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Dismissed29 July 20266004007

Smokejack House, Horsham Road,, Dorking, RH5 5QF

Planning appeal 6004007 at Smokejack House, Horsham Road,, Dorking, RH5 5QF (Mole Valley District Council) was dismissed on 29 July 2026 by Inspector C Housden, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area.

erection of three single floor barn style new dwellings with parking, landscape served off an existing extended private drive access

Authority
Mole Valley District Council
Appeal type
Planning
Procedure
Written
Development
residential
Inspector
C Housden
Postcode
RH5 5QF

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
  • whether the site is suitable for the proposed development, having regard to its accessibility to services and facilities
  • highway safety, with particular regard to the site access
  • whether suitable refuse collection would be provided
  • ecology, with specific regard to protected species
  • the effect of the proposal on nearby trees and hedgerow

What decided it

The significant harm to character and appearance of the countryside and Area of Great Landscape Value, combined with unsustainable accessibility, highway safety risks, inadequate refuse arrangements, and insufficient ecological and arboricultural information, collectively outweighed the modest benefits of three additional dwellings.

The modest positive weight given to housing supply and small economic benefits during construction was insufficient to outweigh the significant harm to character and appearance, unsustainable location, highway safety risks, refuse collection difficulties, and unresolved ecological and tree concerns.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy EN2Policy EN4Policy S1Policy INF1Policy EN10Policy EN9
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 83Paragraph 154
Judgments
Julian Wood v The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Gravesham Borough Council [2015] EWCA Civ 195

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 Mole Valley District Council

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

  1. Allowed27 October 20266010634
    The Garden House, School Lane, Mickleham, Dorking, RH5 6EW
  2. Dismissed27 October 20266003694
    1 Ivy House Cottages, Partridge Lane, Newdigate, RH5 5BU
  3. Dismissed20 October 20266013764
    Priory Lodge, River Lane, Leatherhead, KT22 0AU
  4. Dismissed19 October 20266011465
    Land to the South-East of Yarm Way, Leatherhead, KT22 8RQ
  5. Dismissed16 October 20266010203
    High Bank,, Mill Hill Lane, Betchworth, RH3 7LS

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.

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every appeal around it, with its letter to read and the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out.