A PLANNING inspector has given the green light to a scheme for 200 houses, a community building and open space at Allston in Lydney.

The plans, which were opposed by nearby residents, include 20 self-build plots and 37 retirement apartments on land off Driffield Road.

A key aspect leading to the decision was the Forest Council’s inability to demonstrate a five-year supply for housing which rendered the council’s policies for the supply of housing out of date.

The council did not challenge the appeal, by Allaston Developments Ltd, on that basis.

The inspector also decided that the area was not what planners deem a ’valued landscape’ and that the area cope with the extra traffic generated by the development.

The scheme has been the subject of a long-running battle with the then Secretary of State for Communities, Greg Clark, ’calling in’ and rejecting it in December 2015.

That decision was subsequently quashed by the High Court and a new inquiry ordered. As a result of that inquiry the scheme has been granted permission.

Forest of Dean district councillor Alan Preest (Con, Lydney North) said: “Lydney now how its full quota of houses.

“It is essential that Forest of Dean District Council, in particular, urgently revisits transport, employment and basic infrastructure to forward the prosperity of the town.”