Willow Cottage, Pebble Hill Road, Betchworth, RH3 7BP Data via plota.co.uk

MO/2026/00541 - Detailed Householder Approved

Proposal

Removal of existing outbuilding in front driveway and replacement with a detached double garage and erection of driveway access gates. Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

Received
2 Mar 2026
Validated
22 Apr 2026
Approved
17 Jun 2026

Approved on 17 Jun 2026 · Delegated · Last checked 6 Sept 2026

Site constraints 8

Special area of conservation
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.
Surrey Hills 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.
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.
North Downs Way 19 m away
Matters where it crosses or adjoins the site; the route and its margin are protected.
Habitat network: Network Enhancement Zone 1
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
SSSI 107 m away: Mole Gap to Reigate Escarpment SSSI
Natural England may need consulting, depending on what is proposed.
Sites of special scientific interest are the best wildlife and geological sites in the country. Development likely to harm one is rarely permitted.
Special area of conservationCouncil record
Recorded by the council for this site.
Council site ↗
Also on the record
Special area of conservation 407 m away: Mole Gap to Reigate Escarpment.
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
Detailed Householder
Postcode
RH3 7BP
Received
2 Mar 2026
Validated
22 Apr 2026
Ward
Brockham, Betchworth, Buckland, Box Hill & Headley
Parish
Betchworth
Case officer
Show
Target decision
17 Jun 2026
Decision
APPROVE WITH CONDITIONS
Decision date
17 Jun 2026
Decision level
Delegated
Applicant
Show

How this decision compares

Decided in 56 days from validation, about the council's usual 58 days. Approved, as 73% of demolitions here are.

42%decided within 8 weeks
73%approved
77decided in the last year

Plota live figures for demolitions decided by Mole Valley in the last twelve months, from validation. Mole Valley decision record →

Consultation & key dates

Alt. reference
PP/2026/00301
Comments by
4 Jun 2026
Committee
5 Mar 2026
Statutory expiry
17 Jun 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