Loxwood Garage, Loxwood Road, Alfold Bars, Loxwood, Billingshurst, West Sussex, RH14 0QS

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether the site is a suitable location for a dwelling taking into account local and national strategic planning policies and access to services and facilities
• whether it has been demonstrated that the proposal would not cause an unacceptable loss of employment land
• the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
• the effect of the proposal on the setting of the Grade II Listed Sir Roger Tichborne Public House
• whether satisfactory living conditions would be provided for future occupiers of the proposed development
• whether the type of accommodation would meet the housing needs of the District

What decided it

The failure to demonstrate that the employment site is no longer required for employment uses, combined with the unsustainable location outside the settlement hierarchy and the harmful effect on character and appearance, means the adverse impacts significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits.

The modest benefits of five family-sized houses, remediation of contaminated land and use of previously developed land were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the unacceptable loss of employment land, the unsustainable location outside the settlement hierarchy with poor access to services, and the harmful effect on character and appearance, when assessed against the Framework policies taken as a whole.