Save the date: Thursday, 19 June, from 2:00pm to 8:00pm at Esher Theatre.

The ERA has always been fully committed to protecting our Green Belt, however, the Government is pushing hard for Green Belt release to hit their very ambitious housing targets. It’s why we are receiving a lot of emails concerning the potential development of this site which, of course, is on Green Belt land.

For clarity, the recent Scoping Opinion application https://tinyurl.com/ycsetjny is not a planning application. It is a technical process dealt with by Council officers under Regulation 15 of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations) 2017 (as amended). The purpose is simply to define the scope of environmental information that the developer must submit if they proceed to a formal planning application.

The developer has now announced a public consultation event to take place on Thursday, 19 June, from 2:00pm to 8:00pm at Esher Theatre. This will be a key opportunity for residents to see the developer’s initial ideas, ask questions, and provide early feedback.

A full planning application is expected in due course. For a development of this scale, there will be a significant volume of documentation and public consultation. The application will ultimately be determined by elected councillors, most likely at a meeting of the Full Planning Committee.

When the formal planning application is submitted, there will be full opportunity for residents to submit comments. We will encourage everyone to focus on planning-related issues, as only those can be taken into account in the final decision.

Please feel free to share the details of the 19 June consultation with other residents who may wish to attend.