Okebrook, Ockley Road, Forest Green, DORKING, RH5 5SQ

construction of a single-storey detached dwelling following demolition of existing residential outbuildings

Authority: Mole Valley District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: James A

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the appeal site represents a suitable location for the proposed development
the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area, including the Area of Great Landscape Value (AGLV)

What decided it

The significant harm to character and appearance of the area and poor accessibility to services and facilities, when weighed against the very limited housing benefit from a single dwelling, significantly and demonstrably outweighed the benefits under the Framework tilted balance.

The limited housing benefit and economic investment were outweighed by significant harm from poor accessibility to local services and facilities and harm to character and appearance of the area, such that the adverse effects significantly and demonstrably outweighed the benefits when assessed against the Framework as a whole.

Framework references: 80, 78, 11, 219

Plan policies cited: Policy CS1, Policy CS2, Policy ENV3, Policy CS13, Policy CS14, Policy ENV22

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

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.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

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.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.