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Dismissed31 October 20253353598

North Court Fruit Farm, Lower Lees Road, Old Wives Lees, Canterbury, CT4 8AZ

Planning appeal 3353598 at North Court Fruit Farm, Lower Lees Road, Old Wives Lees, Canterbury, CT4 8AZ (Ashford Borough Council) was dismissed on 31 October 2025 by Inspector Kirby R, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: the effect of the proposal on the landscape character of the area, including the setting of the Kent Downs National Landscape.

full planning application for installation of a solar farm, including photovoltaic panels, substations, inverters, maintenance tracks, security fencing, cameras, landscaping and associated works

Authority
Ashford Borough Council
Appeal type
major · Planning Appeal
Procedure
Written Representations
Development
utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector
Kirby R
Postcode
CT4 8AZ

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • the effect of the proposal on the landscape character of the area, including the setting of the Kent Downs National Landscape
  • the effect of the proposal on the setting of nearby designated heritage assets
  • the effect of the proposal on ecology
  • if harm is identified, whether or not there are material considerations to outweigh this

What decided it

The totality of harm to landscape character, the setting of the Kent Downs National Landscape, the setting of designated and non-designated heritage assets, and unresolved ecology concerns was not outweighed by the renewable energy benefits, and the proposal conflicted with the development plan as a whole.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy SP1Policy ENV10Policy ENV3aPolicy ENV3bPolicy ENV5Policy ENV13Policy SP6Policy ENV1
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 161Paragraph 168Paragraph 187Paragraph 189Paragraph 212Paragraph 216

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 Ashford Borough Council

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

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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.

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.