Land Adjacent to Sarratt Lane, Loudwater, WD3 4AS

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Effects of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area, including the Outer Loudwater Conservation Area and the setting of the Loudwater Conservation Area
• Whether the site's location would encourage sustainable modes of travel
• Whether the proposal would make an appropriate contribution to affordable housing
• 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 harm to the designated heritage assets (the Outer Loudwater Conservation Area and the setting of the Loudwater Conservation Area) would not be outweighed by the public benefits of housing delivery and other considerations, and very special circumstances do not exist to justify the inappropriate Green Belt development.

The public benefits of nine new homes (very significant weight), affordable housing contribution (significant weight), highway safety improvements, footpath enhancement, energy performance, economic benefits and biodiversity net gain (considerable weight in combination) were weighed against less than substantial harm to both conservation areas at the upper end of the scale (considerable weight), substantial harm to Green Belt openness (substantial weight), and failure to promote sustainable transport (substantial weight); the balance tipped decisively against the proposal.