Land East Of 21 The Marshes Lane, Mere Brow, PR4 6JR

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether the proposal would constitute inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and any relevant development plan policies
• the effect of flooding at the site or in the vicinity of it
• the effect on the provision of agricultural land in the area
• 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 the development

What decided it

The site cannot be classified as grey belt because part of it is in Flood Zone 2 and the physical presence of a substantial ditch indicates potential flooding, which provides a strong reason for refusing development under footnote 7 of the Framework, making the proposal inappropriate development in the Green Belt that cannot be justified by the modest housing contribution.

the substantial weight afforded to harm by reason of inappropriateness and the potential risk of flooding outweighed the modest but worthwhile contribution to housing land supply, such that very special circumstances do not exist