Room 106

Ep112: High Court overturns secretary of state approval for coal mine, inspectors tell council to withdraw local plan, and voters reject neighbourhood plan

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Episode notes

This week, we discuss: 


  • The High Court quashing the secretary of state’s controversial permission for a new coal mine in Cumbria; 
  • Planning inspectors recommending that a council withdraws its local plan due to its “unwillingness” to release green belt sites to meet housing need;
  • Voters in a town overwhelmingly rejected a neighbourhood plan in a referendum after fears were raised about green belt protection.


We also round up the other key news from the past week to make sure you’re up to speed on all the goings-on in the planning sector. 


Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for more than 50 years. Find the latest planning news at planningresource.co.uk and @planningMag 


Room 106 was the Professional Publishers Association’s Podcast of the Year 2023/24. It was also highly commended in the Best Use of Audio category in the Association of Online Publishers’ Digital Publishing Awards 2024.



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