St Barnabas Church, St Barnabas Close, Hereford, HR1 1DT

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the proposal would result in the unacceptable loss of a community facility
• Its effect on living conditions at residences on Admirals Close and at The Vicarage with regards to privacy and outlook

What decided it

The substantial benefits of the development in addressing the Council's significant shortfall in five-year housing land supply (3.11 years) and meeting evidenced local need for care bed spaces substantially outweighed the identified harm to residential amenity at neighbouring properties, justifying approval under policy S4 of the Framework.

The benefits of the proposal (addressing housing land supply shortfall, meeting care bed space need, better use of underutilised land, and employment creation) substantially outweighed the adverse effects (harm to living conditions at neighbouring residences in terms of privacy and outlook), and so policy S4 of the Framework dictated that planning permission should be approved.