Eastwell Manor Hotel, Faversham Road, Boughton Aluph, Ashford, TN25 4HR Data via plota.co.uk

OTH/2026/1092 - Consent under Tree Preservation Orders Approved

Proposal

T86- Sycamore - adjacent to walled garden on its north-eastern side (i) remove stubs in lower crown (ii) Raise crown to give 0.5m vertical clearance from masonry of walled garden T4 - Cypress - North of manor, adjacent to carpark southern end of the group, viewed westward (i) Remove deadwood trees (including tree clad in ivy) and other partly uprooted of almost dead juvenile Cypresses, allowing the remainder to grow T15 Beech x 2 and a third Beech T16, the last of the row. The view Southward with the hotel carpark beyond (ii) Raise crowns to height 4-5m, removing branches to up to 10cm diameter, removing stubs from previous (relatively indecisive) prunings T26 Limes x 6 T27 Limes x 5 T28 Limes x5 (i) remove stubs and deadwood from lower crowns T38 Holly x 2, Ash x 2 - viewed Northeastward (i) remove deadwood (ii) Remove recovery growth from lower crown T40 Ash (i) Reduce height by about 8m (see arrow) Round the residual crown, also having the effect of reducing the weight of the crown on the southern and eastern sides of the tree T41 Oak, West of hotel, the view Eastward (i) Raise crown over shelter to give 2m vertical clearance, removing stubs (some long and up to 20cm diameter) and remove branches up to 10cm diameter (ii) Prune descending branches to give 4-5m headroom over paving and ornamental bed (iii) Remove large diameter deadwood T151 - Multi stem grey willow, no number, 6m south of Turkish hazel opposite the northern corner of the frontage of the hotel (i) Fell the two main stems leaning over the carpark to the front of the hotel T24 x 3 Horse Chestnut (i) Thin lower crowns to be consistent in density with upper crowns, removing stubs (some long) (ii) Raise crowns to height 4-5m (TREES OUTSIDE OF TPO AREA (NO APPLICATION REQD T153 and T154 Leyland Cypresses (i) Fell both trees - These trees have outgrown their situation and contribute to the dereliction of the building close by. Their loss would have little visual impact owing to the surrounding screen of cypresses and would enable the reinstatement of the garden and avoid the further deterioration of the building. T66 and T67 Prunus, eastern side of petanc area, viewed southward (i) Fell and grind stumps - due to trees being dead/dying.) Re-planting will be like for like. Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
19 Jun 2026
✓
Validated
17 Aug 2026
✓
Approved
around 16 Sept 2026

Approved around 16 Sept 2026 · Delegated Decision · Last checked 24 Sept 2026

Site constraints 5

Nutrient neutrality catchment: Stodmarsh SAC/SPA/Ramsar
New homes and overnight accommodation must show nutrient neutrality before approval.
Natural England advice: extra wastewater in these catchments harms protected habitats, so schemes must offset their nutrient load, usually through credits.
Kent Downs National Landscape
Great weight to conserving the landscape; major development restricted.
Previously an area of outstanding natural beauty, which is still the designation in law. Since 2023 authorities must seek to further its purpose, not merely have regard to it.
Agricultural land, grade 3a
Best and most versatile land (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Source: the Predictive Agricultural Land Classification Map (Defra and Natural England, 2025; the Welsh Government's Predictive ALC Map 2 in Wales), a model rather than a site survey. Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s), which most planning maps still show, had this area as grade 2. The predicted grade is Defra's current estimate; only a site survey settles it.
Where development of farmland is needed, policy prefers poorer land over the best and most versatile (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Three sources: Natural England's post-1988 field surveys, which are definitive where they exist; the Defra predictive map for England (2025) and the Welsh Government predictive map, modelled from the soil map with 3a and 3b split; and the 1970s provisional map, which planners and other services still show, coarser and with grade 3 undivided. Where the provisional and predicted grades disagree, treat the predicted grade as the current estimate and expect an application to carry its own survey.
Habitat network: Wood pasture and parkland
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Also on the record
Tree preservation order about 7 m away: TPO/97/00017.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 24 September 2026. The pin for this application is the centre of its postcode rather than the building, so distances to nearby designations are measured from the postcode and can be out by the width of the postcode area. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

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Important details

Council
Ashford
Application type
Consent under Tree Preservation Orders
Postcode
TN25 4HR
Received
19 Jun 2026
Validated
17 Aug 2026
Ward
Downs West
Case officer
Show
Target decision
12 Oct 2026
Decision
Approve with Conditions
Decision date
around 16 Sept 2026
Decision level
Delegated Decision
Applicant
Show

Public comments

No public comments yet.

Last counted 24 Sept 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Comments by
16 Sept 2026
Ashford
Planning Authority Score
5.9/10
Average
#105 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

Ashford is faster than most councils at deciding householder applications, ranking #75 out of 296. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (92%) than the national average (90%).

Faster than most councils
for householder decisions
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Ashford decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
88%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #147 of 296
92%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #146 of 296
75%
Decided in 8 weeks
Above avg (63%) #75 of 296
40%
Extended time limit
Below avg (41%) #146 of 296
71%
Minor dwellings approved
106 decided (1-9 homes)
89%
Major dwellings approved
18 decided (10+ homes)
90%
Change of use approved
40 decided
991
Total decisions
123 refused in the year to March 2026