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

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

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).

Framework references: 11

Plan policies cited: DP6, DP12, DP15, DP21, DP26, DP37, DP29, CNP1, CNP1.2, CNP2, CNP10

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.

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.