®Planning appeal decision
Alexandra Cottage, Batts Bridge Road, Piltdown, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 3XP
Planning appeal 3376527 at Alexandra Cottage, Batts Bridge Road, Piltdown, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 3XP (Wealden District Council) was dismissed on 9 April 2026 by Inspector Murphy S, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the appeal site would be a suitable location for the proposal having regard to its accessibility to services and facilities, development plan policy and the National Planning Policy Framework.
a three bedroom chalet bungalow to replace garage
- Authority
- Wealden District Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Murphy S
- Postcode
- TN22 3XP
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the appeal site would be a suitable location for the proposal having regard to its accessibility to services and facilities, development plan policy and the National Planning Policy Framework
- whether the proposal would make adequate provision for Biodiversity Net Gain
- the effect of the proposal on the integrity of the Ashdown Forest Special Protection Area
What decided it
The unmitigated significant harm to the integrity of Ashdown Forest SPA, combined with the unsustainable location and failure to secure adequate biodiversity net gain, outweighed the modest benefits of delivering one additional dwelling in an area with housing land supply shortfall.
The substantial harm from policy conflicts regarding location sustainability, biodiversity net gain, and unmitigated SPA impacts, together with the lack of a completed Section 106 agreement to secure mitigation, outweighed the modest benefits of delivering one additional dwelling and the use of previously developed land, particularly as the presumption in favour of sustainable development did not apply due to the strong reason for refusal relating to the SPA.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Saved Policy GD2Saved Policy DC17Policy WCS6Policy EN1Policy WCS14Policy SPO7Policy SPO14Policy WC12Saved Policy EN15Policy WCS12
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 83Paragraph 7Paragraph 109Paragraph 115Paragraph 117Paragraph 73Paragraph 124Paragraph 11Paragraph 194
- Judgments
- Holborn Studios Ltd v The Council of the London Borough of Hackney [2017] EWHC 2823 (Admin)
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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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.