Land North of Mucklestone Wood Lane / East of Rock Lane, Loggerheads, Market Drayton, Staffordshire, TF9 4RJ

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the appeal site would be an appropriate location for housing development, with regard to its accessibility to facilities and services, including public transport
• The effect of the appeal proposal on the landscape character and the visual amenity of the appeal site and surrounding area
• The effect of the appeal proposal on the special architectural or historic interest of White House Farm, a grade II listed building and designated heritage asset, with particular regard to its setting
• The effect of the appeal proposal on the supply of the best and most versatile agricultural land (BMV)
• Whether the Council can demonstrate an appropriate housing land supply given the requirements set out in national policy

What decided it

The Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply engaged the tilted balance, and the substantial benefits of housing delivery outweighed the limited landscape and less-than-substantial heritage harm identified.

The substantial weight attributable to market and affordable housing delivery, together with moderate/limited weight benefits (open space, biodiversity, economic and highway contributions), outweighed the moderate harm to landscape character/visual amenity and the less-than-substantial heritage harm at the lower end of the scale, so the adverse impacts did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits under the tilted balance.