There have been 3 legal cases recently (in fact all in one week) where there were challenges to the previous SoS decisions to refuse permission in areas with emerging neighbourhood plans. I don't have the links but with a bit of web searching I'm sure you could find them. What follows is some extracted text from where the cases were reported in various blogs, news items etc. Hope it helps.
1 First, the secretary of state filed a consent order in the High Court recognising that he could not defend his refusal of permission for 100 homes at Rolleston on Dove, Staffordshire, in December (DCS Number 200-003-064). The inspector had recommended approval, but the secretary of state refused on prematurity grounds.
This was in spite of the parish council’s favoured version of the NDP having been rejected by its examiner, whose suggested modifications obliged the secretary of state to accept that the "development would not be in direct conflict" with NDP policies. He even failed to acknowledge that the land was allocated as a housing site in the emerging local plan.
2 On the same day, concerning the refusal of permission for homes in Mid Sussex last September (DCS Number 200-002-610), again based solely on an emerging NDP and contrary to the inspector’s recommendation. SoS had placed too much weight on emerging plan – prematurity and conflict. Interestingly, the local planning authority, Mid Sussex District Council, had not refused the original application by developer Woodcock Holdings Ltd on prematurity grounds. In fact, it had dropped its objections at appeal – the council has a demonstrable lack of five-year housing supply. Instead it was the parish council that led the opposition at the planning inquiry, relying on its draft neighbourhood plan.
In his ruling, Mr Justice Holgate concluded that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) paragraphs 14 – the presumption in favour of sustainable development- and paragraph 49 – a demonstrable five year housing supply - did apply to the housing supply policies in a draft development plan, including a draft neighbourhood plan. Therefore these should have been applied when assessing the weight to be attached to those policies in the Neighbourhood Plan and to any conflict with such policies.
Finally, the secretary of state also consented to judgment over his refusal of permission for up to 350 homes at Devizes in Wiltshire in October, again based on an emerging NDP (DCS Number 200-002-863). This challenge was brought on the grounds of poor decision-making and the unfair procedure adopted.
