Land at Gooseberry Fields Campsite, Smarden Road, Pluckley Thorne, TN27 0RE

Planning appeal 3375669 at Land at Gooseberry Fields Campsite, Smarden Road, Pluckley Thorne, TN27 0RE (Ashford Borough Council) was allowed on 6 March 2026 by Inspector Simms S, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the site is suitable for development, having regard to its location, the proposed land use and the amount of development.

residential development for up to six dwellings

Authority: Ashford Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Simms S
Postcode: TN27 0RE

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the site is suitable for development, having regard to its location, the proposed land use and the amount of development

What decided it

The Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing land (4.39 years) engaged the presumption in favour of sustainable development, and the benefits of housing delivery were not significantly and demonstrably outweighed by adverse impacts.

The benefits of six windfall dwellings contributing to housing land shortage and local economic benefits outweighed any adverse impacts, assessed against the policies in the Framework as a whole, in the context of a shortfall in five-year housing land supply

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies: Policy SP1Policy HOU5Policy ENV3aPolicy SP6Policy H1Policy H2
National Planning Policy Framework: Paragraph 11Paragraph 110Paragraph 115Paragraph 129Paragraph 135Paragraph 139

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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More decisions in Ashford Borough Council

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.