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Notice varied and upheld26 March 20253352762

Woodlands Farm Broadwater Lane, Copsale, Horsham, RH13 6QW

Planning appeal 3352762 at Woodlands Farm Broadwater Lane, Copsale, Horsham, RH13 6QW (Horsham District Council) was allowed in part (a split decision) on 26 March 2025 by Inspector King T, following a hearing. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: planning policy and the five-year land supply position of gypsy and traveller pitches within the Horsham District Council area.

Without planning permission, the material change of use of the Land from equestrian use to a mixed use of equestrian and the stationing of mobile homes for the purposes of human habitation (in the approximate position shown hatched orange on the attached plan) together with the associated operational development compromising the importation of soil and waste material to create a hard surface (in the approximate position shown hatched blue), change of land levels, the installation of a septic tank in the approximate position shown in brown on the attached plan, and excavation of land for services on the Land

Authority
Horsham District Council
Appeal type
enforcement · Enforcement Notice
Procedure
Hearing
Development
caravan-gypsy · Change of use
Inspector
King T
Postcode
RH13 6QW

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • planning policy and the five-year land supply position of gypsy and traveller pitches within the Horsham District Council area
  • the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the surrounding area, involving also the raising of the land, and the effect on nearby ancient woodland
  • the effect of the development on the area's ecology and biodiversity
  • the impact of the development on the Arun Valley Special Protection Area (SPA)

What decided it

The unresolved harm to landscape character, ancient woodland, ecology and potential land contamination was found to demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the shortfall in gypsy and traveller pitch supply.

Substantial weight was given to the shortfall in gypsy and traveller pitch supply, but this was outweighed by the adverse effects on landscape character, ancient woodland, ecology and land contamination, such that the costs of granting permission outweighed the benefits.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy 26Policy 25LP policies 23, 24, 25, 26 and 33LP policies 24, 31 and 33
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 11Paragraph 193
Judgments
Murfitt v SOS & East Cambridgeshire DC [1980] 5 WLUK 47; SOS v Caldwell [2024] EWCA Civ 467; Miller-Mead v MHLG [1963] 2 QB 196; McCarthy, Sheridan and Others v SOS & South Cambridgeshire DC [2006] EWHG 3287

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 applied

The decision letter

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More decisions in Horsham District Council

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2025

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  2. Allowed12 October 20266011680
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  3. Allowed25 September 20266010268
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  4. Allowed24 September 20266007772
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  5. Notice upheld16 September 20263373450
    Development Site Lot 3, Kent Street, Cowfold, West Sussex, RH13 8BB

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.

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every appeal around it, with its letter to read and the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out.