®Planning appeal decision
Land east of Cobham Road and south of the River Mole, Cobham Road, Bookham, Surrey, KT11 3QH
the installation of a ground mounted solar photovoltaic array together with associated infrastructure, stock fencing, CCTV, access gates, on-site biodiversity net gain and associated works
- Authority
- Mole Valley District Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
- Inspector
- Ware P
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
- The effect of the proposal on the setting of heritage assets
- The extent of renewable energy and related benefits
- Whether the proposal would represent inappropriate development in the Green Belt for the purposes of development plan policy and the National Planning Policy Framework ('the Framework')
What decided it
The very substantial weight attributed to the national and local need for renewable energy and the availability of a grid connection outweighed the limited landscape and less-than-substantial heritage harm, and the site's classification as Grey Belt meant the development was not inappropriate in the Green Belt.
The very substantial benefit of renewable energy provision, together with other benefits (agricultural, ecological/BNG, economic), outweighed the limited and localised landscape harm and the less than substantial heritage harm, tipping the overall balance in favour of granting permission.
Framework references: 187, 143, 155, 110, 115, 161, 165, 58
Plan policies cited: EN8, EN4, S2, EN6, EN1
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.