KENNEL FARM FIELD

On Thursday 23rd April 2026, a fire broke out in the horse manure stored at the bottom of Kennel Farm Field (Chelsham Road side). Three fire engines and 12 firefighters were required for several hours. The fire brigade had a water tanker with a capacity of 16,000 litres but this was too large to access Alexandra Avenue. The hydrant on Alexandra Road was broken so the tanker had to be refilled multiple times by Albert Road. Water tankers are used in rural areas and where there is low water pressure. This incident is not the first-time horse manure stored at Kennel Farm Field has caught fire, as it occurred last year. 

CALA HOMES

Cala Homes is facing enforcement action for failing to complete the highway works that were part of the condition for their planning permission for 100 houses. These works should have been completed prior to the first occupation. They include widening the existing footpath towards The Green, a pedestrian refuge island across Limpsfield Road, tactile paving across Crewes Avenue and Crewes Lane and improvements to the nearby bus stops.

We are pleased to report that a section of bridleway 88 has had surface improvements after residents and SWGB informed Surrey County Council Rights of Way team that the Cala Homes development had caused the bridleway to flood.

Work has also started on the diverted footpath 52 across the new John Fisher Sports Ground.

WARLINGHAM PARISH COUNCIL ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

We encourage residents to attend the annual meeting on Wednesday 27th May 2026, 7.30PM at the village hall. Guest speakers will be TDC Chief Executive David Ford and Nick Perrins, who is the principal planning officer for our new local plan. There will be an opportunity to ask questions to our Parish Councillors and guest speakers. SWGB will be attending.

COMMUNITY PLANNING ALLIANCE (CPA)

On 18th April SWGB and 220 community groups participated in the national day for our green spaces organised by the Community Planning Alliance (CPA). Thank you to those who emailed Keir Starmer telling the government to keep their hands off our green spaces.

CPA has compiled 540 images of countryside under threat from development including Warlingham which has been sent to 10 Downing Street. The Conservatives, ReformUK and Restore Britain are the only national parties to have publicly stated their intention to protect the countryside and remove the grey belt policy.

PLANNING CHANGES

One of the most concerning changes is that a Local Planning Authority (LPA) intending to refuse planning permission for a housing scheme of 150 dwellings or more must consult the Secretary of State. This enables Ministers to decide whether to use their existing powers to call in that planning application. SWGB feels this is undemocratic and removes decisions locally and from planning departments.

ELECTIONS

The May local elections resulted in the Liberal Democrats becoming the majority administration for the new East Surrey unitary authority which will be fully functioning on 1st April 2027. Surprisingly only two of the twenty Resident Alliance councillors, who currently govern Tandridge District Council, stood in the election for the Oxted Ward. The Resident Alliance councillors felt that the unitary model is undemocratic and do not wish to be a part of it. Some of the RA members are part of the Oxted and Limpsfield Residents Group (OLRG) who will still exist and continue to fight inappropriate development on the green belt but not as elected representatives.

Jacquie Thomson of ReformUK has been elected to the Surrey County Council Warlingham ward and will serve until 31st March 2027 after which SCC is abolished for the new East Surrey Unitary.

The newly elected East Surrey unitary councillors are Jeremy Pursehouse, an Independent, and Ryan Bloomfield of ReformUK. The Warlingham ward comprises 14,433 residents across Warlingham, Chelsham, Farleigh, Woldingham, Tatsfield, and Titsey. This represents a substantial responsibility for the two councillors. To fulfil these duties effectively, Jeremy Pursehouse may need to scale back his involvement in parish council roles or Warlingham events. SWGB looks forward to meeting Ryan Bloomfield. The inaugural session of the new East Surrey shadow unitary was held on 20th May 2026. This webcast is available to watch via this link:-

https://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=977&MId=10130

Meetings during the shadow year will be held during daytime hours to avoid scheduling conflicts with evening district and Surrey County council meetings. 

NEW LOCAL PLAN

District councillors were promised to see the green belt review and results of the HELAA (potential sites for development) last November but should now see the information this month for comments.

TDC officers have visited 45 land parcels over the past and coming weeks and have given Cllrs an opportunity to flag up any Green Belt related issues that they should take into account when making their assessments.

The public is unlikely to see either of these documents until September 2026, where we will have the opportunity to comment.

RESIDENT ALLIANCE 

With less than a year to go, the legacy of the Resident Alliance who have governed Tandridge District Council will be the failure to address the local plan. This has resulted in speculative planning applications across the district. We are one of the 176 councils in England whose local plan has expired. The local plan will be the new unitary council’s responsibility with a current target date for adoption in July 2028.

What the Resident Alliance councillors have managed to achieve at TDC, is protecting their areas from development. Warlingham can be protected from the continuous building on its green belt IF its councillors are willing to work hard.

TAXPAYERS MONEY

A planning inspector has ordered developer Croudace to pay full costs to Tandridge District Council and residents’ groups Oxted and Limpsfield Residents Group (OLRG) after withdrawing its appeal six days into the inquiry for 190 homes at Barrow Green Road, Oxted. The council will be awarded over £200,000 and OLRG £40,000. Costs can only be claimed from the appeal start date so cannot be reclaimed for all expenses incurred. This raises the question of the amount of taxpayer money spent on refusing the application. £200,000 is a significant proportion of the monies allocated to fight appeals for the entire district, of which we know little has been spent on defending Warlingham’s green belt. SWGB has observed that other planning appeals are not receiving the same level of defence or financial support as recent sites in Oxted.

While action for unauthorised sites is justified, the council has made a significant error in its five-year need assessment for gypsy travellers for the district. In a published document TDC stated it had spoken to the owners of Pony Paddock, on the corner of Limpsfield Road and Beech Farm Road who had three pitches granted in 2025 about having another five pitches. However, it was later revealed that TDC had not spoken to the site owners. The Travellers planning advisors identified the printed error and advised their clients to apply for another five pitches. TDC intended to state that it would only allow another two pitches not five. However, the error had already been published so TDC had no defence. 

Further along Beech Farm Road, where a section of hedgerow, gates and hardcore have been laid the high court has given the site owner until 10th August 2026 to replace the hedge and remove hardstanding. However, in this wonderful world of planning, after refusal to allow four traveller pitches in this field, the site owners have appealed the decision.