®Planning appeal decision
Land South of Alfold Garden Centre, Alfold Crossways, Please Select, GU6 8JE
Planning appeal 3265361 at Land South of Alfold Garden Centre, Alfold Crossways, Please Select, GU6 8JE (Waverley Borough Council) was allowed on 25 February 2022 by Inspector Sturgess M, following a hearing. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area.
outline application, with all matters reserved except access, for residential development of the site (circa 80 dwellings) and a workspace hub (circa 100sq m, class B1), with associated access, landscaping, sustainable drainage, and associated infrastructure
- Authority
- Waverley Borough Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Hearing
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- Sturgess M
- Postcode
- GU6 8JE
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
- whether the location of the proposal is suitable for residential development having regard to the Council's spatial strategy
- whether the Council can demonstrate a 5-year supply of deliverable housing sites
- whether the potential loss of an area of the best and most versatile agricultural land is acceptable
- whether the site is large enough to provide for the required play space, the up to 86 dwellings and other associated features
- whether the development would lead to the unacceptable loss of protected and other trees
What decided it
The Council's inability to demonstrate a 5-year supply of deliverable housing sites, which the Inspector found provided the strong case needed to justify development on best and most versatile agricultural land, combined with the proposal's overall accordance with the development plan.
the lack of a 5-year supply of deliverable housing sites amounted to a strong case for development on the site which overrode the policy need to protect the best and most versatile agricultural land
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy RE1Policy TD1Policy D1Policy D4Policy SP2Policy ALH1Policy RD9Policy LRC1Policy NE2Policy D7
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 174Paragraph 105Paragraph 79Paragraph 57
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision
More decisions in Waverley Borough Council
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2022
- Allowed14 October 20266008502Land West of Loxwood Road, Alfold, GU6 8HR
- Dismissed5 October 20266009555Combe Farm, Alldens Lane, Godalming, GU8 4AP
- Dismissed25 September 20266006825Land Coordinates 504812 140760, Guildford Road, Cranleigh, GU6 8PG
- Allowed17 September 2026601004610A Nutshell Lane, Upper Hale, Farnham, GU9 0HG
- Allowed24 July 20266006580Quarry House, Gardeners Hill Road, Lower Bourne, Farnham, GU10 3JB
The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.