Miles v Tonbridge v Malling Borough Council [2020] EWHC 1608 (Admin) – https://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/format.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2020/1608.html&query=(miles)+AND+(tonbridge)+AND+(malling)#disp0

1. 1. Paragraph 16 of the PPTS, which forms part of Policy E, states:

“16. Inappropriate development is harmful to the Green Belt and should not be approved, except in very special circumstances. Traveller sites (temporary or permanent) in the Green Belt are inappropriate development. Subject to the best interests of the child, personal circumstances and unmet need are unlikely to clearly outweigh harm to the Green Belt and any other harm so as to establish very special circumstances.”

1. 1. The last sentence in paragraph 24 of the PPTS states:

“However, as paragraph 16 makes clear, subject to the best interests of the child, personal circumstances and unmet need are unlikely to clearly outweigh harm to the Green Belt and any other harm so as to establish very special circumstances.”

In this case the officer did not mislead the members in saying that the unmet need, combined with other factors in this case including  a recent appeal case for a site in the Council which suggested that the unmet need and lack of policy provision was a very special circumstance, was capable of being a very special circumstance