FEDORA GREEN BELT MEETING
On Thursday, 22nd May a Green Belt meeting was held by FEDORA in the Community Hub.
Slides can be found here Green Belt meeting slides
We thank those who attended for their continued interest and hope that the rest of the community will also engage as developers come forward with their pro posals on Green/Grey Belt. We are grateful to our local councillors who attended, in particular Cllr Andrew Burley who addressed the meeting and took questions.
THE PADDOCKS (Planning ref 2025/1097)
See https://www.sdra.org.uk/paddocks for more info.
The Outline Planning Application for the proposed development of 250 new homes on the site “The Paddocks”, Blundel Lane has been submitted to Elmbridge Borough Council and is now publicly available. Please note that it is an “Outline” Planning Application to build 250 houses in line with what was circulated and put on the developer’s website back in January, with a mix of houses (2/3/4 bedrooms) plus some blocks of flats (1/2 bedrooms) and a mix of market, affordable and social housing (see FEDORA’s emails of December 2024 and February 2025).
You can find the Planning Application on www.elmbridge.gov.uk/planning where you can submit your comments or objections to the application 2025/1097. Alternatively, you can send comments or objections in to tplan@elmbridge.gov.uk. You may also wish to provide your comments directly to local councillor Andrew Burley at aburley@elmbridge.gov.uk .
Please note that the deadline for submitting representations is 27th June, 2025.
We are aware that views in the community do vary. If you are concerned you may wish to consider arguments against “The Paddocks”, particularly those that focus on the sustainability of the development which covers a broad range of issues.
For example, it can be argued that the site is not in a sustainable location as there is limited public transport (particularly buses) and there will be a high reliance on cars for residents to go to work, access shopping, amenities, schools, and surgeries for example.
Interestingly Elmbridge BC themselves commissioned a Landscape Sensitivity Study in 2019 which described this parcel of land as having “Moderate-High overall sensitivity to change arising from residential and mixed-use development”.
You will note that Surrey County Council, not Elmbridge Borough Council, has the
responsibility to look at many of the key issues of concern:
– Surrey CC Highways will have to address issues surrounding traffic congestion on Blundel Lane, particularly where it exits onto the A245, Stoke Road – a site with a history of traffic accidents.
– Surrey CC Highways will also have to address continued concerns about the safety for users of the road bridge across the railway, particularly with the likely volumes of traffic
emerging from the proposed development
– The Surrey CC Flood Risk and Climate Resilience Team will need to address flood risk including the flooding on Blundel Lane and its potential impact on residents.
Their conclusions will indicate whether they consider the proposals to be viable and if so any changes that are required or conditions that must be adhered to in order to recommend approval.
In addition, Surrey CC will need to consider:
– The provision of adequate schooling
– With the NHS, access and availability of healthcare provision
However, it is unlikely that this will result in any specific conclusions or conditions relevant to the site. Rather, Surrey will need to consider whether their overall plans for schooling and healthcare provision are adequate in the light of an increase in the number of residents.
Later in the year, if the outline plan is approved, a detailed planning application will be submitted with far greater detail of the development. Rest assured, should we reach that stage, you will be provided the opportunity to comment on the detailed planning application when it is submitted.
The Paddocks is in Stoke D’Abernon which will be most impacted by any development of this site. Stoke D’Abernon Residents Association (SDRA) have a dedicated page on their website https://www.sdra.org.uk/paddocks, so please go there to keep up to date.
However, a development of this scale would have an impact on Oxshott residents as well, in particular in relation to traffic in Blundel Lane and the use of Oxshott resources, so FEDORA is working closely with SDRA, Surrey officials and our local councillors to ensure the impact is properly understood and, if necessary, mitigating actions are taken.