Primrose View, Chapel Lane, Roke, Oxfordshire, OX10 6JD

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area, including landscape character and the setting of listed buildings
• whether the development has adverse flood risks
• whether the land is contaminated and, if so, its effect on the occupiers of the site
• whether intentional unauthorised development has taken place
• whether there is a need for the development and the personal circumstances of the occupants of the site

What decided it

The unacceptable and unresolved flood risk to occupiers and the potential for increased flood risk off-site, to which very significant weight was attached, outweighed the benefits of the shortfall in Gypsy and Traveller pitch provision and the personal circumstances of the family.

The significant weight in favour of allowing the appeals arising from the lack of a 5-year supply of deliverable Gypsy and Traveller pitches, together with the personal circumstances of the appellant/family and the best interests of the children, did not individually or cumulatively outweigh the moderate harm to character and appearance, the moderate weight against intentional unauthorised development, and the very significant weight attached to flood risk, so the appeals were dismissed and planning permission refused.