THE mayor of Farnham has been awarded costs against Waverley Borough Council, after a planning appeal inspector ruled that the council had acted unreasonably in refusing planning consent for an extension to his house. Mayor and mayoress Jeremy and Debbie Ricketts launched the appeal after the council refused planning consent for a side extension with accommodation in the roof space. Consent was refused because, in the council's view, the house was tied to the equestrian facility at Knowle Farm in Old Park Lane, which has a long history of planning applications and appeals lodged while in the Ricketts' ownership. The council asserted that it had not been shown that the size of dwelling requested was required to meet the needs of the equestrian facility. Inspector Richard Thomas, however, found that Waverley had inappropriately applied the planning policy. A Certificate of Lawfulness for the house, issued in 2011, did not contain any wording that restricted the residential use to the equestrian centre. In his decision letter, Mr Thomas said the planning authority had not provided reasonable planning grounds to support the refusal of consent, their "unreasonable behaviour" causing the appellants to incur unnecessary costs in pursuing the appeal. Mr and Mrs Ricketts will be invited to submit details of their costs so that the amount the council must pay can be determined.