Parkside House , Ferny HIll, Barnet, EN4 0QA

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt, having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and any relevant development plan policies and the effect on openness
• the effect of the proposal on heritage assets
• whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal

What decided it

The proposal would result in significant spatial harm to the openness of the Green Belt by introducing development across much of the site currently comprising landscaped gardens, which would not be clearly outweighed by the benefits of housing supply or other considerations, and no very special circumstances exist to justify the development.

The substantial harm to the Green Belt openness and harm to the non-designated heritage asset were not clearly outweighed by the benefits of housing supply, social and economic benefits, and optimisation of site capacity; the tilted balance under paragraph 11(d) of the Framework did not apply because the Green Belt policies provided a clear reason for refusal.