“The planning system… is created as an instrument of government, as a means of restricting private land use rights in the interests of the community as a whole.”
“The use of Cherkley Court, and its existing associated buildings as a hotel comprising guest accommodation, health club, spa and cookery school. Provision of additional floorspace to accommodate further guest rooms, underground plant and leisure uses, including an outdoor pool. Provision of an 18 hole golf course, practice facilities, clubhouse and maintenance area (underground)…”
“GOLF COURSES 12.70 There are seven established golf courses in the District concentrated principally around Dorking and Leatherhead. In the Newdigate area a new course has been opened in recent years and another permitted. More generally this part of Surrey is very well served with golf courses. According to the recognised standards of provision there is no overriding need to accommodate further golf courses in the District. 12.71 In considering proposals for new courses, the protection of the District’s Green Belt and countryside will be of paramount importance. In this regard it will be important to ensure that a proposal is compatible with retaining and where possible enhancing the openness of the Great Belt and rural character of the countryside. Applicants proposing new courses will be required to demonstrate that there is a need for further facilities. 12.72 New courses are likely to have an impact on the District’s landscape because of their extensive size, formal appearance, considerable earth works and new buildings. The Council will seek to ensure that proposals for golf courses do not reduce the distinctiveness and diversity of the District’s landscape. The Council is particularly concerned about the effect on the special landscape qualities of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Area of Great Landscape Value and future golf course proposals will be directed away from these areas of high landscape quality. POLICY REC 12 – DEVELOPMENT OF GOLF COURSES [A] Proposals for new golf courses and extensions to existing courses will be considered against the following criteria: 1. the impact of the course on the landscape, archaeological remains and historic gardens, sites which are important for nature conservation and identified in Policies ENV9, ENV10, ENV11, ENV12 and ENV13, and the extent to which the proposal makes a positive contribution to these interests; 2. the extent of any built development and facilities and their impact on the character and appearance of the countryside; 3. courses will not be permitted on Grade 1, Grade 2 or Grade 3a agricultural land; 4. the course should have safe and convenient vehicular access to an appropriate classified road. Proposals generating levels of traffic that would prejudice highway safety or cause significant harm to the environmental character of country roads will not be permitted; 5. the extent to which public rights of way are affected and whether any provision is proposed for new permissive rights of way; 6. the provision of adequate car parking which should be discreetly located or screened so as not to have an adverse impact on the character and appearance on the countryside. [B] In considering proposals for new golf courses, the Council will require evidence that the proposed development is a sustainable project without the need for significant additional development in the future, such as hotels or conference facilities. [C] Proposals for new golf courses should be designed to respect the local landscape character. New golf courses in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Area of Great Landscape Value will only be permitted if they are consistent with the primary aim of conserving and enhancing the existing landscape. 12.73 In determining proposals for golf courses and ancillary development, the Council will have regard to the Surrey County Council’s guidelines for the development of new golf facilities in Surrey. Account will also be taken of the existing and proposed provision of courses in the area. 12.74 etc...”
“The proposal is a substantial and complex application in a very sensitive location within land designated as Green Belt, partly Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a Site of Nature Conservation Interest, a Special Area of Conservation buffer zone and an area of high archaeological potential. The site also falls within the Area of Great Landscape Value and includes Scheduled Ancient Monuments. The proposals involve work to a Grade II Listed Building and curtilage listed buildings, change of use of these buildings, extensions to these buildings, new build in the green belt, and the provision of an 18 hole of golf course on the open parkland.”
