Is The Sun Setting On Claygate's Green Belt?

Claygate's Green Belt faces an unholy alliance between big landowners, developers and the government. The government is proposing changes to planning rules that will remove Green Belt protections from vast areas of Green Belt.

The landowners will get a windfall gain from the revaluation of land previously categorised as countryside. The developers will win by being able to sell large numbers of new houses, hardly any of which will meet the normal definition of "affordable". And the government will take another contrived step towards its pledge to build 1.5 million new dwellings.

In Claygate, this means that areas including…

  • Loseberry Farm to the west of Claygate
  • Horringdon Farm to the southwest
  • The land between the northern end of Oaken Lane and Littleworth Road to the north
  • The old rugby ground to the north
  • Most of Telegraph Hill, and
  • The fields between Telegraph Hill and Surbiton Golf Club

…are now all open to development

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The Facts

Your Questions About the Threat to Claygate's Green Belt answered.

WHY IS THE GREEN BELT SO IMPORTANT TO CLAYGATE?
Every opinion survey and local government consultation of Claygate people in the last two decades has shown that a large majority oppose development of the Green Belt. The Green Belt was introduced into planning in the 1950s. It was intended to stop small towns and villages from being absorbed into London’s urban sprawl, and although London has grown, the Green Belt is still doing its job. Except for a very narrow corridor to Esher, Claygate is surrounded by green land. This gives Claygate an identity and a separateness that is central to our understanding of Claygate as a special place.
WHY IS IT NOW UNDER THREAT?
The UK Government has pledged to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029, and so far has made little progress. It is looking for culprits to blame. The Green Belt is an easy target – and in Green Belt counties like Surrey, Labour MPs are few, or none. This is in spite of there being 1.4 million houses for which permission has been granted since 2007 but remain unbuilt. The government is proposing changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (essentially, the rules for approving development proposals). It plans to insert a provision that Green Belt protection will no longer apply to Green Belt land within walkable distance (probably 800 meters) to a well-connected railway station. It defines “well-connected” in a way that hits Surrey green belt particularly hard.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR?
Crown Estate, an unelected government-linked body, owns land formerly held directly by the Crown. It is entrusted with great areas of green belt land, including that between Claygate, Oxshott and Esher. It is considering developing the current Loseberry Farm, which occupies the space between Claygate and Arbrook Woods, and has already sent surveyors onto the land.  Owners of green land elsewhere in and around Claygate are also known to have put their land forward for development. These developments could be for as many as 3,000 new homes – as many as Claygate has already.
AND THE THREAT TO CLAYGATE?
Development on this scale will have major consequences for traffic, transport, schooling, medical services. It will also impact wildlife and the associated ecology. And it will destroy the distinctive character of our village. Claygate will become merged with Esher or London or both. It will become another suburb that people drive through, instead of drive to. For Claygate people, the peace of mind that comes from being able to enjoy the openness and permanence of green land will be lost.

Areas 800m from the Station

This map shows areas (circled in red) considered "reasonable walking distance" from Claygate and Hinchley Wood stations. The Green Belt is shown in...er, green. It is likely developers would argue more than 1km still constitutes "reasonable walking distance", which would put approximately 258 Hectares of Claygate Green Belt under the threat of default development approval.

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By the numbers

1.4m
Houses remain unbuilt with permission granted since 2007
3000+
new Houses could be built in claygate on loseberry farm AlONE
258
Hectares of green belt under threat in claygate
800m
The "reasonable" distance from a railway station