®Planning appeal decision
Land North West of Goring Railway Station, Goring-by-Sea, Worthing, West Sussex
Planning appeal 3281813 at Land North West of Goring Railway Station, Goring-by-Sea, Worthing, West Sussex (Worthing Borough Council) was dismissed on 28 March 2025 by Inspector Wright Y, following an inquiry. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: The effect of the proposed development on the Local Green Gap.
mixed use development comprising up to 475 dwellings along with associated access, internal roads and footpaths, car parking, public open space, landscaping, local centre (uses including A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, D1, D2, as proposed to be amended to use classes E, F and Sui Generis) with associated car parking, car parking for the adjacent railway station, undergrounding of overhead HV cables and other supporting infrastructure and utilities
- Authority
- Worthing Borough Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- Wright Y
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposed development on the Local Green Gap
- The effect of the proposed development on landscape including the setting of the South Downs National Park
- Whether the proposed development would be in a suitable location having regard to other local and national planning policies and the need for housing
What decided it
The substantial harm to the Local Green Gap and to local landscape character, combined with moderate to modest harm to the setting of the South Downs National Park, outweighed the benefits of the scheme including housing delivery.
The substantial harm to the Local Green Gap and landscape character, and moderate to modest harm to the SDNP, outweighed the substantial benefit of housing delivery and other lesser benefits, so the proposal conflicted with the development plan as a whole and the appeal was dismissed.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy SS1Policy SS4Policy SS5
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11Paragraph 58Paragraph 187Paragraph 189Paragraph 212Paragraph 215
- Judgments
- Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council v Secretary of State for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities and Bewley Homes plc [2024] EWHC 1916 (Admin); R (St Modwen Developments Ltd) v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2018] PTSR 746
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 Worthing
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2025
- Dismissed1 October 20266012522Units 1-2, 3 Meadow Road Industrial Estate, Worthing, BN11 2RU
- Dismissed14 September 202660105184 Offington Court, Worthing, BN14 9PF
- Dismissed4 September 20266007549Dolphin Court, Worthing, BN11 4DD
- Dismissed7 August 2026600924094 Marine Crescent, Worthing, BN12 4JH
- Dismissed30 July 2026601078624 Cissbury Gardens, Offington, Worthing, BN14 0DX
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.