Hooton Hotel, Hooton Road, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, CH66 7NL

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to relevant development plan policies, the provisions of the Framework, the effect on the openness of the Green belt and the purposes of including land within it;
• Whether the proposal would represent an appropriate location for housing, having regard to the accessibility of the site to local services and facilities and the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area;
• The effect of the proposal on protected species;
• If the proposal would be inappropriate development whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify it.

What decided it

The finding that the proposal fell within the paragraph 149(g)(ii) Green Belt exception (re-use of PDL causing no more than moderate, not substantial, harm to openness while meeting an identified affordable housing need), so it was not inappropriate development and no other harms outweighed the scheme's benefits.

the proposal was found to accord with the development plan and the Framework taken as a whole, with benefits including boosting housing supply, affordable housing provision, efficient use of previously developed land, biodiversity net gain and economic activity, and no identified material harms, so the balance favoured allowing the appeal