleased that the Secretary of State has called in the decision for review. Our proposals were recommended for approval by Uttlesford’s own professional planning officers. They would have delivered high-quality homes, including 240 affordable homes, alongside significant investment in community facilities, improved infrastructure and transport, and increased biodiversity.

“We believe the committee failed to apply national planning policy properly and did not fully assess and consider the benefits of these schemes. This case has important implications for how planning policy is interpreted and applied. We are disappointed that the applications must go to an inquiry, especially since it will prove both costly and time-consuming. However, we have attempted to work proactively with the council and the parish councils to address their concerns while delivering the homes and community infrastructure that local people need.

“This case raises serious questions around how housing is delivered within the UK. Elsewhere in Europe, including Germany, the continent’s largest economy, housing is treated like the essential infrastructure that it is. Delivery is driven primarily through SME developers who operate regionally and can respond with more agility to market changes. If we are serious about economic growth and solving the housing crisis, then we must adopt this attitude in the UK.”

The inquiry will allow an independent planning inspector to consider evidence from the developer, Uttlesford District Council and other interested parties before making a recommendation to the Secretary of State, who will issue the final decision.

The proposed developments have attracted significant local interest since they were first submitted, with debate focusing on housing need, the impact on local infrastructure and the suitability of developing land identified by the applicant as grey belt.

The council has not yet published its statement of case for the inquiry. That document is expected to set out the reasons the planning committee rejected the applications despite the planning officers’ recommendation for approval.

The inquiry is likely to examine whether the committee correctly applied national planning policy in reaching its decision and the weight it gave to the schemes’ proposed benefits, including affordable housing and infrastructure investment.

The date for the public inquiry has not yet been announced. The Secretary of State will make a final decision on the future of both developments after the inquiry has concluded and the inspector’s recommendations have been considered.

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