®Planning appeal decision
Westcroft Park Farm, Windlesham Road, Chobham, Surrey, GU24 8SN
construction of 20 dwellings with associated parking, access and landscaping following demolition of existing buildings (except Post Box Cottage)
- Authority
- Surrey Heath Borough Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- Holden S
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the proposed development would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to local and national planning policy
- whether the proposed development would be harmful to the character and appearance of the area
- whether the proposed development would be a suitable location for a residential development having regard to the Council's spatial strategy and the site's accessibility to local facilities and services
- whether the proposed development would provide an acceptable level of affordable housing
What decided it
The site's unsuitability for residential development due to lack of access to local facilities and services by modes other than the private car, combined with harm to character and appearance and inadequate affordable housing provision, outweighed the modest benefits of housing delivery on previously developed land.
The benefits of providing 20 new homes on previously developed land, including modest social and economic benefits, were outweighed by the site's unsuitability for housing due to poor accessibility to services, conflict with the spatial strategy, harm to character and appearance, and failure to provide adequate affordable housing; these harms carried very significant weight in the planning balance.
Framework references: 149, 105, 112, 79, 110, 111
Plan policies cited: Policy CP1, Policy CP11, Policy CP2, Policy CP5, Policy DM9
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.