Planning appeal decision
Land North of Cooden and East of Horsham Road , Capel , Dorking , Surrey, RH5 5HD
Planning appeal 3336009 at Land North of Cooden and East of Horsham Road , Capel , Dorking , Surrey, RH5 5HD (Mole Valley District Council) was dismissed on 3 December 2024 by Inspector McDonald K, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the site is suitable for the proposed development, having regard to the Council's spatial strategy.
for 46 dwellings with all matters reserved except access
- Authority
- Mole Valley District Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- McDonald K
- Postcode
- RH5 5HD
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the site is suitable for the proposed development, having regard to the Council's spatial strategy
- The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
- The effect of the proposal on biodiversity, with regard to protected species
What decided it
The adverse effects of granting planning permission, comprising conflict with the spatial strategy, substantial harm to character and appearance, and unresolved harm to protected species, significantly and demonstrably outweighed the benefits of housing delivery when assessed against the Framework taken as a whole.
The substantial weight of housing delivery benefits and policy-compliant affordable housing was outweighed by the substantial weight of harm to character and appearance, the substantial weight of precautionary harm to protected species, and the considerable weight of the spatial strategy in the recently adopted, plan-led development plan with a deliverable five-year housing supply.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy H1Policy EN2Policy EN3Policy H4Policy EN4Policy EN8Policy EN9
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11
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 2024
- Allowed27 October 20266010634The Garden House, School Lane, Mickleham, Dorking, RH5 6EW
- Dismissed27 October 202660036941 Ivy House Cottages, Partridge Lane, Newdigate, RH5 5BU
- Dismissed20 October 20266013764Priory Lodge, River Lane, Leatherhead, KT22 0AU
- Dismissed19 October 20266011465Land to the South-East of Yarm Way, Leatherhead, KT22 8RQ
- Dismissed16 October 20266010203High Bank,, Mill Hill Lane, Betchworth, RH3 7LS
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.
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