®Planning appeal decision
Lavender Cottage, Blackstone Gate Farm, Henfield Road, Albourne, Hassocks, West Sussex, BN6 9JJ
Planning appeal 3371528 at Lavender Cottage, Blackstone Gate Farm, Henfield Road, Albourne, Hassocks, West Sussex, BN6 9JJ (Horsham District Council) was dismissed on 11 December 2025 by Inspector Pearce J, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the site is a suitable location for housing, with regard to development plan policy and accessibility to services and facilities.
the construction of 1 no. dwelling
- Authority
- Horsham District Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Pearce J
- Postcode
- BN6 9JJ
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the site is a suitable location for housing, with regard to development plan policy and accessibility to services and facilities
- the effect of the proposed development on the integrity of the Arun Valley Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar sites, with regard to water neutrality
What decided it
The site's remote location outside the built-up area boundary, distant from everyday facilities and services, and failure to meet any of the essential countryside use criteria meant the adverse impacts of the unsustainable location significantly and demonstrably outweighed the limited housing supply benefits, even under the tilted balance.
The acute housing supply position and the dwelling's contribution to housing delivery were outweighed by the site's unsustainable location remote from services and facilities, the lack of essential need for the dwelling, and the conflicts with development plan policies protecting the countryside.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy 2 of the Horsham District Planning Framework 2015Policy 1 of the Woodmancote Parish Neighbourhood Plan 2017Policy 2 of the Woodmancote Parish Neighbourhood Plan 2017Policy 4 of the Horsham District Planning Framework 2015Policy 26 of the Horsham District Planning Framework 2015Policy 31 of the Horsham District Planning Framework
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 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
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What an account adds to this decision
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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.