“With regard to the non compliant elements of the proposal, significant weight must be given to inappropriate development in the Green Belt as stated in PPG2 regarding the harm caused. In relation to landscape issues, objection and concern has been raised by numerous statutory and non statutory bodies including Natural England, the Surrey Hills AONB Adviser, the Surrey Hills Board, The National Trust, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (Mole Valley Group), and, The County Landscape Officer. Part of the site is designated by the Govt as having the highest status of protection in relation to landscape and scenic beauty. This must be given significant weight too. Natural England is considering this year whether to extend the AONB status to cover the entire application site and beyond. This must be given weight. Linked to this is the fact that the need for a golf course in the AONB/AGLV has not been proven by the applicant. …”
“[REASONS for grant of planning permission]: [1] The development hereby granted consent has been assessed against Mole Valley Core Strategy policies CS12 and CS 13; Mole Valley Local Plan policies ENV22, ENV31, MOV2 and REC12, Surrey Hills Management Plan policies LU1, LU3 and RT 1 and the National Planning Policy framework (NPPF). In addition, certain aspects of the development were subject to an Environmental Statement. The applicants commenced a public participation programme in October 2010 which ran until October 2011 – the various stages of which are set out on p. 13 of the officer report to the4th April 2012 Development Control Committee. Representations received from the public were summarised on pp. 38 to 49 of the report to the 4th April Committee; p. 1 of the Addendum to that Committee and pp. 1-4 of the Addendum to the 2nd May Development Control Committee. [2] The Development Control Committee considered that the development did conform to the policies above and granted permission for the following reasons: [3] The development was considered to accord with the principles of sustainable development as set out in the NPPF and the Council’s Core Strategy 2009 and Mole Valley Local Plan 2000. Particular emphasis was placed on the degree to which the proposals supported the local economy, providing jobs for local people and accommodation and facilities for visitors to the District. The Committee considered these benefits were enhanced further by measures to convert the listed building of Cherkley Court sensitively, finding a long term viable use that would ensure the on-going maintenance of the house, the estate buildings, the formal gardens and the wider estate. The case for approving the development was furthered by design and management proposals that would allow the ecology of the estate to be managed and, in places, enhanced alongside the formal playing areas of the golf course, whilst respecting the landscape characteristics on the estate and the wider landscape. The development was considered overall to balance the needs of the economy with those of nature and landscape conservation, as required by Mole Valley Core Strategy policies CS12 and CS13, and the conservation of the historic environment. [4] The Committee also considered that the development supported measures in Mole Valley Core Strategy CS12 and Surrey Hills Management Plan policy RT1 to support the provision of accommodation for visitors to the District. Included in this is the provision of opportunities for the public to continue to visit the house and gardens, including the creation of a new statutory Right of Way. [5] The development was considered not to compromise significantly the Green Belt policies contained in the NPPF and the Council’s Core Strategy by: re-using existing buildings, utilising floorspace granted under previous, extant permissions and locating additional floorspace underground. The design of the development in terms of siting, scale and detailing was considered to retain substantially the openness of the site sufficiently to overcome concerns set out in the officers’ report, having regard to the other benefits that would be achieved. [6] In coming to its decision and in judging the impact on the Area of Great Landscape Value and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Development Control Committee were mindful of the Environmental Statement undertaken by the applicant under the EIA Regulations, the Council’s assessment of the EA, the details contained in the application, the concerns of officers set out in their report and the requirement under a legal agreement to undertake a Landscape and Ecology Management Plan for the Cherkley Estate. It was judged that the landscaping and mitigation measures contained in the application were sufficient to ensure that the overall landscape character would not be compromised, that protected species would be safeguarded and that the ecology of the estate could be enhanced through control mechanisms in the legal agreement; planning conditions and the Landscape and Ecology Management Plan, despite the presence of the golf course. It was considered that the design of the proposals met the terms of planning policies designed to protect the biodiversity of the estate and the character of the countryside, namely Core Strategy policy CS13, Local Plan policy ENV22 and REC12, as well as Surrey Hills Management Plan policies LU2 and LU3. It was noted that the development included suitable measures to protect and enhance the majority of open countryside of the estate alongside formal playing spaces, whilst introducing management of neglected woodland, retaining hedgerows, managing trees and including new planting that is appropriate to a chalk grassland location. There would also be suitable protection afforded during construction phase. [7] The Committee was mindful that a management plan will be prepared to integrate all the management provisions, from construction through to the maturity of the golf course. Therefore, the development could meet commitments to safeguard and enhance the natural environment within the NPPF, Core Strategy policy CS13, Local Plan policy ENV22 and REC 12 and Surrey Hills Management Plan policies LU2 and LU3. The development was considered to provide an opportunity for stable long term management of the estate and investment to safeguard its ecology and landscape. [8] The development was considered to provide opportunities to meet a need for recreation facilities in the countryside and the applicant had been able to demonstrate in the supporting documents, such as the ‘Report on Viability of Golf at Cherkley’ and the ‘Hotel Viability Study’, that they would be able to secure enough interest in the facilities to make it viable in the short and long term. Therefore, the terms of Mole Valley Local Plan policy REC12 and its supporting text were considered to have been met in that a need for the facilities had been demonstrated and the character of the countryside could be safeguarded even within and adjacent to the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Committee did, nevertheless, as a condition of its approval, require the provision of a bond to be provided to the Local Planning Authority and held for a period of 5 years, to be used to reinstate the land in the event that the golf course venture should fail. [9] The Committee was satisfied that the arrangements for car parking and access to and from the site were adequate and that the surrounding roads network could cope with the traffic generated by the development, as required by Mole Valley Local Plan policy MOV2. [10] The proposals also provided opportunities to encourage the provision of new works of art and craft, as set out in Local Plan policy ENV31. [11] Having considered all of the material considerations and objection to the development and the officers’ concerns as expressed in their reports, the Committee concluded that, when balancing all of the issues, the development would achieve sufficient economic benefits and contained adequate environmental safeguards, having regard also to the conditions set out in the decision notice and to the Section 106 Agreement, to outweigh any concerns.”
