Plot 18, Sunset Park Homes, Whitfield, BRACKLEY, NN13 5TD

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the proposed increase in the number of caravans, including any cumulative effects, is acceptable having regard to the location of the site within the countryside and the proximity to services and facilities in the surrounding area.
• The effect of the proposals, including any cumulative effects, on the character and appearance of the surrounding countryside.
• Whether the proposed site would provide suitable living conditions for future occupants with particular regard to amenity space and privacy.
• Whether in the absence of any provision for touring caravans the proposed site would be suitable for Gypsies and Travellers.
• The need for and supply of Gypsy and Traveller sites within Buckinghamshire, including whether there is a five year supply of Gypsy and Traveller sites.
• The availability of alternative sites.
• The accommodation needs and personal circumstances of the appellants.
• The Gypsy and Traveller status of the occupants of the site.

What decided it

The proposals were found to comply with the development plan as a whole (Policies D11, NE4, S1, S6 and S7), with only limited, localised and mitigable harm to countryside character and limited weight to the intentional unauthorised development, so permission fell to be granted under paragraph 11 of the Framework.

the proposals' compliance with the development plan as a whole and the pressing need for Gypsy and Traveller pitches outweighed the limited, localised harm to the character and appearance of the countryside from Plots 1, 1A and 2 and the limited weight attributed to the intentional unauthorised development