Land to the Front of the Paddocks , Meadow View & The Stables, Greensforge, Mile Flat, Kingswinford, DY6 0AU

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• the proposal's effect on the openness of the Green Belt
• the proposal's effect on the character and appearance of the area, including the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Conservation Area (CA) and Roman Camps at Greensforge, a Scheduled Monument (SM)
• given that the proposal is inappropriate development, whether the 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 the development

What decided it

Only option f), which reduced the boundary structure's height and re-profiled sections near the gate piers, produced harm to openness and character that was clearly outweighed by the security and human rights benefits, establishing very special circumstances to justify the development.

For the structure as built and options b)-e), the security and human rights benefits did not clearly outweigh the substantial Green Belt harm and other harm, so very special circumstances did not exist; for option f), the same benefits clearly outweighed the lesser identified harm, establishing very special circumstances and according with the development plan.