Parcel of land adjacent to the Manor House, Headley Common Road, Headley, KT18 6NA

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether or not the proposal would be inappropriate development within the Green Belt having regard to the Framework and any other relevant development plan policies
• whether the site is a suitable location for the proposal having regard to local and national planning policy, and the accessibility of the site to services, employment opportunities and facilities
• whether the future occupiers of the proposal would have acceptable living conditions
• whether the proposal would secure satisfactory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)
• if the appeal scheme is found to be 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 needed to justify the development

What decided it

The cumulative effect of the proposal's failure to meet internal space standards (contrary to Policy DP3.3 of the Framework), its location in an unsustainable position contrary to the spatial strategy, and its failure to deliver policy-compliant biodiversity net gain outweighed the moderate benefits of housing supply and building reuse.

the moderate benefits of housing supply and reuse of an underutilised building were substantially outweighed by the significant harm resulting from conflicts with design standards, spatial strategy and biodiversity requirements