Land to the South of Birmingham Road, Hatton Park , Warwick, Warwickshire, CV35 7DZ

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether the proposal would preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Warwick District Canal Conservation Area
• whether the proposal would preserve the setting of a Grade II listed building, known as Lock House
• whether the proposal would offer accessibility to services and facilities by means of sustainable transport
• whether the proposal would require healthcare infrastructure provision
• whether the proposal would result in any 'less than substantial harm' in respect of the heritage assets and if it does, whether such harm would be outweighed by public benefits
• whether the proposal would be inappropriate development for the purposes of the National Planning Policy Framework and the development plan and if the proposal is inappropriate development, whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify it

What decided it

The less than substantial heritage harm to the Conservation Area and listed building setting, individually attracting considerable weight, would not be outweighed by the public benefits of the proposal, and combined with Green Belt harm, very special circumstances do not exist.

The significant benefits of care home provision, housing supply, health and social service savings, economic benefits, wellbeing improvements and a public footpath would weigh heavily in favour of the proposal, but would not outweigh the less than substantial heritage harm to the Conservation Area and listed building setting (each attracting considerable weight) and the harm to Green Belt openness and inappropriateness, such that very special circumstances do not exist and the proposal conflicts with the development plan taken as a whole.