Land To The West Of Chapel House Chapel Terrace Rookhope DL13 2AH Data via plota.co.uk

DM/26/02039/PNME - Prior Notification Mineral Exploration Approved

Proposal

Prior Notification under Class K of Part 17 of Schedule 2 of the GPDO 2015 for exploratory trenching at the Rookhope dump site Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
27 Jul 2026
✓
Consultation
13 Aug 2026
✓
Approved
14 Sept 2026

Approved on 14 Sept 2026 · Fast Track · Last checked 17 Sept 2026

Site constraints 7

North Pennines 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.
Public footpath 6 m away
Matters where it crosses or adjoins the site: obstructing a path without a diversion order is an offence, and work cannot start until the order is confirmed.
Compiled from highway authority data, not the legal definitive map. A few authorities have not published, so no path shown is not proof there is none.
Agricultural land, grade 4
Poor quality farmland, not best and most versatile. 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.
Habitat network: Network Enhancement Zone 2
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Also on the record
Radon affected area, class 4; Special protection area 421 m away: North Pennine Moors; SSSI 421 m away: Muggleswick,Stanhope & Edmundbyers Commons & Blanchland Moor SSSI.
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 British Geological Survey and UK Health Security Agency (radon, contains BGS materials © UKRI) 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
Durham
Application type
Prior Notification Mineral Exploration
Postcode
DL13 2AH
Received
27 Jul 2026
Validated
27 Jul 2026
Ward
Weardale
Parish
Stanhope
Case officer
Show
Target decision
23 Aug 2026
Decision
Raise No Objection
Decision date
14 Sept 2026
Decision level
Fast Track
Applicant
Show

How this decision compares

Decided in 49 days from validation, 7 days faster than Durham's median of 56 for utility and infrastructure works. Approved, as 92% of utility and infrastructure works here are.

63%decided within 8 weeks
92%approved
67decided in the last year

Plota live figures for utility and infrastructure works decided by Durham in the last twelve months, from validation. Durham decision record →

Public comments

No public comments yet.

Last counted 17 Sept 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Consultation
13 Aug 2026
Comments by
3 Sept 2026
Statutory expiry
23 Aug 2026
Env. assessment
No
Durham
Planning Authority Score
5.2/10
Average
#137 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

Durham ranks #190 out of 296 councils for householder decision speed. 48% of applications have the time limit extended, above the 41% national average. Householder applications are more likely to be approved here than most councils, with a 97% approval rate vs 90% nationally.

More permissive than most councils
97% approved vs 90% nationally
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Durham decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
93%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #52 of 296
97%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #29 of 296
59%
Decided in 8 weeks
Below avg (63%) #190 of 296
48%
Extended time limit
Above avg (41%) #213 of 296
79%
Minor dwellings approved
95 decided (1-9 homes)
90%
Major dwellings approved
49 decided (10+ homes)
87%
Change of use approved
201 decided
1,706
Total decisions
113 refused in the year to March 2026