Land and Buildings off Sandhole Lane, Marthall, Cheshire , WA16 8SR

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether the proposal is inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and any development plan policies, including any relevant effects on the openness of the Green Belt
• if inappropriate, whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness would be clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal

What decided it

The fallback position of the lawful development certificate for the warehouse extension, which would result in greater built form and harm to openness than the proposed dwellings, combined with the housing land supply shortfall and housing delivery benefits, clearly outweighed the harm to the Green Belt.

The substantial harm to the openness of the Green Belt from the siting of plot one beyond the fallback footprint was clearly outweighed by the fallback position itself, the shortfall in housing land supply (3.8 years), the provision of four family-sized dwellings on previously developed land, and economic benefits, establishing very special circumstances.