Winery building and hardstanding at Cobham House Vineyard, Cobham, Gravesend

What was proposed

The application sought details for a winery building and hardstanding linked to an earlier agricultural or forestry use proposal.

“SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT Application Ref: 20250604 Site Address: Cobham House Vineyard, Gold Street, Cobham, Gravesend, Kent, DA12 3AA Application Description: Details related to 20240544 for the Erection of a winery building and hardstanding.”

Officer report

Officers’ recommendation

Officers recommended delegated approval because the details sufficiently addressed siting, design, landscaping, noise, ecology and environmental assessment matters.

“The noise impact assessment demonstrates that the noise levels will not be detrimental to the amenity of neighbouring residents, subject to compliance with the recommendations set out in the report. Therefore, the siting of the building is not considered to impact amenity.”

“Therefore, it is recommended that the application is DELEGATED to the Head of Planning to grant PRIOR APPROVAL subject to the imposition of conditions, including those set out in Schedule 2, Part 6, Class A.2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended). ____________________________________________________________________________”

Officer report

Consultation and assessments

Ecology and environmental health consultees raised no objections, while landscaping, noise and ecological information addressed the requested matters.

“In order to address matters relating to landscaping, noise assessment and preliminary ecological assessment, a number of informatives had been applied. Members were updated that:”

“Planning Committee 22.10.2025 3 had raised no objections to the proposed hard standing surrounding the building and overall proposal. o Noise Assessment - A noise impact assessment had taken measurements of a similar sized wine making facility, testing the bottling machinery, press, compressor and pump. The findings had confirmed that the levels did not exceed the 75 decibels as set out in the original noise impact assessment.”

Minutes

Who spoke

A registered speaker spoke in favour, three registered speakers spoke against, and a [name withheld] addressed the Committee.

Members’ debate

Members questioned agricultural use, noise, bottling, planting, traffic and environmental assessment, and were advised about the limited prior approval considerations.

“Members questioned whether the use of the building was in fact for manufacturing use rather than agricultural. The Assistant Head of Legal Services clarified that in case law, wine making was classed as agricultural use. • The Committee queried whether the noise assessment provided a true reading, noting that due to the time of year, the bottling machinery was not fully operational at the time of the assessment.”

“Following comparison to an application relating to Meopham Vineyard, Members were advised that the Meopham application was a full application, with this application being for prior approval under permitted development. Therefore, the two could not be assessed in the same context, as the planning considerations were entirely different. As previously mentioned, a prior approval application had limited considerations.”

Minutes

The committee’s decision

The Committee delegated prior approval to the Head of Planning, subject to conditions including those required under the permitted development order.

“RESOLVED that the application be DELEGATED to the Head of Planning to grant PRIOR APPROVAL subject to the imposition of conditions, including those set out in Schedule 2, Part 6, Class A.2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended)”

Minutes