MOVES to block new homes in the countryside have been hamstrung by a single decision taken a year ago by an unelected planning inspector, councillors have warned.

Several concerned politicians mentioned the ramifications of the inspector's conclusions during a debate at Thursday's planning committee meeting about the ultimately approved residential proposals for the Last Drop Village Hotel and Spa in Bromley Cross.

The case in question is one in which Hollins Strategic Land won on appeal outline consent for up to 110 homes in Hill Lane, Blackrod, in April, 2016.

The planning inspector ruled the council's five-year housing supply plans in its wider development blueprint were "not up-to-date and therefore carry very limited weight", eroding the committee's reasoning and forcing the authority to abandon its opposition.

Hollins Strategic Land's victory set a precedent for proposed development on sites designated as 'Other Protected Open Land’ – the category below Green Belt.

Committee member Cllr Andrew Morgan said: "It's an absolute farce that an authority can spend years putting together the core strategy and take it to a public inquiry and spend tens of thousands defending it at appeal and one lone inspector making a decision on a random application can undermine the whole process.

"The planning committee is now in a very weak position regarding housing supply and small spaces on estates are all at risk of being snapped up because developers wise to the decision are winging it."

Mr Morgan said he would like to see the committee reject an application to build on Other Protected Open Land and have the council vigorously defend its decision at any planning appeal in order to restore some power.

Committee chairman Cllr Hanif Darvesh said: "The whole department had masterminded the core strategy, which took years to develop, and for one decision to have such an impact on that type of land is almost like forcing us to go back to the drawing board.

"It has almost given the concept of Other Protected Open Land a different label.

"There are four different circumstances within which these protected areas can be built upon and the Blackrod application did not tick any of those boxes.

"All of a sudden the Blackrod application has got rid of these four boxes. It has opened the floodgates.

"We have seen a number of applications come in now going for the argument that the council does not have a five-year plan that is robust enough.

"Officers will have to take into account the inspector's decision, legal opinion and planning policy and planning committee members have to take into account what planning officers have said.

"It's important readers really sense the dilemma that the committee is under."