Land at Marles Stud, Epping Road, Epping Upland, Epping, CM16 6PF

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the development is inappropriate development in the Green Belt, having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and any relevant development plan policies
• The effect of the development on the openness and purposes of the Green Belt
• The effect of the development on the integrity of the Epping Forest Special Area of Conservation
• 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 required to justify the development

What decided it

The best interests of the children occupying the development as family homes, combined with human rights considerations and the Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, collectively outweighed the substantial harm to the Green Belt.

The substantial harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness and limited harm to openness was clearly outweighed by the best interests of the children (significant weight), human rights considerations (moderate weight), housing delivery (limited weight), and other limited benefits, such that very special circumstances exist; with no five-year housing land supply, the adverse impacts do not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits when assessed against the Framework as a whole.