Save Warlingham’s Green Belt (SWGB) attended the Welbeck exhibition for the proposal for 50 dwellings and a 72 bed Care Home at Alexandra Avenue/Greenhill Lane. Read on for some extra information and a PDF (HERE) of the display boards for those of you who missed it.

1. Welbeck will be submitting an ‘Outline’ planning application for ‘Access Only’ from Chelsham Road. If they gain planning permission, for the access off Chelsham Road, they will then sell it to a builder/developer because Welbeck are land promoters not builders. 

2. The statement ‘About Welbeck Land’ will ‘oversee the planning process from start to finish’ is not correct because once the site is sold to a developer/builder then Welbeck will have nothing to do with the Appearance, Landscaping, Layout and Scale. All illustrations of the landscape, biodiversity, playground, care home, architecture etc is illustrative only. It will be up to the new owner to supply this information in a further planning application.

3. This site was known as ‘HSG16’ in the Draft Local Plan 2033, which was withdrawn in April 2024. Tandridge District Council are in the early stages of a new draft Local Plan. It is not correct for Welbeck to state that this proposal was in the local plan because the allocation was for a much smaller development of 25 dwellings and a 25 bed Extra Care facility. Extra care facilities are very different to a care home as you have your own front door, communal facilities such as a restaurant or swimming pool and you pay for care as and when you need it. Welbeck have tested the market for an ‘Extra Care facility’ and found it unviable so instead they are proposing the large 72 bed care home, which would be either residential or a nursing home. At present there is no care home provider lined up to take on the running of the care home.

4. This site was wrongly allocated in the local plan as there was no communication around the suitability or need for care provision here between Tandridge District Council and Surrey County Council who are in charge of Adult Health Care when putting together the draft local plan.

5. It is not this site that they will be submitting for the New Local Plan as a planning application is expected in the Winter 2024. A draft Local Plan takes time to formulate and needs public consultation. It is Welbeck’s intension to submit Kennel Farm Field for the New Local Plan, which has always been their master plan as this smaller field is just a stepping stone to their ultimate goal.

6. The highways expert told some residents yesterday that Surrey Highways have already approved the access scheme on Chelsham Road, this again is not true. Surrey Highways will be taking a detailed look when the planning application is submitted which we can all comment on. 

7. Welbeck’s highways proposal is to extend the footpath along Chelsham Road only between Alexandra Avenue and the bridleway to make it 2 metres wide, so we lose some of the grass verge. They are discussing putting another chicane on Chelsham Road just past the bridleway 177 (Greenhill Lane), similar to the one by Alexandra Avenue. Welbeck are exploring the possibility of lighting up bridleway 177 (Greenhill Lane). 

8. All new developments have to apply biodiversity net gain. Whatever natural space you concrete over, you have to put back 100% plus another 10% on top. This can either be onsite or on other land even in another part of the Country. The five charities that own the left-hand side of the proposed site and the larger Kennel Farm Field have agreed with Welback to propose a biodiversity arc on the southern part of Kennel Farm Field only if they still put the rest of the field forward for housing.

9. There is no ‘pond’ proposed on this site it is an ‘attenuation basin’ and will not have wildlife or fish in it. It is a Sustainable Drainage System (SUD) which will fill up from heavy rainfall and surface water. It is proposed to drain to the Sunnybank roundabout/Farleigh Road. Dimensions and depth were asked but they didn’t have these to hand but it looks extremely large. 

These pictures are taken at the new burial area at Greenlawns Memorial Park, where they have a 700m3 attenuation basin which currently has water in it.

10. Neither Tandridge District Council or Surrey County Council will be responsible for any maintenance of this development. Landscaping, biodiversity, play equipment and the SUD pond will be the responsibility of a private contractor paid for by the new residents. Regular maintenance of the SUD attenuation pond is vital as failure would mean an increased risk of flooding to the development and wider area.

11. There are two proposed children’s play areas – one in front of the care home which will be a natural play area of logs and another equipped playground within the biodiversity arc on the southern part of Kennel Farm Field.

12. For jobs for new residents they suggested the village or working at Sainsbury’s.

13. Construction Management Plan details will not be Welbecks responsibility, and they also can’t make the actual builder join the considerate constructors scheme. 

SWGB still advise not to give them any feedback or fill in their questionnaire. Please wait to give your views on the proposal once the planning application goes live. SWGB will inform you when the planning application comes in and let you know in due course what funding we need to provide expert comments to the planning application.