Land to the rear of Field End, Oak Hill Road, Stapleford Abbotts, Essex, RM4 1EH

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the development would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt for the purposes of the National Planning Policy Framework and, if so, the effect on the openness of the Green Belt
• Whether the development would create any other harm, with particular regard to the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers and persons using the nearby public footpath, and the effects of the proposed building's design on the character and appearance of the surrounding area
• If it is inappropriate development, whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness and by reason of any other harm is clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify the development

What decided it

The proposed building would constitute inappropriate development in the Green Belt harmful to its openness and landscape character, with no very special circumstances to justify it, whereas the open-air swimming pool qualified as an appropriate recreational facility preserving openness.