SURREY STRUCTURE PLAN 2004 - Surrey County Council

SURREY STRUCTURE PLAN 2004

SURREY STRUCTURE PLAN 2004 

ADOPTED ON 4 DECEMBER 2004 

ROGER HARGREAVES 

Head of Planning & Countryside 

County Hall | Kingston upon Thames | Surrey KT1 2DY 

ISBN 1 899706 77 1 32 1 

Published by Surrey County Council 

March 2005

CONTENTS 

Introduction …07 

Chapter 1 The Spatial Strategy …14 

Chapter 2 The Location of Development …29 

Policy LO1 The Location of Development …29 

Policy LO2 Managing Urban Areas …32 

Policy LO3 Town Centres …34 

Policy LO4 The Countryside and Green Belt …36 

Policy LO5 Rural Settlements …40 

Policy LO6 Housing Provision …41 

Policy LO7 Employment Land …45 

Policy LO8 Retail Development …50 

Chapter 3 Sustaining the Environment …52 

Policy SE1 Natural Resources and Pollution Control …52 

Policy SE2 Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation …54 

Policy SE3 Flooding and Land Drainage …56 

Policy SE4 Design and the Quality of Development …58 

Policy SE5 Protecting the Heritage …62 

Policy SE6 Biodiversity …64 

Policy SE7 Nature Conservation …66 

Policy SE8 Landscape …67 

Policy SE9 Trees and Woodland …70 

Policy SE10 River Corridors and Waterways …72 

4 

surrey structure plan · 2004

Chapter 4 Infrastructure and Development Needs …74 

Policy DN1 Infrastructure Provision …74 

Policy DN2 Movement Implications of Development …75 

Policy DN3 Parking Provision …76 

Policy DN4 Public Transport …78 

Policy DN5 Cycle and Pedestrian Routes …80 

Policy DN6 The Motorway and Primary Route Network …81 

Policy DN7 Freight Transport …83 

Policy DN8 Airport Development …84 

Policy DN9 General Aviation …86 

Policy DN10 Housing Type and Need …88 

Policy DN11 Affordable Housing …89 

Policy DN12 Social and Community Facilities …92 

Policy DN13 Leisure and Recreation Facilities …93 

Policy DN14 Tourism Development …95 

Policy DN15 Further and Higher Education Facilities …96 

Policy DN16 Agriculture …97 

Policy DN17 Mineral Workings and Restoration …99 

Policy DN18 Waste Management …100 

Chapter 5 Implementing the Structure Plan …104 

Chapter 6 Monitoring and Review …109 

Acronyms, Glossary and Further Information …112 

The Key Diagram 

… inside back cover 

surrey structure plan · 2004 5

introduction 

The Structure Plan – Shaping Surrey’s Future 

The planning framework in Surrey 

The planning system is entering a period of transition 

as the provisions of the Planning & Compulsory 

Purchase Act 2004 come into effect. Currently, the 

Surrey Structure Plan provides the strategic framework 

for land use planning in the county, shaping Surrey’s 

future physically and environmentally, and influencing it 

economically and socially. The Plan, together with local 

plans prepared by the 11 borough and district councils, 

and the Minerals and Waste Local Plans prepared by the 

County Council, form the Development Plan for Surrey. 

At the national level, the Structure Plan is guided by a 

series of Planning Policy Statements (PPSs), Planning 

Policy Guidance Notes (PPGs), Minerals Policy Guidance 

Notes (MPGs) and circulars which set out how 

Government policy should be applied through the 

planning system. 

Regionally, the Plan has been prepared in accordance 

with the provisions of Regional Planning Guidance for 

the South East (RPG9). RPG provides an overarching 

spatial strategy for the development plans in each region. 

It has a particular role in determining overall housing 

requirements for each county and unitary authority area 

and includes the Regional Transport Strategy. RPG is 

prepared in conjunction with the regional assemblies and 

subject to examination in front of an independent panel 

of planning inspectors, although the Government has the 

final say over RPG contents. 

The Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 has 

initiated fundamental changes to this system. Regional 

Planning Guidance will be replaced with a statutory 

Regional Spatial Strategy (now referred to as the South 

East Plan), prepared by the South East England Regional 

Assembly (SEERA) and ultimately approved by the 

Government Office. At a district level, local plans will 

be replaced by Local Development Frameworks (LDFs), 

which are intended to provide a streamlined and more 

positive approach to managing development. Together 

with the South East Plan, the LDFs in Surrey will form 

the development plan for the county. 

The Structure Plan will be ‘saved’ for a period of 3 years 

from the date of adoption of the Plan and will continue 

to form part of the Development Plan for the county for 

this period, or until it is superseded by the South East 

Plan. As such, it will provide the policy basis for the 

development of the first round of district LDFs, which 

are required to be in place by 2007. 


introduction 

Regional Planning Areas 

This Plan replaces the existing 1994 Surrey Structure Plan. 

It covers housing provision for the period up to 2016, in 

line with the requirements of RPG9, but is intended to 

set out the broad land use strategy (the Spatial Strategy) 

for Surrey for the longer term. 

The Eastern 

Region 

The 

South East 

Region 

Surrey 

London 

Making Surrey a better place 

The County Council’s priorities for Surrey are set out 

in its Annual Performance Plan, Making Surrey a Better 

Place, which aims to improve the quality of life for 

everyone in Surrey. At the heart of this is the aspiration 

of sustainable development which the Government has 

summarised as: 

f social progress which recognises the needs of 

everyone 

f effective protection of the environment 

f prudent use of natural resources 

f maintenance of high and stable levels of economic 

growth and employment. 

The Common Agenda for a Sustainable 


The Common Agenda for a Sustainable Surrey is a set 

of guidelines for achieving sustainable development in 

Surrey. It was formally adopted by the County Council 

in February 2000. Its key commitments are to: 

8 


introduction 

f use natural resources wisely 

f promote more sustainable transport 

f protect and enhance the environment 

f encourage a successful local economy 

f care for and protect people 

f encourage successful communities 

f meet people’s differing needs. 

The Common Agenda was prepared by the Sustainable 

Surrey Forum (SSF) which brought together key 

organisations to achieve social, economic and 

environmental wellbeing in the county. The SSF was used 

as the basis for a new Surrey Forum set up as one 

element of the Surrey Strategic Partnership which brings 

together the community, statutory and non-statutory 

bodies and voluntary organisations to deliver the 

Government’s requirement to prepare community 

strategies. The objective of such strategies, to enhance 

the quality of life for local communities and contribute 

to the achievement of sustainable development through 

action to improve the economic, social and 

environmental wellbeing of an area’s inhabitants, mirrors 

that of The Common Agenda. The Structure Plan is one 

of the mechanisms by which the aims of community 

planning will be achieved and will provide a spatial 

dimension to the local community strategies. 

The Structure Plan and Sustainable Development 


introduction 

Integrating land use and transportation 

The Surrey Local Transport Plan (LTP) July 2000, is a five 

year plan setting out how strategic and local transport 

problems are to be tackled within the context of 

regional and national policy frameworks. It seeks to 

reinforce the integration between transport and land use 

planning, and promote more sustainable travel. Its five 

objectives are: 

Objective A: Integration 

To improve co-ordination between all forms of 

transport, and to integrate transport with other policies. 

Objective B: Environment 

To protect and improve the environment of Surrey and 

health of its people by reducing the adverse effects of 

motorised transport. 

Objective C: Safety 

To improve the safety and security of transport for all 

travellers. 

Objective D: Economy 

To promote an efficient transport system which supports 

a sustainable economy. 

Objective E: Accessibility 

To make it easier for everyone to travel to everyday 

facilities, especially people without a car. 

The Structure Plan policies will assist in delivering the 

strategy of the Local Transport Plan which aims to: 

f widen travel choice 

(Structure Plan Policies DN4 and DN5) 

f manage traffic and restrain the demand for travel 

(Structure Plan Policies LO2, DN2 and DN3) 

f produce a more integrated transport system 

(Structure Plan Policies DN1 and DN2) 

f plan and manage the highway network 

(Structure Plan Policy DN6) 

f address the transport needs of rural areas 

(Structure Plan Policies LO4, DN16) 

f help to make freight transport more sustainable 

(Structure Plan Policy DN7) 

f integrate transport with other policies 

(all Structure Plan policies). 

