Aerona Cottage, Eversley Road, Basildon, Essex, SS13 2DG

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt for the purposes of the National Planning Policy Framework (2024) and development plan policy
• the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
• the effect of the proposal on the living conditions of the neighbouring occupiers of Aerona Cottage and St Annes, with particular regard to noise and disturbance
• if the development would be inappropriate, whether the harm to the Green Belt by way of inappropriateness, and any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify it

What decided it

The proposal would cause substantial harm to the Green Belt by way of inappropriateness and to openness, character and appearance, and neighbouring living conditions, and the limited benefits advanced do not clearly outweigh this harm such that very special circumstances exist.

The substantial cumulative harm to the Green Belt (by inappropriateness and loss of openness), character and appearance, and neighbouring living conditions was not clearly outweighed by the limited benefits of effective land use and acceptable design, and the Green Belt exception in the Framework displaced the presumption in favour of sustainable development despite the lack of five-year housing land supply.