Black Cottage, Henley Down, Catsfield, TN33 9BN

Planning appeal 6009677 at Black Cottage, Henley Down, Catsfield, TN33 9BN (Rother District Council) was allowed on 21 September 2026 by Inspector Thomas Courtney, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether Condition 4 is necessary in the interests of biodiversity and the landscape and scenic beauty of the High Weald National Landscape having regard to light pollution.

Conversion of existing carport/garage building with alterations to form self-contained holiday let

Authority: Rother District Council
Appeal type: Planning
Procedure: Written
Development: leisure-sport
Inspector: Thomas Courtney
Postcode: TN33 9BN

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether Condition 4 is necessary in the interests of biodiversity and the landscape and scenic beauty of the High Weald National Landscape having regard to light pollution

What decided it

The existing condition was more restrictive than necessary to achieve the legitimate planning objective of reducing light spill in a protected landscape, and should be replaced with a condition allowing flexibility in the type of permanent light-reduction measure employed.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies: Policy EN1 of the Rother Local Plan Core Strategy 2014Policy EN5 of the Rother Local Plan Core Strategy 2014Policy DEN1 of the Development and Site Allocations Local Plan 2019Policy DEN2 of the Development and Site Allocations Local Plan 2019Policy DEN7 of the Development and Site Allocations Local Plan 2019
National Planning Policy Framework: Policy N4Policy P3

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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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.