Land to the rear (west) of 83 Cotes Road, Barrow upon Soar, LE12 8JP

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the concept masterplan and development brief achieve a comprehensive development for the wider allocation achieving high quality design in respect to access, open space, landscape, education, ecology and heritage.
• Whether the proposed development represents high quality design and whether the site capacity is appropriate.
• Whether the appeal proposal achieves an appropriate biodiversity net gain having regard to the biodiversity mitigation hierarchy.
• Whether the proposed development protects and enhances the natural environment including existing trees on the site and whether appropriate mitigation is proposed.
• Whether the proposed drainage strategy is appropriate to address surface water and avoid adverse impacts on the nearby Local Wildlife Site (LWS) and landscape character.
• Whether the proposal provides the necessary Infrastructure to mitigate its impacts with particular regard to the provision of open space, education and off-site highway improvement works.

What decided it

The proposal's compliance, subject to conditions and the completed s.106/Unilateral Undertaking, with the site allocation policy (DS2/HA49) and other development plan policies, such that the development plan taken as a whole was not breached and no material considerations indicated otherwise.

The limited, highly localised landscape harm and the harm from loss of TPO'd trees for site access were outweighed by the scheme's compliance with the site allocation and wider development plan policies and its delivery of much-needed market and affordable housing, and the appeal was allowed in accordance with the plan rather than through application of the tilted balance.