Planning Committee meeting to consider new Woodcote plans postponed
Graffham Parish Council is to delay considering the revised plans for The Woodcote's expansion until early in the New Year when the applicant is expected to have submitted updated reports on the implications of the development in terms of highways, flood risk and biodiversity net gain.
Published: 9 December 2025
The move follows an assurance from South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA), which will rule on the application, that it will still accept additional comments from Graffham Parish Council in line with this timescale.
The parish council’s planning committee had been scheduled to discuss the latest proposals for the restaurant-with-rooms at a meeting tomorrow (Wednesday 10 December) evening. That has now been postponed. A new date will be confirmed in due course.
Committee Chairman Fiona Jacob said: “Given the importance of these updated reports to understanding the full impacts of the proposal, it would not be possible for us to hold a properly informed discussion at this stage. As all planning meetings must be public, holding one now would inevitably mean we would have to reconvene a second full public meeting once the outstanding reports are published.
“To avoid confusion, unnecessary duplication and any perception of reaching a view on incomplete information, our parish council planning committee will reconvene when the complete amended submission is available on SDNPA planning portal. This approach ensures transparency and allows us to consider the application fairly and comprehensively before submitting the parish council’s formal comments.”
The Woodcote filed a total of 18 new planning documents for the proposed development with the SDNPA on 21 November and seven more documents a week later.
As before, the owners want to demolish the current six guest suites where former farm outbuildings once stood and erect 16 replacements in new lodges in the field further to the south. The current main building would become a bar and bistro with staff accommodation upstairs. A new structure on its south western side would form the replacement restaurant – which would be aiming for coveted Michelin Green Star credentials. These two buildings and new private dining rooms would be linked by a single-storey block containing a new bar, kitchen and other support facilities.
You can see the revised plans and read comments on them received to date at https://planningpublicaccess.southdowns.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=STQN29TUHNT00
Comparisons of key elements of the revised plans with the original proposals can be seen here.