Client: Private
Local Planning Authority: Lewes District Council
Constraints: Countryside, Ancient Woodland

Squires Planning were asked to help secure planning permission for a new dwelling at Wilding Wood. The site comprised of an area of forestry land, and a former farmyard with various metal-framed agricultural and industrial buildings, one of which had been part converted by our clients into a dwelling. The site and some of its buildings have been used in some recent notable films, particularly horror films. The site's location within the countryside meant that policy did not support a dwelling in this location.

The part-converted building was first used as a dwelling in 2009 but didn’t have planning permission, therefore our first step was to obtain a certificate of lawfulness to confirm that the use of the dwelling was lawful. We prepared the necessary evidence to demonstrate that the dwelling had been in continuous use for more than 4 years and following a slight delay on the local authority’s part, an application was approved, and the certificate was issued. Please note, since this application was approved there have been changes to the legislation which now require a building to be in continuous use for 10 years before it becomes immune to enforcement action and is lawful by the passage of time.

We then prepared and submitted a planning application for an attractive and substantial new dwelling and other alterations to the buildings on the site to create an attractive walled garden, the creation of a driveway and other landscaping works. Despite the fact that we were not demolishing any of the buildings on the site, we were able to successfully argue that the new dwelling constituted a replacement dwelling in accordance with local policy, as the residential use on the site was not lost but relocated. As part of the development the previous dwelling would now be used as a holiday let. With the assistance of various inputs, we were also able to demonstrate that the impacts on the character of the area, ecology, trees, landscape, highways, flooding and drainage were acceptable.

The application package comprised relevant plans, a Surface and Foul Water Drainage Plan, an Opportunities and Constraints Plan, a Preliminary Landscape and Visual Appraisal, a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal, an Arboricultural Impact Assessment and Method Statement, a Planning and Transport Statement (prepared by Squires Planning) and the relevant application forms (prepared by Squires Planning).  

Despite an objection from the Parish Council, the application was approved under delegated authority.

The consultant team for this project comprised Squires Planning, M & J Design Services Limited, Quartet Design, Co-ecology & GRS Arboricultural Consultant Ltd