Southdown View, Long Copse Lane, Emsworth, PO10 7UR

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• The appellant's status as a Gypsy/traveller with a nomadic habit of life
• Whether the proposal accords with the development strategy for the area
• The effect on the character and appearance of the rural landscape
• The effect on the living conditions of the occupiers of nearby dwellings
• Whether the proposed development would be 'nutrient neutral' and the effect on the Solent Harbours SPA
• The need and supply of Gypsy and traveller sites locally and the availability of alternative sites
• The appellant and family's personal circumstances

What decided it

The absence of any harm to landscape character, residential amenity or the SPA, combined with an agreed local shortfall of Gypsy/traveller pitches, meant the proposal accorded with the development plan as a whole.

The identified benefits (addressing the shortfall of Gypsy/traveller pitches and enabling family mutual support), together with the lack of harm to landscape, neighbours or the SPA, were not outweighed by any other consideration, so the proposal accorded with the development plan as a whole and the appeal was allowed.