Land at junction of Blackwell Road, Alcester Road, Burcot, Worcestershire, B60 1PP

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the proposed development would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt, having regard to the Framework and relevant development plan policies
• The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area
• The effect of the proposed development on highway safety
• The effect of the proposed development on the health and longevity of trees and hedgerow, with particular regard to the proposed day rooms
• Whether other material considerations, including the need for and supply of pitches and the personal circumstances of the site's occupants, outweigh any harm identified such as to justify the development

What decided it

The severability of the day rooms from the pitches allowed the Inspector to dismiss the harmful, evidentially unmitigated element (harm to TPO trees) while allowing the pitches, where the substantial unmet need for pitches and the occupants' personal circumstances outweighed the lesser harms identified.

For the pitches, the significant benefits of pitch provision and the occupants' personal circumstances outweighed the harms to character and appearance, highway safety and from intentional unauthorised development; for the day rooms, the considerable weight attached to harm to TPO trees, combined with the other harms, demonstrably outweighed the benefits.