Land South of Court Lodge, Valley Road, Fawkham, DA3 8NA

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the appeal site is grey belt land and whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt (having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and development plan policies)
• The effect of the proposal on the openness and purposes of the Green Belt
• Whether the amount of development would be appropriate having particular regard to development plan policy on density of residential development
• Whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, 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 site is not in a sustainable location as it is a hamlet with limited services and no viable public transport access, making it inappropriate development in the Green Belt that cannot be justified by the housing supply shortfall.

The benefits to housing delivery and local businesses through additional spending do not clearly outweigh the substantial harm to the Green Belt; the presumption in favour of sustainable development does not apply because the Green Belt protection policies provide a strong reason for refusal.