Berkeley Group has launched a legal challenge against Michael Gove’s decision last month to block its plans for 165 homes in the Kent Weald on design grounds, against the advice of a planning inspector.

The scheme, designed by Kent-based practice OSP Architecture, was called in by the housing secretary in April 2021 despite being approved by the local authority. Sited within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), it was turned down last month on the basis it was “generic” and not “sensitively designed having regard to its setting”.

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