Wychwood Garage, Fairspear Road, Leafield, WITNEY, OX29 9NU

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area having particular regard to the effect on the Cotswolds National Landscape.
• The effect of the proposed development on the special interest of heritage assets with particular regard to the location of the appeal site within the Leafield Conservation Area.
• The effect of the proposed development on flood risk and drainage.

What decided it

The Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year supply of housing land engaged the tilted balance under paragraph 11(d) of the Framework, and the modest but important contribution to housing supply, combined with the absence of material harm to the landscape and heritage assets, outweighed the less than substantial harm to the conservation area.

The less than substantial harm to the Leafield Conservation Area heritage asset (at the lower end) was outweighed by the significant benefits of housing delivery in a district unable to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply and the provision of an appropriate financial contribution towards affordable housing; the adverse impacts of approving the development did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits when assessed against the policies in the Framework taken as a whole.