Hurst House, Copthorne Common, Copthorne, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 3LG

Planning appeal 3372249 at Hurst House, Copthorne Common, Copthorne, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 3LG (Mid Sussex District Council) was dismissed on 6 January 2026 by Inspector Miles H, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the site is suitable for residential development in respect of its amount with particular regard to character and appearance.

Permission in Principle for development of 3 to 4 residential dwellings (including the existing dwelling)

Authority: Mid Sussex District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Miles H
Postcode: RH10 3LG

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the site is suitable for residential development in respect of its amount with particular regard to character and appearance
whether the site is suitable for residential development in respect of its location and land use with particular regard to the Council's strategy for the location of development and accessibility by sustainable transport modes

What decided it

The significant harm to character and appearance from a cramped cluster of dwellings, combined with the unsustainable location outside the settlement boundary, demonstrably outweighed the moderate housing supply benefits even under the tilted balance.

The moderate benefits of 2-3 new dwellings and housing land supply contribution were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the significant adverse effects on character, sustainability and design quality, applying the tilted balance under NPPF paragraph 11(d).

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies: DP6DP12DP15DP21DP26DP37DP29CNP1CNP1.2CNP2CNP10
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.

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The decision letter

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The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2026

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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.