Plot 4, The Stables, Saunton Road, Braunton, EX33 1HG

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether the location of development accords with local policies which direct new housing towards settlements within defined settlement boundaries to minimise reliance on private vehicles and protect the character of the countryside
• whether an appropriate provision of affordable housing and other community infrastructure would be secured by way of a planning obligation
• the effects of the proposal on the wider character and appearance of the area
• whether the proposal would constitute good design and whether through such it would afford satisfactory living environments to future occupiers in terms of privacy and outdoor amenity space
• whether the highway estate road and infrastructure would be suitable to serve the development
• whether a suitable drainage scheme would serve the development

What decided it

The totality of adverse impacts—locational conflict with the spatial strategy, poor design quality, and harm to character and appearance—significantly and demonstrably outweighed the modest benefits of housing delivery under the tilted balance.

the modest benefits of housing delivery were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the totality of adverse impacts comprising locational conflict, poor design, and harm to character and appearance, such that the tilted balance did not favour permission