Supporting a sustainable economy 

The Surrey economy is one of the largest outside 

London. The county’s share of employment in the rest 

of the South East is over 13% and the total number of 

business sites in the county is one of the highest county 

figures outside London. Surrey has some significant 

advantages over other local economies. The high skills 

profile of its workforce, the concentration of knowledge 

based industries, the quality of the commercial building 

stock and general environment and the affluence of its 

catchment population are all important attributes of the 

economy. When linked to other significant factors such 

as proximity to a global capital and national and panregional 

airports, and a good if congested transport 

network, it suggests that the county has a significant 

competitive advantage over other areas of the UK. 

The Surrey economy has continued to grow in recent 

years with significant growth taking place in financial and 

business services. The number of jobs in Surrey has 

grown at a faster rate than the labour supply, i.e. Surrey’s 

10 


introduction 

resident workforce. The trend of commuting flows in 

Surrey for the period 1971-1991 was one where incommuting 

increased significantly whereas outcommuting 

grew less rapidly. By 2001, the number of 

people both living and working in Surrey was 341,900; 

the number working in the county but living outside it 

was 145,200; and the number living in Surrey but 

commuting out for work was 190,900. In the past ten 

years net out-commuting from Surrey has reduced from 

60,000 to 45,700 workers. Surrey has become more self 

contained as a labour market by providing more jobs for 

its resident workforce but less self contained so far as 

generating continued growth in both in and outcommuting. 

There are no apparent reasons to consider that the 

prospects for the Surrey economy are not good for the 

Plan period. In spite of recessionary fears for the world 

economy in general, the strong economy of the South 

East as a whole suggests that should there be an 

economic slowdown it is likely to be short lived, 

followed by a robust recovery. The position of Surrey as 

a key component of the South East economy is unlikely 

to alter. The South East is the second largest regional 

economy in the UK, marginally behind London and 

accounting for almost 16% of the UK’s GDP. The Surrey 

economy is significantly less self-contained than some of 

its neighbours; it is very open and interrelated with that 

of London and the wider South East. Given the complex 

inter-relationship with the economies of other areas, it 

is difficult to make reliable forecasts for the local 

economy. 

The Surrey Economic Partnership’s Economic Strategy 

for 2002-2005 was published in February 2002. It 

contains 5 Steps to Business Success, designed to overcome 

the major barriers that threaten the continued economic 

success of Surrey. These are to: 

f facilitate innovation throughout the economy 

f raise productivity 

f encourage the most efficient and effective use of 

land and property 

f reduce dependency on the road network; and 

f promote a culture of corporate responsibility. 

The Strategy and Action Plan will also help to 

implement, at a local level, the Regional Economic 

Strategy 2002-2012 (RES) which was prepared by the 

South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) in 

2002. The RES identifies three key problems associated 

with the success of the region: transport congestion, 

lack of affordable housing and skill shortages. The first 

two of these have also been identified as key issues 

which the Structure Plan is trying to address. 

Supporting a living and working countryside 

Surrey’s Rural Strategy provides an overview of the issues 

affecting the countryside across Surrey. Despite the high 

average density of development in the county, the 

quality of its natural resources, both scenic and 

ecological, are high and the long history of settlement 

and land management has provided a rich cultural 

inheritance. Many people also live in the rural areas. The 

social, economic and environmental issues, along with 


introduction 

those of transport and recreation, are different in nature 

and degree from the issues faced within urban 

communities. The Rural Strategy complements the 

Spatial Strategy set out in this Plan and brings together 

representatives of the different interests to develop 

holistic solutions and to safeguard the particular 

character and qualities which contribute to Surrey’s 

identity. 

