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Herons Oast Stables Speldhurst Road Langton Green Tunbridge Wells Kent TN3 0JW

26/01926/FULLRefused

Refused on 23 October 2026

Council decision: Application Refused3 reasons for refusal

Approximate site (title boundary)
Boundary © HM Land Registry, © Ordnance Survey · details

This information is subject to Crown copyright and database rights 2026 and is reproduced with the permission of HM Land Registry. The polygons (including the associated geometry, namely x, y co-ordinates) are subject to Crown copyright and database rights 2026 Ordnance Survey AC0000851063. Conditions of use.

Proposal

Erection of a stable block and associated access track

Received
1 September 2026
Public comments
0 · last counted 24 October 2026
Ward
Rusthall And Speldhurst
  1. Received1 Sep
  2. Validated2 Sep
  3. Consult.
  4. Target
  5. Decided23 Oct

Decided in 51 days

About this application

This is a planning application at Herons Oast Stables Speldhurst Road Langton Green Tunbridge Wells Kent TN3 0JW. Tunbridge Wells has handled 5,829 applications of this type. This one was decided in 51 days, 5 days quicker than Tunbridge Wells's typical decision time. The site is in a conservation area. There are no previous applications recorded at this address. In the past year there have been 62 applications across Rusthall And Speldhurst. We hold 1,126 applications in total for the TN3 postcode area.

Why it was refused

  1. The proposal would be inappropriate development within the Metropolitan Green Belt, as it would not minimise impacts upon its openness and would significantly conflict with Green Belt purposes. There are not considered to be 'very special circumstances' which clearly outweigh the harm. The proposal therefore is contrary to Policy STR9 of the Tunbridge Wells Borough Local Plan 2025, and Policies GB6 & GB7 of the National Planning Policy Framework 2026.
  2. The proposal would cause significant harm to the character and appearance of a rural area within an otherwise undeveloped area of landscape. It would also have a detrimental impact on (and would fail to conserve and enhance) the landscape and scenic beauty of the High Weald National Landscape. The proposal is therefore contrary to Policies N2 and N4 of the National Planning Policy Framework 2026, Policies STR8, EN1, EN18 and EN19 of the Tunbridge Wells Borough Local Plan 2025 and the aims and objectives of the Landscape Character Area Assessment 2017.
  3. There is insufficient evidence that the proposal would not have a significantly harmful impact upon protected species, as no ecological surveys been provided. The proposal is thus contrary to Policies N2 and N6 of the National Planning Policy Framework 2025 and Policies STR8 and EN9 of the Tunbridge Wells Borough Local Plan 2025.

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode
TN3 0JW
Parish
Speldhurst Parish Council

Planning application dates

Date validated
2 September 2026

Applicant and agent

Applicant
Private applicant

Planning decision

Case officer
Emma Franks

Additional information

Documents
14

Site constraints

Checking the site
2/3
Council recordsAppealsFlood risk

Designations that overlap or adjoin the site outline.

  • Green belt: Tunbridge Wells
  • National Landscape (AONB): High Weald
  • Flood zone 1: Low probability (rivers and sea)

Not published by this council, so not checked: conservation areas, Article 4 directions and tree preservation orders. Ask the council if these matter.

Also checked, none recorded (19)

flood storage areas, listed buildings, scheduled monuments, World Heritage Sites, World Heritage Site buffer zones, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields, Heritage at Risk entries, nutrient neutrality catchments, national parks, SSSIs, Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Ramsar sites, ancient woodland, national nature reserves, local nature reserves, heritage coasts and brownfield registers.

A guide only, from official open data; it is not a planning search. Flood zones cover rivers and sea, not surface water.

Data © Crown copyright and others · sources and licences

Contains public sector information from planning.data.gov.uk (MHCLG and local planning authorities), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The Historic England GIS Data contained in this material was obtained on 2026-11-03. The most publicly available up to date Historic England GIS Data can be obtained from HistoricEngland.org.uk.

© Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2026. All rights reserved. Flood Map for Planning, Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Tunbridge Wells

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