Oaklands Drive, Copthorne
A site one kilometre from a village shop, school and hall, with an hourly bus at the door and a Connectivity Tool score of 52 out of 100. It failed anyway, on the quality of the walk.
- Appeal reference
- APP/M3645/W/26/6011736
- Decided
- 22 September 2026
- Authority
- Tandridge District Council
- Proposal
- Seven detached dwellings
- Housing land supply
- 2.17 years; Housing Delivery Test 38%
- Framework
- August 2026
What the inspector found on foot
Walking
The footway is present for part of the way and absent for the rest.
occupants would have around a 15 minute walk along a mainly unlit road. There are footpaths along the part of the road close to the site, however there is a section where pedestrians would need to walk in the road and, even though the route is straight, this would not be attractive to occupants walking from the site. Particularly in hours of darkness, for children and those with mobility issuesDecision letter ¶4
Cycling
Assessed separately, and also rejected, in the same paragraph.
There would be space for occupants to store cycles, however the road is mainly unlit and combined with the traffic flows it would not be an attractive cycling route for the majority of occupiers, particularly vulnerable road usersDecision letter ¶4
The conclusion
The tool score was set against the route and lost.
The Department for Transport Connectivity Tool rates give the site an overall score of 52 out of 100 and due to the nearby bus route, some limited journeys to and from the site could be taken by bus. However, for the reasons above, journeys on foot and bike would not be attractive to the majority of occupants. As such, there is not a genuine choice of transport modes for residents, the location would not limit the need to travel by private car and it would not be a sustainable locationDecision letter ¶7
What else was weighed
The bus. An hourly Crawley to Redhill service, Monday to Sunday, from stops close to the site, plus school services and the Surrey Connect demand-responsive bus. “Whilst the bus stops do not have facilities such as shelters, they are close to the site and accessed via a footpath.” It “would enable certain journeys from the site to be taken by bus” (¶5), which was not the same as a genuine choice.
Speed limits. Recently reduced from 50 mph to 30 and 40 mph. That did not change the outcome.
Mitigation offered. £250 per household in bus and cycle travel vouchers. “A financial incentive would not alter the features of the site … Nor would it apply to future occupiers if houses were sold.” A further 30 mph extension was unevidenced, so a Grampian condition was not reasonable (¶6).
Other decisions. A nearby council approval at Nyahlands Farm was noted but not followed; two appeal comparators were distinguished on scale (¶8).
Openness. “Clear harm” from seven two-storey houses on an open site (¶13). Seven homes against a 2.17-year supply and 38% delivery attracted only moderate weight (¶16).
The point the case turned on
A gap in the footway, and darkness. The inspector framed the test as attractiveness “to the majority of occupants”, expressly including children and people with mobility issues after dark. A continuous lit footway to the village would probably have changed the result.
Read the inspector's full decision: appeal 6011736 (PDF). Official record on the Planning Inspectorate service: appeal-planning-decision.service.gov.uk. Paragraph numbers above are those of the decision letter.
Summarised for application 26/01470/FUL, Land North of Station Road, Claverdon. Quotations are verbatim from the decision letter; the surrounding description is a summary. Back to the route survey.
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