Land At Cobby Castle Forge And Livery Cobby Castle Lane Bishopton DARLINGTON TS21 1HD Data via plota.co.uk

26/00748/AG - Agricultural Determination Approved

Proposal

Prior approval for the erection of 1 No. agricultural building for general agricultural purposes including the storage of hay and straw and agricultural machinery (Agricultural Determination) (Amended description) Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
3 Aug 2026
✓
Validated
24 Aug 2026
✓
Approved
18 Sept 2026

Approved on 18 Sept 2026 · Delegated Decision · Last checked 19 Sept 2026

Site constraints 3

Nutrient neutrality catchment: Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast 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.
Agricultural land, grade 3b
Not 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) agrees.
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.
National infrastructure project 14 m away: Byers Gill Solar
The site is 14 m from the project boundary. Generating station, decided. The project page says whether consent was granted.
Nationally significant infrastructure projects (power stations, electricity lines, pipelines, major roads and railways, harbours, airports and reservoirs) are consented by a Secretary of State under the Planning Act 2008, after an examination by the Planning Inspectorate, rather than by the council. The boundary is the one the Inspectorate consults on and can change as the scheme does. Projects are shown within 2 km of the site.
Planning Inspectorate project page ↗
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No listed building at the site

Checked on 6 October 2026. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Planning Inspectorate 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
Darlington
Application type
Agricultural Determination
Postcode
TS21 1HD
Received
3 Aug 2026
Validated
24 Aug 2026
Ward
Sadberge And Middleton St George
Parish
Bishopton Parish Council
Case officer
Show
Target decision
21 Sept 2026
Decision
Prior Approval Not Required
Decision date
18 Sept 2026
Decision level
Delegated Decision
Applicant
Show

How this decision compares

Decided in 25 days from validation, about the council's usual 24 days. Approved, as 92% of prior approvals here are.

100%decided within 8 weeks
92%approved
97decided in the last year

Plota live figures for prior approvals decided by Darlington in the last twelve months, from validation. Darlington decision record →

Public comments

No public comments yet.

Last counted 19 Sept 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Statutory expiry
21 Sept 2026
Env. assessment
No
Darlington
Planning Authority Score
7.5/10
Good
#43 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

Darlington ranks #137 out of 296 councils for householder decision speed. Householder applications are more likely to be approved here than most councils, with a 98% approval rate vs 90% nationally.

More permissive than most councils
98% approved vs 90% nationally
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Darlington decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
90%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #109 of 296
98%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #14 of 296
67%
Decided in 8 weeks
Above avg (63%) #137 of 296
33%
Extended time limit
Below avg (41%) #73 of 296
88%
Minor dwellings approved
16 decided (1-9 homes)
100%
Major dwellings approved
4 decided (10+ homes)
76%
Change of use approved
25 decided
465
Total decisions
46 refused in the year to March 2026