Furnace Pond, Furnace Lane, Cowden Data via plota.co.uk

Proposal

De-silting and re-landscaping of lake; including improved flood defence to main dam wall and bank. New foot bridge. Car parking area for fishers together. Demolition of boathouse to be replaced with new boathouse/dwelling and commercial area with solar panels and rooflights. New entrance at west of site. Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
22 Jan 2026
Decision
Target date was 12 Feb 2026

Under consideration

No decision has been issued yet. Plota predicted a decision around 29 Oct 2026; it is now day 280.

Site constraints 6

19 listed buildings within 150 m of the postcode pin
Nearest: 2 2a 3 4 5 and 6, High Street, Grade II, about 17 m from the postcode pin · 19 Grade II
The site itself is not listed. Listed building consent is needed for work that affects the special interest of a listed building, inside or out, on top of planning permission. Setting can be a consideration for buildings nearby; there is no fixed radius.
Show all 19 with distances
Historic England ↗
High Weald 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.
Hartfield Conservation Area 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 Expansion Zone
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Also on the record
Inside the Hartfield built-up area; Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s) 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 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 19 October 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
Wealden
Application type
Adjoining Authority
Received
22 Jan 2026
Validated
22 Jan 2026
Ward
Hartfield
Parish
Hartfield
Case officer
Show
Target decision
12 Feb 2026
Decision level
Delegated
Applicant
Show
Agent
Sevenoaks District Council

Decision outlook

Day 280, past the statutory target. 86% of commercial and major works in Wealden are decided within thirteen weeks; extensions of time are common, and the council need not decide on the day. Last seen undecided on 12 Sept 2026.

Day 280224 days past the 56-day target
67%decided within 8 weeks
69%approved
67decided in the last year

Plota live figures for commercial and major works decided by Wealden in the last twelve months, from validation. Wealden decision record →

Wealden
Planning Authority Score
4.2/10
Below average
#188 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

Wealden ranks #132 out of 296 councils for householder decision speed. Householder applications are slightly less likely to be approved here (88%) than the national average (90%).

These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Wealden decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
84%
Overall approval rate
Below avg (87%) #231 of 296
88%
Householder approved
Below avg (90%) #227 of 296
69%
Decided in 8 weeks
Above avg (63%) #132 of 296
40%
Extended time limit
Below avg (41%) #156 of 296
66%
Minor dwellings approved
170 decided (1-9 homes)
78%
Major dwellings approved
32 decided (10+ homes)
74%
Change of use approved
82 decided
1,361
Total decisions
220 refused in the year to March 2026