Scepticism about the way in which the ideas of the clumsily named Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission (BBBBC) can be incorporated into planning law has just been strengthened - by a legal action over what constitutes 'openness' in respect of development on green belt land. A planning application was made to extend a limestone quarry in green belt, south-west of Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, the quarry having been permitted in 1948. The proposed 6ha extension was granted permission in 2013, a permission subsequently quashed because of failings in the environmental impact assessment. Three years later, the county council granted a fresh permission following advice from its planning officer and principal landscape architect, who did not object to the proposal but suggested that mitigation measures would be necessary to counter landscape impact.
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