Land Adjacent to Danby, Southford Lane, Whitwell, Isle of Wight, PO38 2QJ

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the appeal site is a suitable location for residential development, having regard to its accessibility to facilities and services
• Whether the proposal would make adequate provision for affordable housing
• Whether the proposal would provide adequate mitigation for the European Protected Sites, with particular regard to nitrates impacts

What decided it

The location of the appeal site would not provide a suitable site for housing development and would not give future occupiers a genuine choice to travel to facilities and services other than by private car, such that the significant harm from poor accessibility would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits when assessed against the Framework taken as a whole.

The modest benefits of housing delivery, affordable housing contribution, economic benefits from construction and occupation, and potential self-build provision were outweighed by the significant harm arising from the unsustainable location and poor accessibility to facilities and services, such that the proposal would not be a sustainable form of development.