An appeal against the refusal of an outline planning application for 270 houses in the Green Belt around Smallfield has been allowed, after the Inspector concluded that Smallfield is a village and not a large built up area - this could have a considerable impact on future development proposals around Smallfield.
The application, on Chapel Road, was originally refused by Tandridge District Council, with one of the reasons being that it would constitute inappropriate development in the Green Belt and sufficient ‘very special circumstances’ were not demonstrated to show that the potential harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm resulting from the proposal, were clearly outweighed by other considerations contrary to national planning policy.
Following this decision, there was an update to the National Planning Policy Framework in December 2024 which amended Green Belt policy. This included the introduction of Grey Belt land where the development of homes should not be regarded as inappropriate in the Green Belt where 4 criteria apply. For a site to constitute Grey Belt land, it must comprise previously developed land and/or any other land that does not strongly contribute to any of the purposes of the Green Belt.
In the appeal, the Council argued that the development would conflict with purpose (a) to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas, as Smallfield should be regarded as a large built-up area. However, the Inspector disagreed with the Council highlighting that the Council’s development plan indicates that it is a village, and not a large built-up area. The site therefore did not contribute greatly to the 5 purposes of the Green Belt and was therefore Grey Belt.
The Inspector concluded that the development would comply with national policy around Grey Belt land, particularly as the Council do not have a 5 year supply of deliverable housing sites and so there is a great need for the development. The appeal was subsequently allowed and permission was granted for the outline application.
This appeal decision will undoubtedly be beneficial for those looking at development involving houses, commercial sites or other forms of development around Smallfield. It will also have wider consequences as its interpretation is applied to other proposals across the country.
If you have a site in Smallfield or in the Green Belt (or Grey Belt!) that you are looking to develop, get in touch with our team to see how we can help.
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