Mole Valley District Council

Adopted Documents We Assess Against

Development plan: Mole Valley Local Plan 2020-2039 (adopted 15 October 2024)

Documents are re-checked against the council's own website weekly. A detected change flags "Policy Update Available" for human review — live assessment standards are never replaced automatically.

Mole Valley District Council standards at a glance

3 numeric standards taken from Mole Valley District Council's own adopted documents, each shown with the paragraph it comes from. Figures differ between councils — these are this one's.

Side extension form

at least 1m

Mole Valley want a metre between a side extension and the boundary. On a detached house they often want considerably more than that, so do not treat the metre as the answer. Design Guidance for House Extensions SPD paras 5.2 and 6.2

Amenity neighbouring

at least 20m

Mole Valley look for 20 metres between two-storey backs. They apply a 45-degree line on plan and a 25-degree line on section - do both, because passing one does not mean passing the other. Design Guidance for House Extensions SPD para 3.11 and Figure 3

Design character

at least 0.5m

Mole Valley want an extension set back at least half a metre from the original wall so it reads as an addition. They publish no depth limit - how deep you can go is set by the 45 and 25-degree lines from your neighbour's window. Design Guidance for House Extensions SPD paras 4.6, 4.25 and 5.22

Standards are what the council normally expects, not a guarantee. A scheme outside them can still be approved on its merits, and one inside them can still be refused for another reason.

Authored Policy Library

5 local policy checks, each citation-locked to the adopted document. National policy (NPPF, national space and daylight standards) applies alongside these.

Mole Valley Local Plan 2020-2039

• Mole Valley Local Plan Policy EN4 — Design character (provisional citation) Mole Valley judge extensions under Policy EN4 and their 2025 House Extensions design guide - that guide is recent and specific, so it is worth reading before you finalise the drawings.
• Mole Valley Local Plan 2020-2039 with the House Extensions SPD (2025) — Amenity neighbouring (provisional citation) Mole Valley look specifically at daylight, sunlight, overlooking and whether an extension would feel overbearing to a neighbour. Show the relationship to their windows on your drawings.

Mole Valley Design Guidance for House Extensions SPD (July 2025)

• Design Guidance for House Extensions SPD paras 5.2 and 6.2 — Side extension form Mole Valley want a metre between a side extension and the boundary. On a detached house they often want considerably more than that, so do not treat the metre as the answer.
• Design Guidance for House Extensions SPD para 3.11 and Figure 3 — Amenity neighbouring Mole Valley look for 20 metres between two-storey backs. They apply a 45-degree line on plan and a 25-degree line on section - do both, because passing one does not mean passing the other.
• Design Guidance for House Extensions SPD paras 4.6, 4.25 and 5.22 — Design character Mole Valley want an extension set back at least half a metre from the original wall so it reads as an addition. They publish no depth limit - how deep you can go is set by the 45 and 25-degree lines from your neighbour's window.