The Plough Public House Plough Lane Downside Cobham SurreyKT11 3LT Data via plota.co.uk

2026/1262 - Tree Preservation Order Refused

Proposal

Tree Preservation Order EL: - T1 - Spruce tree. This tree stands at approximately 25m tall and is approximately 6m from the building. To fell the tree because it has outgrown its current position and it is clear it has large lateral roots because it is lifting the decking. This tree is continuing to grow (approximately 40m at maturity) and the roots will be growing too close to the Grade II listed building. There is also a health and safety issue with the tree because it is shedding cones on a regular basis onto the decking where people are eating. We would like to replant a native decorative tree which would be maintained and not grow to the height of this tree and therefore not encroach onto the listed building. Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
27 May 2026
✗
Refused
13 Jul 2026
Appeal
Not lodged

Refused on 13 Jul 2026 · Last checked 24 Sept 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. Some green belt land can count as grey belt, where it does not strongly serve the green belt's purposes. The council decides this in its green belt assessment or on each application, so we do not mark it here.
Read the government guidance ↗
Cobham Plough Corner 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 ↗
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.
Habitat network: Wood pasture and parkland
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
4 listed buildings within 150 m of the postcode pin
Nearest: Cobham Park Woodyard and Brewhouse, Grade II, about 33 m from the postcode pin · 4 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 4 with distances
Historic England ↗
Also on the record
National infrastructure project about 1382 m away: M25 junction 10/A3 Wisley interchange improvement.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 6 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, 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
Elmbridge
Application type
Tree Preservation Order
Postcode
KT11 3LT
Received
27 May 2026
Validated
27 May 2026
Ward
Cobham and Downside Ward
Decision
Refuse Proposed Tree Work
Decision date
13 Jul 2026

How this decision compares

Decided in 47 days from validation, 23 days faster than Elmbridge's median of 70 for listed building works. Refused, as 10% of listed building works here are.

24%decided within 8 weeks
90%approved
29decided in the last year

Plota live figures for listed building works decided by Elmbridge in the last twelve months, from validation. Elmbridge decision record →

Elmbridge
Planning Authority Score
2.6/10
Poor
#247 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

Elmbridge ranks #195 out of 296 councils for householder decision speed. Elmbridge is also one of the strictest councils - it refuses more householder applications than almost any other, with only 79% approved vs 90% nationally.

One of the strictest councils
only 79% approved vs 90% nationally
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Elmbridge decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
77%
Overall approval rate
Below avg (87%) #277 of 296
79%
Householder approved
Below avg (90%) #281 of 296
57%
Decided in 8 weeks
Below avg (63%) #195 of 296
44%
Extended time limit
Above avg (41%) #178 of 296
68%
Minor dwellings approved
195 decided (1-9 homes)
60%
Major dwellings approved
15 decided (10+ homes)
72%
Change of use approved
32 decided
1,358
Total decisions
314 refused in the year to March 2026