Car Park at Former Walsall Wood Library, Coppice Road, Walsall Wood , Walsall , WS9 9QX

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• the effect of the development on the integrity of the Cannock Chase Special Area of Conservation
• whether sufficient parking would be provided
• whether the development would provide acceptable living conditions for occupants in terms of privacy and the amount of internal and external space
• the effect on the living conditions of occupiers of 2 Church View (No 2) in respect of privacy
• whether the proposal would preserve the setting and significance of the nearby grade II listed war memorial and its effect on the significance of St John's Church

What decided it

The development would cause detriment to the integrity of the Cannock Chase Special Area of Conservation through increased recreational disturbance, and the Regulations preclude permission in the absence of alternative solutions or imperative reasons of overriding public interest with compensatory measures.

Although the benefits of housing delivery and acceptable design would outweigh the limited harm to parking provision, the overriding adverse effect on the integrity of the SAC precluded permission under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.