Land North East of Swainson Farm, Goosnargh Lane, Preston, PR3 2JU

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether the proposal conflicts with the development plan
• whether the development plan policies most important for determining these appeals are out-of-date, with reference to (a) whether the lpa can show a 5-year supply of deliverable housing sites and (b) consistency with the National Planning Policy Framework (Framework)
• the effect on the character of the village
• whether the conclusions on matters 2a and 2b or any other material consideration would justify allowing the appeals

What decided it

Whether the benefits of each scheme, particularly the substantial weight given to visual improvement of the village approach (engaged only for Appeal A), were sufficient to outweigh the identified conflict with the development plan's spatial strategy.

For Appeal A, substantial weight to visual improvement and housing delivery, significant weight to economic benefits, moderate weight to transport contributions and limited weight to the City Deal cumulatively outweighed the conflict with the development plan as a whole; for Appeal B, the same benefits minus the visual improvement (not engaged) did not outweigh the fundamental conflict with JCS Policy 1, LP Policy EN1 and the development plan as a whole.