"If regard is to be had to the development plan for the purpose of any determination to be made under the planning Acts the determination must be made in accordance with the plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise." (5) Section 38(6) must be read together with section 70(2) of the 1990 Act. The effect of those two provisions is that the determination of an application for planning permission is to be made in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. (6) Although section 38(6) requires a local planning authority to recognise the priority to be given to the development plan, it leaves the assessment of the facts and the weighing of all material considerations with the decision-maker. It is for the decision-maker to assess the relative weight to be given to all material considerations, including the policies of the development plan (see City of Edinburgh Council v. The Secretary of State for Scotland [1997] 1 W.L.R. 1447 (concerning an equivalent Scottish provision), especially Lord Hope at pp. 1449H-1450G and Lord Clyde at pp.1457H-1459G). The distinction between materiality and weight (7) The law has always distinguished between materiality and weight. The distinction is clear and essential. Materiality is a question of law for the court; weight is for the decision-maker in the exercise of its planning judgment. This was spelled out in the well-known passages of Lord Hoffmann in Tesco Stores Limited v. Secretary of State for the Environment[1995] 1 W.L.R 754 (at p. 780): “The law has always made a clear distinction between the question of whether something is a material consideration and the weight which it should be given. The former is a question of law and the latter is a question of planning judgment, which is entirely a matter for the planning authority. Provided that the planning authority has regard to all material considerations, it is at liberty (provided that it does not lapse into Wednesbury irrationality) to give them whatever weight the planning authority thinks fit or no weight at all. This distinction between whether something is a material consideration and the weight which it should be given is only one aspect of a fundamental principle of British planning law, namely that the courts are concerned only with the legality of the decision-making process and not with the merits of the decision. If there is one principle of planning law more firmly settled than any other, it is that matters of planning judgment are within the exclusive province of the local planning authority or the Secretary of State.” (8) So long as it does not lapse into perversity, a local planning authority is entitled to give a material consideration whatever weight it considers to be appropriate. Under the heading "
" If the planning authority ignores a material consideration because it has forgotten about it, or because it wrongly thinks that the law or departmental policy (as in Safeway Properties Ltd v. Secretary of State for the Environment [1991] JPL 966) precludes it from taking it into account, then it has failed to have regard to a material consideration. But if the decision to give that consideration no weight is based on rational planning grounds, then the planning authority is entitled to ignore it."
“The threshold of irrationality for purposes of judicial review is a high one. This is because responsibility for making the relevant decision rests with another party and not with the court. It is not enough that [the court] might, if the responsibility for making the relevant decision rested with [it], make a decision different from the appointed decision-maker. To justify intervention by the court, the decision under challenge must fall outside the bounds of any decision open to a reasonable decision-maker.”
“If there is a dispute about the meaning of the words included in a policy document which a planning authority is bound to take into account, it is of course for the court to determine as a matter of law what the words are capable of meaning. If the decision maker attaches a meaning to the words they are not properly capable of bearing, then it will have made an error of law, and it will have failed properly to understand the policy.…”
“Except in so far as may be provided by this Part, the validity of (a)…a local plan……shall not be questioned in any legal proceedings whatsoever”
“1.10 The Plan’s policies are printed in bold type and boxed within a shaded background to distinguish them from the supporting text which provides a reasoned justification for each policy and indicates how it will be implemented by the Council. To interpret the policies fully, it is necessary to read the supporting text. 1.11 When considering proposals for development, the Council will have regard to all the relevant policies in the Plan.”
“Applicants proposing new courses will be required to demonstrate that there is a need for further facilities”
“According to recognised standards of provision there is no overriding need to accommodate further golf courses in the District.”
“More generally this part of Surrey is very well served with golf courses. According to the recognised standards of provision there is no overriding need to accommodate further golf courses in the District.”