Surrey in Europe 

Spatial and transportation aspects of the European 

Union (EU) policies are increasingly governed by the 

European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) which 

has been developed as an intergovernmental approach to 

achieving sustainable, balanced development throughout 

the Union. Rather than relying on Commission 

regulations, it seeks to co-ordinate national spatial 

development policies, taking account of the main 

economic, demographic and environmental trends in the 

EU. The UK and Surrey are also affected by EU policy and 

legislation, particularly relating to a range of 

environmental issues – disposal of waste, water and air 

quality, noise, pollution, transport (including aviation). 

across all EU territories by directing aid particularly to 

those regions affected by unemployment and low Gross 

Domestic Product (GDP). Following the most recent EU 

enlargement to 25 members it will be predominantly 

central and eastern European regions which will benefit 

most directly. Although large parts of the UK, including 

Surrey, are not eligible for much of this support, there 

are still opportunities to bid for funding to support 

projects in the fields of social policy, research and 

development, and the environment. Surrey is also 

eligible to bid, in association with other partners, for 

funds to support transnational co-operation on spatial 

planning, including exchanges of best practice. 

EU funding support for regional development is 

committed to reducing inequalities between regions 

12 


introduction 

How the Structure Plan works 

Chapter 1 sets out the Spatial Strategy, which guides 

the location of development within the county. 

Chapters 2, 3 and 4 contain the policies (the 

Written Statement), which are accompanied by a 

brief explanation (the Explanatory Memorandum). 

The policies contained in the Plan must be treated 

as a whole and not considered in isolation from 

one another. 

Separate sections for each policy explain how the 

policies are to be implemented and provide indicators 

of how the performance of the policies is to be judged. 

In most cases the policies will be implemented through 

the more detailed policies included in local 

development frameworks. In some cases, additional 

guidance on implementation is provided in the form 

of supplementary planning guidance, or will be 

provided through good practice guides. Chapters 

5 and 6 provide more detailed information on 

implementation and monitoring. 

The Key Diagram comprises two illustrative maps 

of the policies and proposals contained in the 

Structure Plan. 

A comprehensive Glossary of words and phrases 

used in the Plan is also provided. 


CHAPTER 

1 

the SPATIAL 

strategy 

Introduction 

T 

1.1 he Spatial Strategy sets out the proposed 

pattern of development for Surrey to 2016 and 

in the longer term, and the priorities for managing 

development and the infrastructure and services required 

to deliver it. The strategy builds on the existing structure 

of the county and its connections with London and the 

wider South East Region. It sets out overall objectives 

for the urban and rural areas but also includes specific 

guidance for the five sub-areas identified on the Key 

Diagram which reflect the strategies required to address 

the different characteristics and needs of each area. 

1.2 The priorities set out for each sub-area are land use 

based and are supported by the policies in this Plan. 

Delivery of the strategy will need to be supported by 

other infrastructure and service provision, particularly 

in terms of transport and will require close co-operation 

between the County Council, the borough and district 

councils, parish and town councils and other partners. 

The current transport strategy for the county is set out 

in the Local Transport Plan (LTP). However, as this was 

developed in advance of this Structure Plan review, it 

does not fully take into account the level of 

development or the spatial priorities proposed. Neither 

does it take into account emerging proposals in the 

Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) and will therefore have 

to be amended to reflect the proposed long term spatial 

strategy in the next review. 

General objectives 

N 

1.3 ew development will continue to be focused 

in the urban areas but with greater emphasis 

on the positive management of change, ensuring that 

development enhances the economic, social and 

environmental wellbeing of the area. Within this overall 

approach, the focus for development and for the 

provision of important services and functions will be 

major centres which are important transport 

interchanges and employment areas. 

1.4 The Metropolitan Green Belt will be strongly 

defended. This will be supported by a commitment 

to improve the environmental quality of urban fringe 

areas and the countryside will be protected for its own 

sake. Limited development in rural communities where 

it is needed to support their social and economic 

wellbeing will be acceptable. 

1.5 The pattern of land use change and community 

development required during the next 25 years is 

reflected in the different priorities set out for five subareas 

of the county: North Surrey, North West Surrey, 

South East Surrey, South West Surrey and the Blackwater 

Valley. 

14 


chapter 1 : the spatial strategy 

Managing change in urban areas 

S 

1.6 urrey is the most urbanised shire county in 

England. About 85% of people in Surrey live 

within the urban areas, which cover 15% of the county. 

