®Planning appeal decision
Ross Cottage, 114 Leigh Road, Hildenborough, Tonbridge, Kent, TN11 9AG
Planning appeal 3350610 at Ross Cottage, 114 Leigh Road, Hildenborough, Tonbridge, Kent, TN11 9AG (Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council) was dismissed on 31 March 2025 by Inspector Dyer I, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the proposed development would provide acceptable living conditions for future occupiers.
Conversion of existing annex to independent residential property
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Change of use
- Inspector
- Dyer I
- Postcode
- TN11 9AG
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the proposed development would provide acceptable living conditions for future occupiers
- The effect of the proposed development on the living conditions of occupiers of 114 Leigh Road with particular reference to noise and disturbance
- The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the site and the surrounding area
What decided it
The creation of high-quality places is central to the planning process, and the importance of good design eclipses the provision of an extra windfall home in this case where living conditions would be inadequate.
The benefits of housing delivery and use of brownfield land within a settlement were outweighed by the significant harm to living conditions of both future and existing occupiers, as the importance of good design and amenity standards took precedence over the limited contribution to housing supply.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy CP 24 of the Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council Local Development Framework Core Strategy (2007)Policy SQ1 of the Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council Managing Development and the Environment Development Plan Document (2010)
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 135Paragraph 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 Tonbridge and Malling
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2025
- Dismissed11 February 20266001182440 Land and Building East of Rose Cottage, Lunsford Lane, Aylesford, Kent, ME20 6JA
- Allowed22 January 20263366031Land North East and South of 161 Wateringbury Road , East Malling , Kent, ME19 6JE
- Dismissed5 August 20253353979Ryarsh Place Farm, Birling Road, Ryarsh, Kent, ME19 5LS
- Allowed22 July 20253361029Parkview, 113 High Street, Tonbridge, TN9 1DL
- Allowed2 April 20253353896Land Opposite Grange Road at, Maidstone Road, Sevenoaks, Kent
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.