Land off Wood Road, Codsall Wood, Near Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, WV8 1QR

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether the proposal is inappropriate development in the Green Belt for the purposes of the relevant development plan policies and the Framework
• the effect on openness and the purposes of the Green Belt
• the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area
• other considerations
• if the proposal is inappropriate development, whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify it

What decided it

The appellant failed to demonstrate that the functional need for a rural worker's dwelling could not be met by existing accommodation on the holding or suitable available accommodation locally, so no very special circumstances existed to outweigh the identified Green Belt harm.

The substantial weight given to Green Belt harm (inappropriateness, moderate loss of openness, limited countryside encroachment harm) plus moderate harm to character and appearance were not clearly outweighed by the other considerations (the functional need for rural workers), so very special circumstances did not exist.