Old Forge Farm, Annexe, Old Forge Lane, Horney Common. Maresfield, TN22 3EL

1. 1.The site lies wholly within the exclusion zone of 400m surrounding the Ashdown Forest Special Protection Area, as set out in Policy WCS12 of the Adopted Wealden Core Strategy 2013. There is no scope to provide on-site mitigation for the impacts on the SPA from this residential use, and no scope to access effective mitigation of harmful effects through a financial contribution towards Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) and Strategic Access Management and Monitoring (SAMM) in line with the tariffs in the Council’s Ashdown Forest Mitigation Zone Background Paper, an approach supported by Natural England (NE). The planning authority are of the view the impacts of the proposed residential use cannot be mitigated in this location so close to the SPA designation. The Planning Authority consider under regulation 63 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 it has a duty to apply the precautionary approach if it is not certain of the impacts and in this instance, it is of the view there are high risks of impact with the proposed residential use. Residents would be highly likely to utilise the Forest SPA for recreational purposes. The Habitats Directive applies a precautionary approach to protected areas and as such plans and projects can only be permitted once it is ascertained that there will be no adverse effect on the integrity of the site in question. Regulation 63 of the Habitats Regulations adopts a precautionary stance, and if there is any suggestion that the proposed use would have a more intense impact, Regulation 63 would lead to a conclusion that the proposal should be resisted to protect the conservation objectives of the SPA. The proposal would be likely to have an adverse impact on the integrity of the Special Protection Area in view of the site’s conservation objectives. The residents would in all likelihood be active occupiers of the site and there would therefore be a significant increase in domestic activity on site and potential use of the nearby SPA, in turn increasing the recreational pressures on the SPA. The proposals could also introduce more intense trappings of human activity on the edge of the SPA, undermining its qualities and presenting greater risk to the SAC habitat which underpins the SPA designation. Accordingly, the proposal would be contrary to Policy WCS12 of the Wealden District pdnRS.docx Council’s Core Strategy saved Policies EN1, EN7 and EN15 of the Wealden Local Plan (1998), and paragraph 195 of the National Planning Policy Framework.
2. 2.The application site occupies a highly unsustainable rural location outside any defined development boundary where new housing is resisted and where there is no access to any local or day-to-day services other than by the private car. The provision of one dwelling would not outweigh this harm, which is significant and longstanding. The site does not therefore constitute sustainable development and is not a sustainable location for housing, contrary to Saved Policies GD2, EN1 and DC17 of the Wealden Local Plan 1998; Core Policies SPO7, SPO13, WCS2, WCS6 and WCS14 of the Wealden Core Strategy 2013; and paragraphs 7, 8, 83, 109, 115 and 117 of the National Planning Policy Framework.

From the council's decision notice.

Postcode

TN22 3EL

Application type

Full

Scale / size

Small

Parish

Maresfield

Date validated

13 March 2026

Consultation expiry

18 April 2026

Consultation start

26 March 2026

Consultation end

18 April 2026

Target decision date

8 May 2026

Committee meeting

1 May 2026

Agent address

Mr John Brown 11 St Marys Place Shrewsbury SY1 1DZ

Statutory period

56 days

Site notice start

26 March 2026

UPRN

10094619824

Documents

10