Springbridge Farm, Highbridge Road, Highbridge, EASTLEIGH, Hampshire, SO50 6HN

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the matters alleged in the notice have occurred and, if so, whether they constitute a breach of planning control (grounds (b) and (c))
• Whether the residential use and associated building are immune from enforcement action by the passage of time (ground (d))
• Whether the unauthorised mixed use complies with development plan policies and, if not, whether there is any reason to allow it to continue anyway, and whether the agricultural/horticultural use justifies a temporary or personal permission for a dwelling (ground (a))
• Whether the steps required by the notice exceed what is necessary to remedy the breach (ground (f))
• Whether the compliance period specified falls short of what should reasonably be allowed (ground (g))

What decided it

The appellant failed to demonstrate a genuine agricultural functional and financial need for a dwelling or the wider mixed-use paraphernalia, while the unauthorised uses caused significant harm to the character and landscape of the countryside, contrary to the development plan.

The harm to the rural character and landscape from the unauthorised mixed use and lack of justified agricultural need outweighed the appellant's personal circumstances and human rights considerations, so the notice was upheld save for the purely agricultural elements, for which permission was granted.