®Planning appeal decision
The Observatory, Old Bury Hill, Westcott, Dorking, RH4 3JU
Planning appeal 3289076 at The Observatory, Old Bury Hill, Westcott, Dorking, RH4 3JU (Mole Valley District Council) was dismissed on 23 January 2023 by Inspector MacLeod R, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the Framework and any relevant development plan policies.
erection of a 'tree house' for holiday let
- Authority
- Mole Valley District Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- leisure-sport · Other minor developments
- Inspector
- MacLeod R
- Postcode
- RH4 3JU
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the Framework and any relevant development plan policies
- The effect of the proposal on the landscape character and appearance of the area and on the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- The effect of the proposal on the setting of an adjacent listed building in relation to its sense of quiet isolation
- Whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal
What decided it
The proposal amounts to inappropriate development in the Green Belt because it does not provide 'appropriate facilities' for outdoor recreation as required by Paragraph 149(b), due to unresolved uncertainties about construction access, servicing arrangements, and impacts on woodland and protected species.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy WNDP5 of the Westcott Neighbourhood Development Plan (2017)Policy ENV22 of the Mole Valley Local Plan (2000)Policy REC19 of the Mole Valley Local Plan (2000)Policy CS13 of the Mole Valley Core Strategy (2009)Policy CS14 of the Mole Valley Core Strategy (2009)Policy P1 of the Surrey Hills Management Plan (2019)Policy P2 of the Surrey Hills Management Plan (2019)Policy P3 of the Surrey Hills Management Plan (2019)
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11Paragraph 84Paragraph 147Paragraph 149Paragraph 176
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 Mole Valley District Council
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2023
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- Allowed11 September 20266012763Fourays, Horsham Road, Capel, Dorking, RH5 5LF
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.