Planning appeal decision
Southgate House Pachesham Park, Leatherhead, KT22 0DJ
Planning appeal 3369622 at Southgate House Pachesham Park, Leatherhead, KT22 0DJ (Mole Valley District Council) was allowed on 10 November 2025 by Inspector Heppell J, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: the effect of the development on the openness of the Green Belt.
a small freestanding treehouse/children's play structure
- Authority
- Mole Valley District Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- leisure-sport · Other minor developments
- Inspector
- Heppell J
- Postcode
- KT22 0DJ
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect of the development on the openness of the Green Belt
- whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal
What decided it
The specific health and wellbeing benefits to the appellant's child with ADHD from access to a calm, safe outdoor space in a natural environment, combined with the minimal impact on Green Belt openness and the Public Sector Equality Duty, clearly outweighed the harm by reason of inappropriateness.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy EN1 of the Mole Valley Local Plan 2020-2039 Adopted October 2024
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 142Paragraph 153Paragraph 154Paragraph 155
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


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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.
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