Stonehouse Farm, Handcross Road, Plummers Plain, HORSHAM, RH13 6NZ

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Appeal A: whether there is a recognised functional need for the mobile home
• Appeal A: whether the location of the mobile home would accord with the Council's spatial policy
• Appeal A: the development's effect upon the integrity of the internationally designated Arun Valley Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area and Ramsar sites by way of water abstraction
• Appeal C: whether there is an essential need for the replacement agricultural building in association with the agricultural operations of the farm
• Appeal C: if so, the effect on the character and appearance of the surrounding area by way of the size of the new building
• Appeal C: the development's effect upon the integrity of the internationally designated Arun Valley Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area and Ramsar sites by way of water abstraction

What decided it

The absence of a water neutrality statement or mitigation measures to protect the Arun Valley SAC/SPA/Ramsar sites was decisive in dismissing both the deemed planning application (Appeal A) and the retrospective building appeal (Appeal C).

In both Appeal A and Appeal C the failure to address water neutrality and its potential adverse effects on the Arun Valley protected sites outweighed the planning benefits (including the accepted agricultural need for the replacement building in Appeal C), leading to dismissal.