Planning application in Lodge Hill, Medway
Government response to campaigns for the government to call-in a planning application for 5,000 homes on the Lodge Hill site in Medway.
There have been a number of campaigns by organisations including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds for the government to ‘call-in’ a planning application for 5,000 new homes on the Lodge Hill site in Medway.
A ‘call-in’ involves Whitehall taking a decision away from the elected local council and this being made by a planning minister.
Only a small minority of such cases are called-in each year, generally where there is a wider national impact. This request for a call-in is being carefully considered with due process – but this should not be confused with a decision on the merits of the substantive application.
Given the Secretary of State’s membership of the RSPB, the quasi-judicial decision will be made by a different planning minister in line with standard propriety guidance.