Shere Cottage, Shere Road, West Horsley, Surrey, KT24 6EQ

front and side extensions. Raising of the roof to provide first floor habitable accommodation including three dormer windows and two rooflights

Authority: Guildford Borough Council
Appeal type: householder · Householder (HAS)
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Householder developments
Inspector: Courtney T

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposed development would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt for the purposes of the NPPF and development plan policy
The effect of the proposal on the openness of the Green Belt
The effect of the proposal on the living conditions of the occupiers of the neighbouring properties, with particular regard to a loss of light and privacy
If the development would be inappropriate, whether the harm to the Green Belt by way of inappropriateness and any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify it

What decided it

The disproportionate scale of the extensions (77% increase in floor area) combined with substantial harm to Green Belt openness and adverse impact on neighbouring living conditions through loss of light, with no very special circumstances to justify the development.

Framework references: 149, 145

Plan policies cited: Policy P2, saved policy G1(3)

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

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What an account adds

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Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

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