Land North of Sky Studios Elstree, Rowley Lane, Borehamwood, WD6 1FX

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to paragraph 155 of the NPPF and any relevant development plan policies
• The effect of the proposal on the openness and purposes of the Green Belt
• The need for the development, the benefits of co-location, and the availability of alternative sites
• Whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal

What decided it

The finding that the development would in practice be brought forward as an extension to Sky Studios Elstree, meeting a demonstrable unmet need under NPPF paragraph 155(b), meaning the proposal was not inappropriate development in the Green Belt and the very substantial economic benefits were not outweighed by the identified landscape and tree harm.

Very substantial weight to economic benefits, substantial weight to meeting unmet need and to socio-economic benefits, significant weight to sustainability benefits and moderate weight to BNG were found to outweigh the significant weight given to harm to landscape character and moderate weight given to harm to trees, with the proposal also found to accord with the development plan overall, indicating permission should be granted.