To ensure viability, the costs of any requirements likely to be applied to development, such as requirements for affordable housing, local standards, infrastructure contributions or other requirements should, when taking account of the normal cost of development and on-site mitigation, provide acceptable returns to a willing land owner and willing developer to enable the development to be deliverable.

142. Inappropriate development is, by definition, harmful to the Green Belt and should not be approved except in very special circumstances

143. When considering any planning application, local planning authorities should ensure that substantial weight is given to any harm to the Green Belt. ‘Very special circumstances’ will not exist unless the potential harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations.

144. A local planning authority should regard the construction of new buildings as inappropriate in Green Belt. Exceptions to this are:

• buildings for agriculture and forestry

• provision of appropriate facilities for outdoor sport, outdoor recreation and for cemeteries, as long as it preserves the openness of the Green Belt and does not conflict with the purposes of including land within it

• the extension or alteration of a building provided that it does not result in disproportionate additions over and above the size of the original building

• the replacement of a building, provided the new building is not materially larger than the one it replaces

• limited infilling in villages, and limited affordable housing for local community needs under policies set out in the Local Plan; or

• limited infilling or the partial or complete redevelopment of previously developed sites (excluding temporary buildings), whether redundant or in continuing use, which would not have a greater impact on the openness of the Green Belt and the purpose of including land within it than the existing development.

145. Certain other forms of development are also not inappropriate in Green Belt provided they preserve the openness of the Green Belt and do not conflict with the purposes of including land in Green Belt. These are:

• mineral extraction

• engineering operations

• local transport infrastructure which can demonstrate a requirement for a Green Belt location

• the re-use of buildings provided that the buildings are of permanent and substantial construction; and

• development brought forward under a Community Right to Build Order.

146. When located in the Green Belt, elements of many renewable energy projects will comprise inappropriate development. In such cases developers will need to demonstrate very special circumstances if projects are to proceed. Such very special circumstances may include the wider environmental benefits associated with increased production of energy from renewable sources.

give great weight to protecting landscape and scenic beauty in National Parks, the Broads and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The conservation of wildlife and cultural heritage are important considerations in all these areas, and should be given great weight in National Parks and the Broads. Planning permission should be refused for major developments in designated areas except in exceptional circumstances where it can be demonstrated they are in the public interest. Consideration of such applications should include an assessment of:

––the need for the development, including in terms of any national considerations, and the impact of permitting it, or refusing it, upon the local economy

––the cost of, and scope for, developing elsewhere outside the designated area, or meeting the need for it in some other way; and