“Because the Cherkley estate lies within a nationally important protected landscape or immediately adjacent to it, questions of need are even more significant. The proposal as it stands does not provide sporting or recreational facilities that are locally in short supply. Instead they are providing for a very specific and exclusive market that is mobile and even international in character. Therefore it is reasonable to conclude that the golf course and its associated facilities could be provided in another location where the landscape is less sensitive and important. For these reasons the proposal fails the tests of Policy REC11, REC12 and Policy CS16.”
“[8] The development was considered to provide opportunities to meet a need for recreation facilities in the countryside and the applicant had been able to demonstrate in the supporting documents, such as the ‘report on Viability of Golf at Cherkley’ and the ‘Hotel Viability Study’, that they would be able to secure enough interest in the facilities to make it viable in the short and the long term. Therefore, the terms of Mole Valley Local plan policy REC12 and its supporting text were considered to have been met in that a need for the facilities had been demonstrated…”
“The Council is particularly concerned about the effect on the special landscape qualities of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Area of Great Landscape Value and future golf course proposals will be directed away from these areas of high landscape quality.”
“…[I]t is reasonable to conclude that the golf course and its associated facilities could be provided in another location where the landscape is less sensitive and important .”
“11. Conserving and enhancing the natural environment 109. The planning system should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by: • Protecting and enhancing valued landscapes…” 115. Great weight should be given to conserving the landscape and scenic beauty in..[AONB], which have the highest status of protection in relation to landscape and scenic beauty. … 116. Planning permission should be refused for major developments in these designated areas except in exceptional circumstances and where it can be demonstrated that they are in the national interest. Consideration of such application should include an assessment of: • The need for the development, including in terms of any national considerations, and the impact of permitting it, or refusing it, upon the local economy; • The cost of, and scope for, developing elsewhere outside the designated area, or meeting the need for it in some other way; and • Any detrimental effect on the environment, the landscape and recreational opportunities, and the extent to which that could be moderated.”
“Proposals for new golf courses should be designed to respect the local landscape character. New golf courses in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Area of Great Landscape Value will only be permitted if they are consistent with the primary aim of conserving and enhancing the existing landscape.”
“12.72 New courses are likely to have an impact on the District’s landscape because of their extensive size, formal appearance, considerable earth works and new buildings. The Council will seek to ensure that proposals for golf courses do not reduce the distinctiveness and diversity of the District’s landscape. The Council is particularly concerned about the effect on the special landscape qualities of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Area of Great Landscape Value and future golf course proposals will be directed away from these areas of high landscape quality.”
“6.36 Given the rarity of this landscape pattern, its characteristic nature with reference to the wider Surrey Hills, and the inherent sensitivity of the AONB, it is considered that effects upon the AONB, where this type of panorama is available, would lead to effects which would be major.These effects would be adverse, long-term and permanent. …” “6.43 Considering the high sensitivity of the AGLV in this location, and particularly the Northern Parkland and 40 acre field, the changes would result in a high magnitude of change at a local level, which would reduce to medium/ high within more distant locations where visibility of these parts of the landscape would be reduced. This would lead to effects of at least major/ moderate level. These effects would be adverse, long-term and permanent. …” “7.3 The assessment finds that the change of use from grazed chalk downland to managed recreation land, notwithstanding the efforts proposed to reduce the development footprint, would result in changes to the defining characteristics of the landscape of such magnitude that the landscape character would be fundamentally, and probably irreversibly, altered.” “7.4 Such changes to the landscape character would realise significant effects upon both the Surrey Hills AONB and the Surrey AGLV. Whilst physical effects would be much greater upon the AGLV than the AONB, the contribution the development site makes to the appearance of the chalk downland plateaux within both the near and distant views is of key consideration. …”
“Summary There are undoubtedly landscape benefits to be achieved from the proposed development and there is a commitment to manage the components of that landscape in appropriate ways. However, the price to be paid is the imposition of a golf course on over 40% of the open parkland, with all the artificial elements associated with this form of development such as greens, tees, bunkers and fairways. However well designed, in a highly exposed location such as this, conspicuous from public highways and rights of way, it is very difficult to disguise these features. In such circumstances the proposal would be contrary to a number of established planning policies and the landscape impacts must be given considerable weight when determining the application. The applicant views the golf course as a means of saving a declining landscape, but under its previous management the visual qualities of the estate had improved. The quality of the Northern Parkland is underlined by its status as an AGLV and one independent landscape study suggests that it has characteristics that are the same as the adjacent AONB. The independent landscape assessment commissioned by the Council endorsed this view. This is a landscape of special quality, natural beauty and character that would not be enhanced and conserved by overlaying upon it the features of a golf course. The impact on the AONB is disputed. The applicant argues that the visual impact on the AONB would be limited and the area of intensively managed turf within and immediately adjacent to the AONB would be confined 25% of the land. However, both Natural England and the AONB Planning Adviser disagree and they consider that adverse impact on the AONB can be caused by development on the Northern Parkland as well as changes to 40 Acre Field. The independent landscape assessment also raised concerns about the impact within and adjacent to the AONB and the wider landscape and views from other parts of the AONB. It also stated that there had been no indication that the design for the golf course within the AONB had been different from the design within the AGLV. The policy basis for considering the application is explicit in stating that development proposals should respect or enhance the landscape character and there is considerable evidence to suggest that it does not. This view is supported by the independent landscape assessment and comments received from Natural England, the AONB Planning Advisor, the County’s Landscape Adviser and the National Trust in particular. The conclusion is that the proposal would be harmful to the landscape character of the AGLV and AONB and is therefore contrary to PPS2, PPS7, Core Strategy Policies CS1 and CS13, ‘saved’ Mole Valley Local Plan Policies REC4 and REC12.”
