Chilham Castle, Chilham Castle Estate, Chilham, CT4 8DB Data via plota.co.uk

PA/2026/1305 - Full planning permission Under Consultation

Proposal

Erection of a marquee structure on the footprint of a former tennis court - Retrospective Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
22 Jul 2026
✓
Validated
31 Jul 2026
Decision
Expected by 30 Oct 2026

Under consideration

No decision has been issued yet. Plota predicts a decision around 14 Oct 2026, from Ashford's recent full applications.

Comments are open until 13 Oct 2026

Comment on this application ↗

Site constraints 10

Nutrient neutrality catchment: Stodmarsh SAC/SPA/Ramsar
New homes and overnight accommodation must show nutrient neutrality before approval.
Natural England advice: extra wastewater in these catchments harms protected habitats, so schemes must offset their nutrient load, usually through credits.
Kent Downs 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.
Chilham 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 ↗
Scheduled monument about 51 m away: Tower keep castle at Chilham
Its setting is a consideration for work nearby.
Nationally important archaeology protected by the Secretary of State. Work that affects the monument or its setting is rarely permitted.
Historic England ↗
Registered park or garden about 21 m away: Chilham Castle
Its setting is a consideration for work nearby.
Registered parks and gardens, battlefields, world heritage sites and protected wrecks are designated heritage assets: harm needs clear and convincing justification.
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.
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
4 listed buildings within 150 m of the postcode pin; Inside the Chilham built-up area; Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s) had this area as grade 2, but it predates the buildings here and the current map does not class it as farmland.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt

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 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.

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Important details

Council
Ashford
Application type
Full planning permission
Postcode
CT4 8DB
Received
22 Jul 2026
Validated
31 Jul 2026
Ward
Downs North
Parish
Chilham
Case officer
Show
Target decision
30 Oct 2026
Decision level
Delegated Decision
Applicant
Show
Freehold owner
Show

Decision outlook

Day 70 of the 56-day target. Ashford usually decides full applications by day 70.

Day 705 days to the predicted decision (day 75)
29%decided within 8 weeks
88%approved
364decided in the last year

Plota live figures for full applications decided by Ashford in the last twelve months, from validation. Ashford decision record →

Public comments

2comments received
1 objecting1 supporting

Last counted 7 Oct 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Comments by
13 Oct 2026
Ashford
Planning Authority Score
5.9/10
Average
#105 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

Ashford is faster than most councils at deciding householder applications, ranking #75 out of 296. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (92%) 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
Ashford decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
88%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #147 of 296
92%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #146 of 296
75%
Decided in 8 weeks
Above avg (63%) #75 of 296
40%
Extended time limit
Below avg (41%) #146 of 296
71%
Minor dwellings approved
106 decided (1-9 homes)
89%
Major dwellings approved
18 decided (10+ homes)
90%
Change of use approved
40 decided
991
Total decisions
123 refused in the year to March 2026

Freehold owner: Information produced by HM Land Registry. © Crown copyright 2026. Source: HM Land Registry, UK and overseas companies that own property in England and Wales, September 2026 release.