Guston House Dover Road Guston Dover CT15 5EW Data via plota.co.uk

26/00741 - County Council Deemed Permission Reg 3 Decided

Proposal

-Proposed change of use from an existing guest house (use class C1) to a children's home (use class C2) Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
12 Aug 2026
✓
Validated
13 Aug 2026
Decision
Expected by 3 Sept 2026

Under consideration

No decision has been issued yet. Plota predicts a decision around 9 Oct 2026, from Dover's recent changes of use.

Site constraints 4

Public footpath 13 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). 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 2. 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.
Radon affected area, class 6
An estimated 30% or more of homes reach the radon action level. Indicative for the 1 km square, which takes the highest class found in it; a radon test gives the answer for a building.
From the British Geological Survey and UK Health Security Agency indicative atlas. Under building regulations, as the BRE guide BR 211 (2023) sets out, new buildings and extensions need basic radon protection from class 3 in England and Wales and from class 2 in Scotland, and full protection from class 5. The class at the site itself, from the detailed BGS map, decides which.
UKHSA radon ↗
Also on the record
Coalfield, development low risk area.
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 Mining Remediation Authority, 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.

Building

Floor area215 m² (2,314 sq ft)
Energy ratingB (89 out of 100)
PropertyDetached house, 9 habitable rooms
Built1930 to 1949
HeatingBoiler and radiators, mains gas
WallsCavity wall, filled cavity

From the energy performance certificate lodged in August 2025, the latest held for this property. The building may have changed since. View the certificate

Work with planning data?

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

About Plota's data service

Important details

Council
Dover
Application type
County Council Deemed Permission Reg 3
Postcode
CT15 5EW
Received
12 Aug 2026
Validated
13 Aug 2026
Case officer
Show
Target decision
3 Sept 2026
Decision level
Delegated
Applicant
Show

Decision outlook

Day 57, past the statutory target. 88% of changes of use in Dover are decided within thirteen weeks, which runs to 12 Nov 2026; extensions of time are common, and the council need not decide on the day. Last seen undecided on 7 Oct 2026.

Day 571 days past the 56-day target
58%decided within 8 weeks
80%approved
63decided in the last year

Plota live figures for changes of use decided by Dover in the last twelve months, from validation. Dover decision record →

Public comments

No public comments yet.

Last counted 7 Oct 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Statutory expiry
3 Sept 2026
Env. assessment
No
Dover
Planning Authority Score
7.4/10
Good
#46 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Change of use

Dover is one of the fastest councils in England for householder decisions, ranking #28 out of 296. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (92%) than the national average (90%).

Among the fastest councils in England
for householder decisions
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Dover decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
88%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #151 of 296
92%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #151 of 296
83%
Decided in 8 weeks
Above avg (63%) #28 of 296
31%
Extended time limit
Below avg (41%) #57 of 296
72%
Minor dwellings approved
105 decided (1-9 homes)
83%
Major dwellings approved
18 decided (10+ homes)
82%
Change of use approved
56 decided
772
Total decisions
89 refused in the year to March 2026

Freehold boundary: © Crown copyright and database rights 2026, HM Land Registry. Polygons © Crown copyright and database rights 2026 Ordnance Survey 100026316. Conditions of use

Energy performance: Energy performance certificates from the Energy Performance of Buildings Register, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright 2026.