For many years, the planning strategy has emphasised 

the need to make best use of land and buildings within 

urban areas and to provide continued protection for the 

Metropolitan Green Belt. The network of town centres 

has been the primary focus for new commercial and 

retail development and for other social and community 

facilities. Despite continuing development, many of the 

county’s residential areas and town centres provide very 

high quality environments in which to live, work and 

visit. Redevelopment and the re-use of existing land and 

buildings have provided most of the additional housing, 

employment development, retail, leisure, social and 

community facilities required in the county. 

1.7 However, at a time when national planning policy is 

still urging greater use of urban areas to meet future 

development needs, the urban areas of Surrey are 

showing signs of stress. This is manifest in a number of 

ways: through increased traffic congestion, loss of open 

land, pressures on community facilities and services 

including school places and doctors’ surgeries, and 

increased levels of noise and environmental pollution. 

Alongside these pressures, many people also express 

concern at perceived increases in crime and anti-social 

behaviour, which can make urban areas less attractive 

places to live. 

1.8 The current state of our urban areas, be it real or 

perceived, is a major factor in growing opposition to 

further development amongst those who live there. 

There is real concern that a deterioration in the quality 

of life will be inevitable if the future development needs 

of the county are to be met entirely within our towns. 

There is a need to more proactively manage urban areas, 

working with infrastructure and service providers to 

make them more attractive, recognising and maintaining 

the character that makes them distinctive, to ease 

movement within them and to provide the services that 

local communities require. 

The aim 

To actively manage change within urban areas to 

deliver a better quality of life and environment. 

1.9 The priorities 

To improve the management of change in 

urban areas where significant change is expected 

through the preparation of area action plans or 

supplementary planning documents in accordance 

with local development frameworks and ensuring 

that: 

a) development is more integrated and community 

focused, reflecting the priorities of community strategies 

as well as good planning principles to achieve urban 

renaissance, and 



b) development is planned in collaboration with 

service/infrastructure providers and in the context 

of their investment plans, and delivers necessary 

infrastructure, service and environmental improvements 

alongside the proposed development. 

1.10 The key spatial and land use priorities to achieve 

this are to (in no priority order): 

f protect and enhance open land and green corridors, 

both in urban areas and on the urban fringe; 

f improve the quality of urban design and public spaces 

for aesthetic and environmental reasons, and to deter 

crime and increase safety; 

f support higher density developments in accessible 

locations where it can make a positive contribution 

to enhancing local character, particularly as part of 

urban regeneration schemes and within town centres; 

f maintain the qualities of Surrey’s established 

residential areas, retaining and building on sense of 

place and local distinctiveness; 

f ensure that new housing development provides a mix 

of size and type and addresses local needs, including 

the need for affordable and key worker housing; 

f ensure that development is supported by adequate 

infrastructure, community facilities and services; 

f maintain the roles of town centres and invest in 

improvements to make them more attractive locations 

for housing, employment and service provision; 

f adopt a more flexible approach to mixing different 

land uses; 

f ensure that development supports initiatives to 

promote self reliance. 

1.11 The delivery of improvements to the quality of life 

in towns across Surrey will require more partnership 

working between all agencies and organisations 

responsible for planning and investing in urban areas. 

Involvement of the community and the voluntary sector 

should be encouraged. Such working will enable change 

to be managed in a way which delivers a renaissance in 

the quality of urban living through: 

f promoting new development and investment in 

existing built-up areas; 

f making best use of previously developed land, open 

space and infrastructure; 

f integrating service provision with development; and 

f conserving character and environmental resources. 

16 



Principles of urban renaissance 

f Vision – long term vision linked to community 

strategy objectives to deliver urban renaissance 

f Design – better design everywhere as a potential 

contributor to regeneration and to deliver 

enhanced personal security 

f Enhancing the urban environment – retaining 

a sense of place and conserving areas of townscape 

merit 

f Better use of land – resisting further urban 

dispersal and supporting intensification and re-use 

of urban land, especially around transport nodes 

f Economic wellbeing – supporting a prosperous 

and developing economy in urban areas within a 

sustainable framework; providing sufficient and 

diverse employment opportunities for the local 

population 

f Vitality and viability – promoting the vitality 

and viability of existing town and local centres 

f Mixing uses – supporting mixed use and mixed 

tenure approaches 

f Access to services – ensuring ready access from 

residential areas to a full range of services and 

facilities 

f Sustainable transport – promoting sustainable 

and integrated modes of transport to improve 

urban accessibility 

f Management – better urban and town centre 

management including improvements to, and better 

maintenance of, the public realm 

f Green space – developing a hierarchy of open 

spaces which meet community requirements 

f Cleaning up – reducing pollution in urban areas. 



