Willow Tree House Annexe, Bromley Green Road, Ruckinge, Kent, TN26 2EQ

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether the proposed development would be in a suitable location for new housing with regard to the local development strategy and accessibility to services and facilities
• the effect of the proposed development on highway safety
• the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the site and the surrounding area

What decided it

The proposal's location outside the settlement boundary in an unsustainable location requiring reliance on private vehicles, combined with likely highway safety harm, substantially outweighed the modest housing benefit of a single dwelling even with a moderate shortfall in five-year housing land supply.

The adverse impacts of granting permission—unsustainable location and highway safety harm—significantly and demonstrably outweighed the modest benefits of adding one dwelling to housing supply, such that the presumption in favour of sustainable development did not apply.