The site lies outwith the built up area of the village and does not constitute larger infill development as defined in Policies H1 and H2 of the North York Moors Local Plan. If permitted, the proposal would extend the built up part of the village into the countryside. This would have an urbanising impact on this prominent site to the serious detriment of the character of this part of the National Park and would have a detrimental impact on the amenities of the residents of the nearby area of Staithes. As such the proposed development would be contrary to Policies H1 and H2 of the North York Moors Local Plan.
Although an outline application, from the details specified on the application form, together with the further details supplied and shown on the illustrative plans, the Local Planning Authority considers the type of development proposed on this prominent site in terms of the amount of development, its indicative layout and the scale parameters and detailed design of the dwellings would have an unacceptable impact on the landscape and character of this part of the North York Moors National Park which is also within a defined area of Heritage Coast. As such the development would be contrary to Policies GP1 and GP3 of the nOrth York Moors Local Plan and to National Guidance which states that National Parks should be given the highest level of protection.
The Local Planning Authority consider that as a marketing exercise has not been undertaken there is no conclusive evidence that the site is not viable for re-use for employment or community purposes. Its use for housing would therefore be contrary to Policies C3, C5 and E3 of the Local Plan which require that schemes involving the loss of community facilities or employment land demonstrate that the facility is no longer viable or that the site is incapable of beneficial re-use for economic purposes.