Supporting rural areas 

R 

1.12 ural parts of Surrey have long been held in high 

regard for their natural beauty and recreational 

value. There is a considerable diversity in physical 

appearance, often reflecting underlying geology such as 

the contrast between the terrace gravels of the Thames 

Valley and the chalk of the North Downs. The diversity 

also reflects the impact of people, with the metropolitan 

fringe countryside in North Surrey having a much more 

urbanised feel than much of the southern half of the 

county. 

1.13 The countryside reflects the evolution of man’s 

influence on the natural environment over thousands 

of years and this will continue to be the case. The 

economic base of Surrey’s countryside is probably less 

dependent on rural enterprises than anywhere else in 

England. The implication of this is that the community 

as a whole needs to commit to a long term strategy 

which will safeguard the character, diversity and quality 

of Surrey’s countryside. Partly this means limiting the 

further pressures for development within the 

countryside, and partly it means finding new ways of 

ensuring the ongoing management of the countryside to 

ensure that it delivers the services that people require. 

The aim 

To protect the openness and character of the 

countryside whilst meeting the needs of the rural 

community. 


To manage change in the rural areas, ensuring that 

an enhanced range of services is provided to meet 

people’s aspirations, whilst safeguarding the 

intrinsic natural and cultural value of rural areas, 

through the continuing development and 

implementation of the Rural Strategy. 

1.15 The key spatial and land use priorities to achieve 


f protect and enhance the rural character of the 

countryside; 

f manage and enhance the landscape, and promote 

biodiversity through improvements to existing, and 

the creation of new, plant and animal habitats; 

f support small scale development within and on the 

edge of villages which meets the economic, social 

and affordable housing needs of the rural community; 

including affordable and key worker housing; 

f support the diversification of agriculture; 

f support land based rural enterprises which contribute 

to the management of the countryside; 

f promote informal and formal recreation which 

meets community needs and improves access 

to the countryside. 

18 



Sub-area priorities 

North Surrey 

T 

1.16 his sub-area generally lies between the M25 

and the London boundary across the full width 

of the county but also includes the built-up parts of 

Leatherhead, Fetcham and Great and Little Bookham. 

North Surrey is densely developed, with suburban 

residential areas surrounding the older towns and 

following lines of communication. The density of 

population is reflected in pressures on infrastructure, 

particularly transport (congestion is greater here than 

other parts of the county and the M25, one of Europe’s 

busiest stretches of road, runs directly through the area). 

The rail network is generally radial in nature and needs 

significant investment to overcome existing capacity 

limitations, particularly during the peak periods. 

1.17 North Surrey is the most pressurised part of the 

county. As such, the Metropolitan Green Belt in this 

part of the county has become fragmented over time. 

However, it is even more important today in terms 

of separating the towns and villages in the area and 

preventing the further sprawl of London itself. Pressures 

for development are expected to remain high because of 

the proximity to London as a whole, to economically 

buoyant areas in outer London, including Heathrow 

Airport and Croydon, and to the M25. The area lies 

within the wider London Fringe Sub-region identified 

within the emerging South East Plan by the South East 

England Regional Assembly. 

1.18 North Surrey is characterised by a large number of 

smaller centres, all in close proximity to one another. 

Each centre has a continuing role in providing local 

services commensurate with the needs of their 

community. The two major centres in the area are Epsom 

and Staines which along with Kingston, Sutton and 

Croydon in outer London, provide higher order facilities 

serving this area. 

