The Council will no longer be considering one of the locations put forward for a garden village development. Recent evidence on the location at Chaldon, which encompassed land at Alderstead and Tollsworth Farm, has now demonstrated this area has a number of issues which cannot be overcome and it will not be included in the Local Plan: Garden Villages Consultation which starts shortly.

Each location put forward for consideration for a garden village development has been subject to rigorous assessment and evidence gathering. In the Council’s view, emerging evidence on the Chaldon location has now demonstrated that because of a number of key considerations, including access issues, negative impact on the landscape and its setting within an area of outstanding natural beauty, the location should no longer be considered.

The four locations which will now be consulted on are:

·         Blindley Heath

·         Edenbridge, Land west of Edenbridge

·         Redhill Aerodrome

·         South Godstone

The consultation will run from Monday 14 August to 5pm on Monday 9 October and all details of how to get involved and have your say including days and times of the five public exhibition events, are on the websitewww.tandridge.gov.uk.

As part of ongoing work on the preparation of the Local Plan, members of the Local Plan Working Group have met all developers who submitted plans for the proposed locations. This has given the Council the opportunity to challenge developers on their ability to deliver infrastructure and community benefits. The Council has made it clear they will not proceed with any development unless it will deliver benefits for the local community and district as a whole. Notes from the sessions are available at www.tandridge.gov.uk.

Two of the potential locations are partly within the jurisdiction of neighbouring authorities and the Leader and Chief Executive have also been meeting their counterparts to explore the potential of working together if any of these locations are preferred.

Councillor Peter Bond, Chairman of the Planning Policy Committee, said: “The evidence gathering on the locations is a rigorous process. We are now satisfied the Chaldon location is not a viable option and we will therefore no longer be considering it as a location for a garden village. We will continue to update residents regularly and look forward to hearing their views during the upcoming consultation as we decide on the future of our district together.”