Save Warlingham's Green Belt (SWGB)

Our current Local Plan covers 2006 to 2026, where Tandridge District’s target was to build 2,500 homes but over 5,000 homes have so far been built which is why we have creaking infrastructure. Our current Local Plan:

Tandridge District Core Strategy 2008

TLP Part 2:Detailed Policies 2014 – 2029

The Government requires a review of these plans every five years. Our Local Plan is considered out of date, but our policies are still consistent with Government guidelines.

In 2015, TDC began public consultation on its new Local Plan which would cover until 2033. Many people were unaware of any public consultation, put off by huge documents or found their comments were ignored.

In 2019, the submitted Local Plan stated that Tandridge needed to build 9,400 homes, however TDC proposed to build 6,060 new homes over 20 years, with 4,000 of them to be built in a new ‘Garden Village’ at South Godstone, on Green Belt. This would take the pressure off our existing villages and towns. The Garden Village would have market, social and affordable housing, a new school, sports facilities, and doctors.

Then another 1,052 homes were allocated on Green Belt around our existing settlements of which 400 of these homes were to be in Warlingham. This meant Warlingham had the second highest allocation over 53 acres of Green Belt. Warlingham Councillors supported the Local Plan at the time because they thought it was only fair to “do our bit” due to the Garden Village.

In 2019, the Local Plan Inspector, during the hearing, asked many questions about the Local Plan. Soon after he suggested to the Council that the best thing to do was ‘withdraw’ the plan and start again.

This was a Conservative led Local Plan initially but by 2021, most of the authors of the Local Plan had left, whether they were Tandridge District officers or Councillors who had lost their seats to the Oxted and Limpsfield Residents Group and Independents. OLRG had been very vocal about how bad this Local Plan was and we would agree.

In 2021, OLRG and Independants took over as a minority administration of Tandridge District Council , and they have renamed themselves as the ‘Residents Alliance’. They could have ‘withdrawn’ the Local Plan at any time, but instead tried to move the furniture keeping bits they liked and removing the bits they didn’t. The justification for this was not wanting to waste the £5 million of taxpayers money that had been spent on this plan. The Resident Alliance administration tried re-submitting the Local Plan several times, without the Garden Village. This meant that Warlingham had the highest allocation of  400 to 600 new homes.

In 2022, TDC voted on an ‘Interim Planning Policy’ which states how it aims to demonstrate the delivery of new housing on Brown Field and Green Belt, which included some sites from the ‘Unsound’ Local Plan.

So far this policy has led to planning permission being granted on two sites in Warlingham for 250 houses! See site maps here.

• John Fisher Sports Ground allowed at Appeal  11th April 2023. Appeal reference APP/M3645/W/22/3309334 Land West of Limpsfield Road, Warlingham CR6 9RD for 100 new dwellings (40% affordable) with re-provision of sports pitches. View the Appeal Decision letter here.

• Application 2022/267 Former Shelton Sports Ground. Outline for access only for 150 dwellings (45% Affordable) with vehicular access from Hillbury Road and emergency access from Shelton Close. Approved at the Tandridge District Council Planning Committee on 7th December 2023. View the Public Reports Pack here and the Addendum to the Committee Agenda here.

View the Planning Committee meeting Thursday 7th December, 2023, where proposed development of the Former Shelton Sports Ground was decided, below.

See the original Planning Committee meeting Thursday 7th December, 2023 on the TDC website here.

Then a further three sites in:

• Smallfield for 120 dwellings (40% affordable) and flood relief by Plough Road, Smallfield planning  application 2022/1658. This was a Local Plan site HSG3.
  
• Lingfield, Young Epilepsy, St Piers Lane, Lingfield 2022/1161 which is Brownfield but in the Green Belt. Demolition of buildings and redevelopment of 152 units residential care community (use class C2). This was not in the Local Plan.
  
• Godstone at the former Quarry, RH9 8ND 2022/1523. Full planning permission for 140 homes and new doctors surgery on Green Belt. This site was not in the Local Plan.

In 2023, the Local Plan was found ‘Unsound’. 

In 2024, the Local Plan Inspector, Phillip Lewis, whose task was to review the submitted Local Plan Inspector provided a report as to its failings (View the report).

These particular points that the Local Plan Inspector made are are relevant to Warlingham:-

• South Godstone, Garden Village is not justified, effective nor consistent with National Policy. It has not been demonstrated as ‘deliverable’ or ‘developable’ and would cause ‘severe’ impact on the transport network. As this was such a big part of the Local Plan, it brings into question whether any of the strategy was ‘sound’.

• It is unclear as to how much new development, if any, could come forward in Tandridge before ‘severe’ conditions would occur at junction 6 of the M25, or indeed other places in the transport network.

• Since 2020, his questions and advice to the Council have not been addressed. This included, the M25 and transport network, update to Green Belt Assessments, housing numbers, flooding, education provision etc.

• Evidence base is out of date, so business and employment needs are not addressed.

• Unresolved matters on education provision which affected Greenacres Sports Ground.

• In principle the Council was right to review its Green Belt but circumstances have changed and the ‘Exceptional Circumstances’ for altering Green Belt boundaries do not exist and he is not in the position to comment further on other proposed allocations in the plan.

• Examination became so stagnated, that there was nothing that could be done to alter it.

We can’t make a new Local Plan now as we wouldn’t make the deadline of summer 2025 set by the Government, who wish to see draft Local Plans adopted around the country. We are in limbo while we wait for the Government to issue its new Local Plan making scheme.

Recently a call for ‘brownfield sites’ and ‘other development sites’, which will be Green Belt, was made, these will formulate a new Local Plan.

We ask everyone to please get involved in the consultation process of the Local Plan. If you check out the Warlingham Parish Council website or sign up to the SWGB mailing list we can inform you and help guide you through the process.

Be vocal with your Parish Council and District Council about what you want to see and what you don’t want to see in a Local Plan. Don’t ever accept the term ‘It’s a done deal’ as communities should be at the heart of planning.