Poplar Farm, Great Steeping Road, Monksthorpe, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, PE23 5PP

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether the location of the proposal would be acceptable having regard to flood risk
• the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
• whether the proposal represents a suitable location for residential development, having regard to relevant local and national planning policy

What decided it

The significant harm to character and appearance caused by the proposal, combined with its unsustainable location and failure to pass the sequential flood risk test, decisively outweighed the limited housing benefit, particularly when the fall-back Class Q conversion scheme would not represent a more harmful development overall.

The small comparative benefits of the appeal proposal in terms of fewer car journeys and biodiversity gain were countered decisively by the adverse effect on character and appearance and unsustainable location, such that the adverse effects significantly and demonstrably outweighed the benefits of providing additional housing, and the presumption in favour of sustainable development did not apply.