Paragraph 84 Houses
Paragraph 84 Consent Unlocks Significant Land Value in the Surrey Hills AONB
Planning permission has been granted for two exceptional new homes in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty under Paragraph 84 of the National Planning Policy Framework — one of the most demanding planning routes in the UK.
Paragraph 84 allows residential development on land that would normally be considered unbuildable, provided the design is of exceptional quality and environmental performance. In this case, a woodland site with little conventional development value has been transformed into high-value residential land through a carefully planned architectural and planning strategy.
Working closely with planners, landscape specialists and energy consultants, the design team developed a scheme that was rigorously tested through two independent Design Review Panels and an extensive pre-application process. The resulting approval confirms that the proposal meets the very high bar required to justify development in protected countryside.
The scheme comprises two individually designed homes that are carefully embedded into the hillside and woodland, minimising visual impact while maximising views, privacy and landscape quality. Their form, materials and siting were developed to respond directly to the site, allowing the project to gain consent where conventional housing would not.
Alongside design quality, the scheme delivers exceptional sustainability. The two houses share a highly efficient low-carbon energy system, including ground-source heat pumps, solar power and battery storage, resulting in homes that are both environmentally responsible and extremely low cost to run — an increasingly valuable asset in today’s housing market.
This approval demonstrates how strategic design-led planning can unlock significant uplift in land value, converting low-worth rural sites into premium residential assets while enhancing the landscape rather than harming it.
In an era where countryside development is tightly controlled, Paragraph 84 offers a rare opportunity — and this project shows how, with the right expertise, architecture can be used not just to build homes, but to create value.
Paragraph 84 Houses
Paragraph 84 Consent Unlocks Significant Land Value in the Surrey Hills AONB
Planning permission has been granted for two exceptional new homes in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty under Paragraph 84 of the National Planning Policy Framework — one of the most demanding planning routes in the UK.
Paragraph 84 allows residential development on land that would normally be considered unbuildable, provided the design is of exceptional quality and environmental performance. In this case, a woodland site with little conventional development value has been transformed into high-value residential land through a carefully planned architectural and planning strategy.
Working closely with planners, landscape specialists and energy consultants, the design team developed a scheme that was rigorously tested through two independent Design Review Panels and an extensive pre-application process. The resulting approval confirms that the proposal meets the very high bar required to justify development in protected countryside.
The scheme comprises two individually designed homes that are carefully embedded into the hillside and woodland, minimising visual impact while maximising views, privacy and landscape quality. Their form, materials and siting were developed to respond directly to the site, allowing the project to gain consent where conventional housing would not.
Alongside design quality, the scheme delivers exceptional sustainability. The two houses share a highly efficient low-carbon energy system, including ground-source heat pumps, solar power and battery storage, resulting in homes that are both environmentally responsible and extremely low cost to run — an increasingly valuable asset in today’s housing market.
This approval demonstrates how strategic design-led planning can unlock significant uplift in land value, converting low-worth rural sites into premium residential assets while enhancing the landscape rather than harming it.
In an era where countryside development is tightly controlled, Paragraph 84 offers a rare opportunity — and this project shows how, with the right expertise, architecture can be used not just to build homes, but to create value.
