Land Adj to Copse View, Burnt Oak Lane, Newdigate, RH5 5BJ Data via plota.co.uk

MO/2026/00528 - Existing Certificate of Lawful Use Approved

Proposal

Certificate of Lawfulness for an existing use in respect of the use of land for external storage of plant/machinery and materials in connection with a construction contracting business operation (Use Class B8/Sui Generis) having been in place for in excess of 10 years Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
2 Apr 2026
✓
Approved
4 Sept 2026

Approved on 4 Sept 2026 · Delegated · Last checked 5 Sept 2026

Site constraints 6

Ancient woodland
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.
Public footpath 17 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 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), which most planning maps still show, had this area as grade 4. 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: Network Enhancement Zone 2
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Ancient woodlandCouncil record
Recorded by the council for this site.
Council site ↗
Also on the record
Priority habitat 25 m away: Deciduous woodland.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · No listed building at the site · No scheduled monument 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

Application type
Existing Certificate of Lawful Use
Postcode
RH5 5BJ
Received
2 Apr 2026
Validated
2 Apr 2026
Ward
Capel, Leigh, Newdigate & Charlwood
Parish
Newdigate
Case officer
Show
Target decision
28 May 2026
Decision
APPROVE
Decision date
4 Sept 2026
Decision level
Delegated
Applicant
Show
Agent
NJA Town Planning Ltd

Consultation & key dates

Alt. reference
PP/2026/00468
Comments by
8 Jun 2026
Committee
23 Apr 2026
Statutory expiry
28 May 2026
Env. assessment
No
Mole Valley
Planning Authority Score
2.1/10
Poor
#270 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

Mole Valley is slower than most councils at deciding householder applications, ranking #240 out of 296. Mole Valley is also one of the strictest councils - it refuses more householder applications than almost any other, with only 76% approved vs 90% nationally.

One of the strictest councils
only 76% approved vs 90% nationally
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Mole Valley decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
72%
Overall approval rate
Below avg (87%) #291 of 296
76%
Householder approved
Below avg (90%) #291 of 296
50%
Decided in 8 weeks
Below avg (63%) #240 of 296
43%
Extended time limit
Above avg (41%) #172 of 296
47%
Minor dwellings approved
114 decided (1-9 homes)
71%
Major dwellings approved
7 decided (10+ homes)
93%
Change of use approved
15 decided
913
Total decisions
259 refused in the year to March 2026