Ragstones Offham Road West Malling Kent ME19 6RE Data via plota.co.uk

26/01370/TNCA - Tree Notification Conservation Area Approved

Proposal

Silver birch at rear of garden with split at stem union - remove leaning stem completely leaving a clean cut just above the union Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

Received
21 Jul 2026
Validated
24 Jul 2026
Approved
28 Jul 2026

Approved on 28 Jul 2026 · Last checked 5 Aug 2026

Site constraints 6

Green belt: London
Inappropriate development needs very special circumstances.
Green belt policy allows a short list of exceptions, such as limited extensions and replacement buildings. Anything else needs very special circumstances that clearly outweigh the harm.
West Malling conservation area
Demolition needs planning permission and permitted development is restricted.
The council must give weight to preserving or enhancing the area's character and appearance. Not every council has published its boundaries as open data.
Council document ↗
Habitat network: Network Enhancement Zone 1
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Also on the record
Scheduled monument 250 m away: Tower keep castle at West Malling; Inside the West Malling built-up area; the 1970s provisional farmland map had this area as grade 3, but it predates the buildings here and the current map does not class it as farmland.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · No listed building at the site

Checked on 11 September 2026. 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
Tonbridge
Application type
Tree Notification Conservation Area
Postcode
ME19 6RE
Received
21 Jul 2026
Validated
24 Jul 2026
Ward
East Malling West Malling And Offham
Parish
West Malling
Case officer
Show
Target decision
4 Sept 2026
Decision
tree works exempt
Decision date
28 Jul 2026
Applicant
Show

How this decision compares

Decided in 4 days from validation, 35 days faster than Tonbridge's median of 39 for tree and landscaping works. Approved, as 99% of tree and landscaping works here are.

82%decided within 8 weeks
99%approved
188decided in the last year

Plota live figures for tree and landscaping works decided by Tonbridge in the last twelve months, from validation. Tonbridge decision record →

Public comments

No public comments yet.

Last counted 5 Aug 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Alt. reference
PP-15097276
Env. assessment
No
Tonbridge
Planning Authority Score
4/10
Below average
#193 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Other decisions

Tonbridge is slower than most councils at deciding householder applications, ranking #244 out of 296. 54% of applications have the time limit extended, above the 41% national average. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (97%) than the national average (90%).

Slower than most councils
for householder decisions
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Tonbridge decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
95%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #31 of 296
97%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #45 of 296
49%
Decided in 8 weeks
Below avg (63%) #244 of 296
54%
Extended time limit
Above avg (41%) #246 of 296
88%
Minor dwellings approved
96 decided (1-9 homes)
82%
Major dwellings approved
11 decided (10+ homes)
89%
Change of use approved
9 decided
880
Total decisions
47 refused in the year to March 2026