MORE than seven out of ten appeals made against planning decisions from Barnsley Council last year were thrown out by inspectors, it has emerged.

Over the year starting in April last year, 26 people appealed against decisions made by the council’s own officers or those made by councillors who sit on the authority’s planning board.

From those, 71 per cent were rejected, meaning the council’s original decision was unaffected and in one case a split decision was made, allowing a partial victory against the council.

Cases where the council’s original decision was deemed to be wrong were plans to put a new home in the garden of an existing property in Thurgoland and applications to remove a lime and an oak tree from gardens at different addresses in Silkstone.

But council decisions over some substantial housing developments were approved by the inspector who examined the application, including the rejection of a plan to put 23 new homes on the site of White’s bakery in Charles Street, Worsbrough Bridge.

The council’s rejection of plans for 97 houses on a site off Lowfield Road at Bolton upon Dearne was also upheld when the case was re-examined.