Land at Windacres Farm, Church Street, Rudgwick, Surrey, RH12 3EG

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether the development would be of an appropriate scale and location having regard to the development plan policies and national policies that seek to guide the location of new housing
• the effects of the development on local landscape character, including the Area of Great Landscape Value, having regard to the fixed elements of the scheme, including its layout
• whether the proposal would preserve the settings and thereby significance of the nearby Grade I listed Parish Church of the Holy Trinity and Grade II listed Duke's Farmhouse, and whether it would preserve the setting of Rudgwick Conservation Area
• acknowledging that there is an agreed shortfall in the housing land supply in the area, the extent of that shortfall

What decided it

The considerable harm to local landscape character, combined with the less than substantial but moderate harm to heritage assets, significantly and demonstrably outweighed the benefits when assessed against the Framework as a whole.

the substantial social and economic benefits of housing delivery, including 35% affordable housing, and moderate weight to biodiversity net gain, bridleway and open space provision, were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the considerable harm to landscape character and the moderate harm to heritage assets