Permission was sought for the dwellings on a village fringe location. The inspector, in giving special regard to the desirability of preserving the setting of the grade I listed church, found that the heritage asset would not suffer substantial harm as a result of the development. He found that the primary effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area would be the loss of a large arable field on part of the appeal site. However, the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area would be localised and not so harmful in the context of local plan policies and the circumstances of this part of the area as to be unacceptable. In addition, the scheme would not give rise to unacceptable conflict with highway safety policies or impact on the operation of the highway network. He found that policy required demonstrably severe highway safety effects to justify refusal and this was found not be the case here.
Inspector: Keith Manning; Inquiry
