AN APPEAL has been launched against the Lake District National Park Authority to overturn a planning refusal.

An application to build affordable houses or flats on 18 plots of land just off Danes Road was turned down in March by LDNPA planners because the site was outside the development boundary of Staveley and because there was no "satisfactory evidence" that there was a need for affordable housing in the area.

But the site owners have now appealed against the decision. As part of the process, the LDNPA will be holding a public inquiry into the decision. As reported in The Westmorland Gazette, a second application to build affordable housing in the Staveley area has been submitted to the LDNPA with a detailed report on the need for affordable housing in the area.