OXTED GREEN BELT THREAT - 140 HOUSES PLANNED

LATEST NEWS: Daily Telegraph - David Cameron aide and Mohamed Al Fayed fight Green Belt housing plan: click here

Many members of the residents group have watched in horror as a series of events has unfolded recently on the Green Belt field behind Chichele Road in Oxted. This has included the ring barking of trees which effectively kills them.

Tandridge Council has confirmed it is investigating whether a Tree Preservation Order has been breached.

No planning application has yet been submitted for the site but we have been told by the developer that any planning application will be made by a company called Oxted Residential Limited which owns the land. It is likely to be for 140 houses.

In January, a company called Village Developments asked Tandridge Council for a 'screening opinion' on whether an Environmental Impact Assessment would be needed to support any planning application. The Council told them that an Environmental Statement would be required. Since then ten large, old trees on the land have been ring barked.

An email to the residents group from Nigel Greenhalgh, writing as managing director of Village Developments but who is also a director and shareholder of Oxted Residential Limited says: 'We have ring barked our own trees which in any event, would have been removed to enable development. We are fully entitled to deal with trees that are on land owned by Oxted Residential Limited.'

The site is Green Belt and any planning application should be refused because there is absolutely no need to build on the Green Belt in Tandridge. East Surrey MP, Sam Gyimah, has made clear such development is 'completely unnecessary' - see second headline.

Oxted councillor, Martin Fisher, says: 'Only very special circumstances could justify development on the Green Belt. Personally I cannot see such circumstances exist. The Green Belt behind Chichele Road will be defended robustly. As Chairman of the Resources Committee I will ensure that Tandridge District Council has the necessary resources to defend its planning policies to protect the Green Belt. I am confident that any proposed developments around Oxted on Green Belt land will not be able to demonstrate the very special circumstances required.'

Oxted resident, Mohamed Al Fayed, has spoken of his shock at 'this appalling plan.' To read the statement on his website click here

Since news of this potential development became public the residents group has been bombarded with emails from people shocked and dismayed by the proposal and by the ring barking of the trees. The field is highly valued by the community as a green space and has been used for many years; we believe it is also of considerable ecological importance. All public access to the land has now been blocked off by the landowner, Oxted Residential Limited.

Residents are particularly upset because work by Tandridge Council has established that there is a more than adequate supply of land/sites for housing to meet the requirement for the next five years (which is required as a minimum.) Some local authorities are currently unable to demonstrate an adequate future supply and are in theory susceptible to early speculative applications on greenfield or Green Belt land - this is not the case in Tandridge. There are brownfield sites available for housing instead - like the big, rusting gas holder in the centre of town - these sites need to be prioritised and it is not necessary to build on the Green Belt and destroy the local environment. This site is totally unsuitable for housing development, but greenfield sites give maximum profits to developers.

Tandridge Council has always delivered a large amount of housing, much more than has been required of it, and continues to be proactive about housing provision with a clear plan for future development.

The Council has a recently approved Core Strategy, a robust five year supply of land for new homes - which does not necessitate building on the Green Belt - and has made good progress on implementing a new development plan. It should not be subject to speculative planning applications such as this one which take no regard of the local community or the local environment. It should not be forced to waste time and taxpayers money defending its position at Appeal.

People are also worried that the infrastructure cannot support this level of building. There are already huge traffic problems in the area. In their application for a screening opinion, Village Developments say the main access to the site is likely to be via the track at the junction of Chichele Road and Silkham Road, next to St Mary's School, with a secondary access option being via The Larks access to Bluehouse Lane.

There's concern, too, about the waiting time for appointments at the health centre and that the recent planning permission for 172 houses at Hurst Green, if developed without proper investment in local services, will push things to breaking point.

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CHALKPIT REVIEW

Surrey County Council has still not made a decision on the Chalkpit Review. More than 160 letters from residents were sent in to the Review, in July last year, objecting to the new planning conditions proposed by the quarry operator, Southern Gravel Limited. We're told that the earliest date for a decision is 10 July this year.

The County Council requested further environmental information from Southern Gravel. In a recent reply to OLRG the Council says: 'The further survey work took longer than expected, and the results are expected next month (May 2013).

When we receive the information, we will go out for further consultation under Regulation 22 of the EIA Regulations, in addition we will be seeking a legal opinion on the ROMP (Review of Old Mineral Planning Permissions). Therefore accounting for the consultation period, the earliest committee date would now be 10 July 2013.'

At the moment, we do not know what the legal opinion is about.

For more details click on the Chalkpit Quarry button on the left hand panel.

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OLRG has 1000+ members but bigger is better if it wants to stand a chance of being listened to. Please do join and encourage others to join. All you need to do is email oxted.residents@btinternet.com or, if you don't have or like email, write to: Oxted & Limpsfield Residents Group, P O Box 233, Oxted Post Office, Station Road West, Oxted, RH8 9EH and we'll keep in touch by post.

Most members are from Oxted & Limpsfield, but there are others from across northern Tandridge and anyone in the district is welcome to join. The group is solely concerned with planning matters.