NEW LOCAL PLAN

The consultation for Tandridge District Council’s regulation 18 local plan has now ended. We appreciate everyone who participated. The Council will review the feedback and release the findings in due course. SWGB completed the survey and also submitted a separate letter, which you can read at the provided link here.

Chelsham and Farleigh Parish Council contributed detailed comments to the local plan survey. However, Warlingham Parish Council did not participate, leaving it up to individuals. Reportedly, at least one of Warlingham’s eleven parish councillors responded independently. This is disappointing, as the council members are our elected representatives and play an official role in planning matters. Previously, they responded to earlier local plan consultations. Given that Warlingham is the district’s third largest settlement and was assigned the second largest Green Belt housing allocation (400 homes) in the unsuccessful local plan—with much of this development now underway—it would be reasonable to expect their interest in future development locations.

We are still waiting for the results of the Council’s Green Belt/GreyAssessments for the new local plan. The district has apparently been divided into sections, and our District Councillors are being asked for input—let’s hope they offer an opinion on this!

NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK CONSULTATION (NPPF)

The Government is consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, aiming to relax development rules on Green Belt, wildlife habitats, and other protected areas to meet its goal of 1.5 million new homes. A major proposal is a ‘default yes’ for development within a 15-minute walk of train stations with at least 4 services per hour (2 in each direction). SWGB responded to the consultation by advocating for prioritising brownfield sites, lowering housing targets, and removing the grey belt policy.

GREY BELT 

In Tandridge District, over 255 hectares of green belt land—mostly agricultural fields, many affecting public rights of way has already been put forward as ‘Grey Belt’ by developers, these are not abandoned petrol stations or carparks as the government described ‘Grey Belt’.
This alone means potentially more than 2,524 dwellings across Warlingham, Caterham, Godstone, Lingfield, Smallfield, Nutfield and Hurst Green. Added to that number are those sites with planning permission in the Green Belt – 295 in Warlingham (Former Shelton Sports Ground, Farleigh Meadows and Cala Homes), 140 at Godstone Quarry and 120 North of Plough Road, Smallfield.

The government’s grey belt and eye watering housing target of 993 dwellings per year for twenty years to 2044, means that Tandridge will lose valuable countryside to speculative planning applications. Without an up-to-date local plan, we are extremely vulnerable and if the Resident Alliance run Council had chosen to withdraw the previous draft plan sooner, it is likely that an updated local plan would now be in place.
 

PLANNING APPLICATIONS/CONSULTATIONS IN WARLINGHAM

Chelsham Road: Planning for 50 houses and a 72-bed care home is still undetermined. The developer has yet to demonstrate a justification for removing important trees for a suds basin which could, according to our hydrologist, be moved elsewhere on site so that the trees remain. Then the impact on the skylarks needs to be addressed on Kennel Farm field, as they must not be harmed by the linear park.

Farleigh Meadows/Park Lane: The watercourse has fallen apart again due to all the rain. The Local Flood Authority will need to get the landowner to dig out the watercourse again to keep people’s existing homes safe from flooding.

Farm Road: A planning application for approx. 60+ houses off Farm Road is expected in the spring. The developer, Elstreeland, has bought the site and is calling the land ‘grey belt’. If you have any information about this land, please email us at info@swgb.org

267 Hillbury Road: The proposal to demolish one dwelling and build 9 flats has gone to Appeal and will be reviewed by written representation. Any existing comments will be taken into consideration by the Appeal inspector. Any new comments must be submitted by 1 April 2026, using the provided link and application number 6005174.
https://appeal-planning-decision.service.gov.uk/comment-planning-appeal/enter-appeal-reference
 

ELECTION MAY 2026

After Surrey County Councillor Becky Rush’s resignation, residents will vote for her replacement in May 2026, but the role will only last a year as the East Surrey Unitary takes over on 1st April 2027. This is when Surrey County Council and the eleven district councils are abolished. The May election also includes voting for two councillors to represent the ward of Warlingham, Chelsham and Farleigh, Woldingham, Tatsfield, and Titsey for the new East Surrey unitary authority. The expanded fulltime role brings together everything under one roof – highways, planning, bins, and housing etc.

Canvassing has already started so if someone knocks on your door question them very closely about the Local Plan and developments in Warlingham.
 

GOOD NEWS

The application 2025/1294 for four new traveller pitches on land off Beech Farm Road in Chelsham was refused by TDC. The planning application had been submitted after an attempt to convert the land overnight, quick action by Chelsham and Farleigh Parish Council, Cllr Catherine Sayer, Cllr Deborah Sherry, and TDC enforcement stopped unlawful works. At the High Court, the judge has ruled that the site must be returned to agricultural use, the hedge replanted and gates removed. TDC enforcement team is to be congratulated for this and similar successes elsewhere in the district.

Within the NPPF consultation it is proposed to not allow planning permission to be granted if it’s retrospective, this would be a positive change.