“The NPPF emphasizes the importance of protecting valued landscapes. Protection of such landscapes needs to be commensurate with their status and appropriate weight should be given to their importance. The NPPF is explicit in that planning permission should be refused for major developments in these designated areas except in exceptional circumstances and where it can be demonstrated they are in the public interest. In this case, it cannot be demonstrated that there are any exceptional circumstances for allowing the development proposal in such a valued landscape and there is little to suggest the proposal is in the public interest. The proposal is therefore considered to be contrary to the advice contained in the NPPF.”
“POLICY ENV68: Development will only be permitted where the Council, after consultation with the Environment Agency and the relevant water supply companies, considers that adequate water resources are available, or where their provision is not considered detrimental to existing abstractions, river flows, water quality, fisheries, amenity or nature conservation.”
“The provision and development of water resources to ensure the supply of water to new development is becoming increasingly difficult in the Thames Region. The scale of development envisaged in the District should not pose a problem but there are some developments such as golf courses that can make substantial demands on water.”
“Concerns have been raised about the impact of the proposals for water abstraction on the ecology of the area. The Environment Agency has provided advice to the applicant and, on the basis of that advice, proposes to obtain their water from a deep borehole into the Lower Greensand. The Agency has indicated that there are examples of other similar abstractions that take place from the Lower Greensand and that there are no other similar abstractions taking place in this part of the Lower Greensand. They do not consider that there will be direct environmental impacts as a result of water abstraction from the borehole. However, the applicant will need to provide the Agency with details of the water quantities they will wish to abstract and will need to apply for consent to drill and test. The Agency would place conditions on the pumping test. If this is successful, an abstraction license would be required which, if granted, would have conditions attached. The license would be reviewed after a period of 10-12 years and that review would take account of any know environmental impacts.”
“9. Protecting Green Belt land 79. The Government attaches great importance to Green Belts. The fundamental aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open; the essential characteristics of Green Belts are their openness and their permanence. 80. Green Belt serves five purposes: … • To assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment; 87. As with previous Green Belt policy, inappropriate development is, by definition, harmful to the Green Belt and should not be approved except in very special circumstances. 88. When considering any planning application, local planning authorities should ensure that substantial weight is given to any harm to the Green Belt. ‘Very special circumstances’ will not exist unless the potential harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations. 87. A local planning authority should regard the construction of new buildings as inappropriate in Green Belt. …”
“In addition, as Natural England may, in the future, consider including the whole site within the AONB and an independent assessment suggests that this land within the site is of AONB quality, some weight can be given to Policies LU2 and LU3 of the Surrey Hills Management Board. Part of these policy considerations relate to respecting the tranquility of the area. Clearly, the spa/health club and swimming pool will attract visitors and their cars to the site and this will be contrary to the Surrey Hills adopted policy”
“[12] The development was considered not to compromise significantly the Green Belt policies contained in the NPPF and the Council’s Core Strategy by: re-using existing buildings, utilising floorspace granted under previous, extant permissions and locating additional floorspace underground. The design of the development in terms of siting, scale and detailing was considered to retain substantially the openness of the site sufficiently to overcome concerns set out in the officers’ report, having regard to the other benefits that would be achieved.”
“3. the new-build elements of the proposal including the formation of the golf course [etc.]… can be justified in terms of Very Special Circumstances as required by the provision of PPG2 ‘Green Belts’ and REC22 regarding hotels in the countryside. ”