Birchden Farm, Broadwater Forest Lane, Broadwater Forest, Groombridge, TN3 9NR Data via plota.co.uk

WD/2026/1364/MAJ - Major Application - Full Allocated to Officer

Proposal

Proposed diversification of farm/vineyard to amalgamate two agricultural/viticultural buildings to provide a single mixed-use building for agricultural/viticultural storage, winery, farm/vineyard office, ancillary shop, restaurant, education and training facilities, along with associated external alterations, landscaping and package treatment plant. Retrospective elements include repair and refurbishment of lean-to, enlarged mezzanine floor and regularisation of the parking area. Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

Received
24 Aug 2026
Decision
Expected by 23 Nov 2026

This application is under consideration - no decision has been issued yet. Plota predicts a decision between 3 Oct 2026 and 11 Oct 2026, from Wealden's recent agricultural works. Comments are open until 2 Oct 2026.

Comment on this application ↗

Documents 33

All documents on the council site ↗

Site constraints 4

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.
Public footpath 1 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 3a
Best and most versatile land (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Predicted from the national soil map. The older provisional map 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 1
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No listed building 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.

Work with planning data?

Every application in Wealden - and every UK council - as a live feed, an API, or a bulk CSV export.

About Plota's data service

Important details

Council
Wealden
Application type
Major Application - Full
Postcode
TN3 9NR
Received
24 Aug 2026
Validated
24 Aug 2026
Ward
Withyham
Parish
Withyham
Case officer
Show
Target decision
23 Nov 2026
Applicant
Show
Agent
KLW Planning Ltd

Decision outlook

Day 21 of the 56-day target. Wealden usually decides agricultural works by day 28.

Day 2135 days to the 56-day target
79%decided within 8 weeks
92%approved
81decided in the last year

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

Consultation & key dates

Consultation
28 Aug 2026
Comments by
2 Oct 2026
Site or press notice
28 Aug 2026
Wealden
Planning Authority Score
4.2/10
Below average
#188 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Major dwellings

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