South Munstead Lane

The project comprised a series of planning workstreams to regularise the lawful use of the dwelling and to facilitate proportionate extensions within a sensitive rural context. The site, located within the Green Belt and Surrey Hills National Landscape, was originally subject to an agricultural occupancy condition tied to its 1949 permission. Through detailed evidential analysis, it was successfully demonstrated that the dwelling had been occupied by non-agricultural workers continuously for over ten years, such that the breach of condition had become lawful. A Certificate of Lawfulness under Section 191 was subsequently secured, confirming that the agricultural tie no longer restricted occupation of the property.

The key planning strategy then focused on securing a Certificate of Lawfulness under Section 192 for permitted development works, including a single storey extension and detached outbuilding. This established a clear and implementable baseline of development that could be carried out alongside any future proposals and was an important material consideration in demonstrating the overall capacity of the site to accommodate additional built form.

Subsequent proposals for a further single storey extension were therefore assessed in the context of this established lawful position. Particular regard was given to Green Belt policy, ensuring the cumulative scale of development remained proportionate, as well as to landscape character within the AONB/AGLV and impacts on residential amenity and biodiversity. The extension was designed to remain subservient to the host dwelling and below the 40% threshold identified within local policy. Planning permission was granted, with the Local Planning Authority accepting that the proposal represented an appropriate form of development that preserved the openness of the Green Belt and the character of the rural setting.