13 Park Drive, Hepscott Park, Morpeth, NE61 6QA

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the site provides a suitable location for the development, having particular regard to the development plan's spatial strategy
• The effect of the development on the openness and purposes of the Green Belt
• The effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area
• Whether appropriate living conditions would be provided for the future occupiers of the development, with particular reference to their access to private outside space and their privacy, and the effect of the development on the living conditions of the occupiers of No. 13 Park Drive (No. 13), with particular reference to their outlook and privacy
• The effect of the development on the living conditions of the occupiers of No. 14 Park Drive (No. 14), with particular reference to their outlook
• Whether the development validly qualifies as an exemption from the mandatory BNG and, if not, the implications of this
• Whether other considerations clearly outweigh the harm to the Green Belt and any other harm so as to amount to very special circumstances

What decided it

The cumulative Green Belt harm, BNG non-compliance, and other identified harms were not clearly outweighed by the personal circumstances and other considerations, so the very special circumstances necessary to justify inappropriate development in the Green Belt did not exist.

The personal circumstances of the intended occupant and the benefits of specialist housing, tempered by unresolved questions over alternatives, did not clearly outweigh the harm to the Green Belt and the other planning harms identified, so very special circumstances did not exist.