Church Of St. John The Evangelist, Church Road, Copthorne, CRAWLEY, RH10 3RD

the installation of a 56 panel solar photovoltaic array on the south facing roof

Authority: Mid Sussex District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: utilities-energy · Other minor developments
Inspector: Coles C

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposal on the heritage significance of St John the Evangelist Church as a Non-Designated Heritage Asset (NDHA) and the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The solar panels would not harm the heritage significance of the Non-Designated Heritage Asset as the key features contributing to its significance would remain unaffected, and the significant weight given to energy efficiency and renewable energy generation in the NPPF supports the proposal.

Framework references: 135, 167, 168, 216

Plan policies cited: Policy DP26, Policy DP34, Policy CNP1, Policy CNP7, Policy CNP11

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

Town Planner Pro

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.
- Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
- Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
- Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
- Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.
Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.
Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.
Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.
The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.

Join the waiting list

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every other appeal around it, with the full reasoning summary, the letter held on file, and the case law it applies.