Upper Sent Cottages,, The Barn, Okewood Hill, RH5 5PT

Planning appeal 6007601 at Upper Sent Cottages,, The Barn, Okewood Hill, RH5 5PT (Mole Valley District Council) was dismissed on 20 August 2026 by Inspector C Housden, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether there is an essential need for a dwelling in the countryside to accommodate a rural worker.

change of use of ground for the temporary siting of a static caravan for a temporary rural workers dwelling

Authority: Mole Valley District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning
Procedure: Written
Development: agricultural
Inspector: C Housden
Postcode: RH5 5PT

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether there is an essential need for a dwelling in the countryside to accommodate a rural worker
accessibility to facilities and services
the effect on the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The failure to demonstrate an essential need for a rural worker to live permanently at the site, as required by Policy HO11 of the Framework.

The limited positive socio-economic benefits to the rural enterprise did not outweigh the conflict with the development plan arising from harm to character and appearance and the introduction of a car-dependent rural dwelling.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies: Policy HO11Policy INF1Policy S1Policy EN4Policy EN8
National Planning Policy Framework: Policy HO11Policy S1Policy S3Policy S5
Judgments: Embleton Parish Council v Northumberland CC [2013] EWHC 3631; Maidstone BC v SSE & Dunn [1995] HC CO/2349/94; Fordent Holdings Ltd v SSCLG [2013] EWHC 2844 (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.

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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

Allowed27 October 20266010634
The Garden House, School Lane, Mickleham, Dorking, RH5 6EW
Dismissed27 October 20266003694
1 Ivy House Cottages, Partridge Lane, Newdigate, RH5 5BU
Dismissed20 October 20266013764
Priory Lodge, River Lane, Leatherhead, KT22 0AU
Dismissed19 October 20266011465
Land to the South-East of Yarm Way, Leatherhead, KT22 8RQ
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.