Land Adjacent to Duck Street Cottage, The Street , Furneux Pelham , Hertfordshire, SG9 0LA

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether the site represents a suitable location for housing, having regard to access to services and facilities
• the ability of the proposal to be adaptable to climate change

What decided it

The site's location in the countryside outside the settlement boundary, functionally and physically separated from Furneux Pelham, with no viable sustainable transport alternatives and dependence on private vehicle use, conflicts with the development plan strategy and Framework policies directing development to sustainable locations, and this harm is not outweighed by the benefits of a single dwelling even under the tilted balance.

The adverse impacts on the housing strategy and of increasing travel by car significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits associated with a single dwelling, when assessed against the policies in the Framework taken as a whole, having particular regard to key policies for directing development to sustainable locations; the presumption in favour of sustainable development does not apply.