®Planning appeal decision
Land at the Old Cottage, Station Road, Lingfield
outline application with all matters reserved except for access and layout for a residential development of 99 dwellings (40% affordable) with associated access, formal open space, landscaping, car & cycle parking and refuse
- Authority
- Tandridge District Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- Spencer D
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposal on the openness of Green Belt and the purposes of including land within it
- The effect of the proposed development on the Lingfield Conservation Area and the setting of nearby listed buildings and non-designated heritage assets
- The effect on the character and appearance of the area, including whether the appeal site is part of a valued landscape
- Whether the harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness, and any 'other harm' identified as arising from the appeal proposal, would be clearly outweighed by 'other considerations', so as to amount to very special circumstances
What decided it
The combined Green Belt harm (inappropriateness, loss of openness and conflict with Green Belt purposes) and heritage harm to the Conservation Area and listed buildings were not clearly outweighed by the other considerations, so very special circumstances did not exist.
Substantial Green Belt harm and very great heritage harm, together with significant harm to character and appearance, were weighed against very significant housing and affordable housing benefits and other moderate benefits, and the harms were found not to be clearly outweighed, so the balance tipped against the proposal.
Framework references: 11, 48, 92, 93, 104, 105, 110, 111, 124, 126, 130, 134, 137, 138, 147, 148, 167, 169, 174, 180, 189, 199, 200, 202, 203
Plan policies cited: CSP18, CSP21, CSP4, CSP11, CSP12, CSP13, CSP17, CSP19, DP1, DP5, DP7, DP10, DP13, DP18, DP19, DP20, DP21, Policy HSG12 (emerging Tandridge Local Plan), Policy LNP5 (emerging Lingfield Neighbourhood Plan)
Judgments cited: Stroud District Council v. SSCLG & Gladman Developments Ltd [2015] EWHC 488 (Admin)
The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.