Couchman Green Oast Couchman Green Lane Staplehurst Kent TN12 0RR Data via plota.co.uk

26/503681/LAWPRO - Lawful Development Cert. (Proposed) Awaiting decision

Proposal

Lawful Development Certificate for proposed change of use of barn to a 4 bedroom house Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
around 2 Oct 2026
Decision
Expected by 27 Nov 2026

Under consideration

No decision has been issued yet. Plota predicts a decision around 27 Nov 2026, from Maidstone's recent changes of use.

Site constraints 5

Flood zone 3, rivers and sea
High chance: a 1 in 100 or greater annual chance from rivers, or 1 in 200 from the sea. Any development here needs a flood risk assessment. Defences are not counted.
The Environment Agency flood map for planning. Homes in zone 3 must also pass the sequential test. Surface water flooding is a separate map.
Flood map ↗
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.
1 listed building within 150 m
Nearest: Sweetlands Couchman Green, Grade II, 13 m away
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.
Historic England ↗
Habitat network: Network Enhancement Zone 1
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Also on the record
SSSI 484 m away: River Beult SSSI.
Not affected
Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 7 October 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

Council
Maidstone
Application type
Lawful Development Cert. (Proposed)
Postcode
TN12 0RR
Received
around 2 Oct 2026
Validated
2 Oct 2026
Ward
Staplehurst
Parish
Staplehurst
Case officer
Show
Target decision
27 Nov 2026
Decision level
Delegated Decision
Applicant
Show
Agent
George Potter

Decision outlook

Day 7 of the 56-day target. Maidstone usually decides changes of use by day 56.

Day 749 days to the 56-day target
63%decided within 8 weeks
82%approved
91decided in the last year

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

Consultation & key dates

Statutory expiry
27 Nov 2026
Env. assessment
No
Maidstone
Planning Authority Score
7.1/10
Good
#58 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Change of use

Maidstone is faster than most councils at deciding householder applications, ranking #34 out of 296. Only 30% of applications have the time limit extended, well below the 41% national average - the council usually decides on time. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (91%) than the national average (90%).

Faster than most councils
for householder decisions
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Maidstone decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
84%
Overall approval rate
Below avg (87%) #225 of 296
91%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #175 of 296
81%
Decided in 8 weeks
Above avg (63%) #34 of 296
30%
Extended time limit
Below avg (41%) #55 of 296
76%
Minor dwellings approved
136 decided (1-9 homes)
75%
Major dwellings approved
20 decided (10+ homes)
75%
Change of use approved
44 decided
1,110
Total decisions
181 refused in the year to March 2026