Cocklewood Farm, Five Oak Lane, Staplehurst, Tonbridge, Kent, TN12 0HT

Planning appeal 3329595 at Cocklewood Farm, Five Oak Lane, Staplehurst, Tonbridge, Kent, TN12 0HT (Maidstone Borough Council) was allowed on 25 October 2024 by Inspector Pattison B, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: the effect of the proposal on the rural character and appearance of the area, having particular regard to its scale, mass and siting.

Demolition of an existing dwelling within an ancient replanted woodland and the erection of a new replacement dwelling elsewhere on Cocklewood farm

Authority: Maidstone Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Pattison B
Postcode: TN12 0HT

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposal on the rural character and appearance of the area, having particular regard to its scale, mass and siting
whether there is an essential need for a replacement farm manager dwelling at the appeal site, having regard to the functional need of the farming enterprise

What decided it

The essential need for a rural worker to live on site to manage the livestock enterprise, combined with the acceptable siting of the replacement dwelling adjacent to existing residential development rather than in isolation in the countryside.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies: LPRSS1LPRS9LPRSP14(A)LPRQD4LPRSP15LPRTRA4LPRHOU11LPRCD3LPRHOU1
National Planning Policy Framework: Paragraph 84

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.

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The decision letter

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5 other decided appeals within two kilometres of this site. In the app every dot opens its decision, and its letter wherever one was published, and you can draw your own site to see what has been decided around it.AllowedDismissedSplitThis decision

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More decisions in Maidstone Borough Council

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2024

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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.