1.19 Heathrow Airport, although not within Surrey, 

lies on its border and is a major generator of traffic, 

pollution and employment. The Fifth Terminal is 

programmed to open in 2008 and further expansion in 

terms of an additional runway is one of the proposals in 

the White Paper The Future of Air Transport (2003). It is also 

identified as an International Gateway in the Regional 

Transport Strategy. Considerable investment in 

infrastructure will be required to support the approved 

growth of Heathrow in a sustainable way. The London 

Plan envisages that the growth of Heathrow should 

support regeneration in the western part of London 

rather than add to pressure in adjoining areas. 



The aim 

To resist the outward spread of urban areas and 

restrict new development to previously developed 

land and buildings within the existing urban area 

by maintaining the Metropolitan Green Belt and 

preventing the coalescence of towns and villages 

in the area.To improve the quality of life and the 

environment within the existing urban areas 

whilst enhancing the quality of the urban fringe. 


The key spatial and land use priorities to achieve 


f protect the Metropolitan Green Belt and its 

function of separating communities; 

f restrict development to the re-use of previously 

developed land and buildings; 

f retain and improve the quality of all urban open 

land and urban fringe countryside; 

f protect floodplains and encourage restoration of 

mineral workings in the Lower Thames Valley; 

f consolidate the existing role of Staines and Epsom 

as major centres, recognising the limited 

opportunities for them to expand; 

f invest in other centres, particularly the continuing 

revitalisation of Addlestone, Chertsey and 

Leatherhead, to maintain their role in providing 

local services; 

f support investment in public transport infrastructure 

to improve orbital movement, access to London and 

to Heathrow Airport. 

North West Surrey 

1.21 This sub-area lies to the north and west of the 

centre of the county. It focuses on the towns of 

Guildford and Woking and includes the predominantly 

open countryside which surrounds these towns and 

separates the Blackwater Valley from North Surrey. 

Guildford and Woking play a major strategic role within 

the county in terms of the economy and transport. Both 

towns are identified as centres of strategic importance, 

and as regional hubs in the RTS. ‘Hubs’ are considered to 

be essential for economic activity and need to be 

fostered to reflect the region’s gateway role as well as 

delivering the region’s own needs. The area lies 

predominantly within the London Fringe Sub-region of 

the emerging South East Plan, although the western 

fringe lies within the Western Corridor Sub-region. 

Guildford and Woking are close to one another therefore 

movement between the two is considerable. 

1.22 Guildford is an historic market town. Its emergence 

as the ‘county’ town reflected this historic role and its 

position on the A3. The quality of the built environment 

in the centre and in parts of the built-up area 

contributes to the character and identity of the town and 

must be safeguarded. Guildford’s own economy has a 

strong base with, relative to its size, more jobs than 

other towns. It is the dominant retailing centre in the 

county and in terms of turnover qualifies as a regional 

centre. The town also supports many high order facilities 

20 



such as the University of Surrey, Surrey Research Park, 

the Royal Surrey Hospital and the Spectrum Leisure 

Centre, and has continued to develop as a regional 

shopping centre. The Regional Economic Strategy (RES) 

draft Action Plan seeks to develop the Surrey Enterprise 

Hub, of which Guildford is part, and to develop 

integrated long term plans to address the development 

pressures in the area. 

1.23 Guildford has experienced considerable 

employment growth during the last decade, particularly 

with the expansion of the Surrey Research Park and 

development within the town centre. In recent years it 

has emerged as an important regional administrative 

centre within the South East. Employment growth has 

outstripped housing provision, resulting in the growth 

of in-commuting to the town, with the ratio between 

the number of jobs and workers available increasing from 

0.94 to 1.02 between 1991 and 2001. Guildford’s status as 

a major employment centre is set to continue, 

particularly in the high value added sector. Major drivers 

in this are the planned expansion of the University of 

Surrey, additional retail floorspace to consolidate the 

town’s retail function and the spin-offs from the Surrey 

Enterprise Hub. 

1.24 Guildford already benefits from good rail links to 

London, Epsom, Gatwick Airport, Redhill, Reading and 

Portsmouth, and interregional services to the Midlands 

and the North West. Services will be enhanced by the 

proposed direct rail link to Heathrow Airport (Airtrack) 

and by the Thameslink 2000 proposals. However, there 

are still problems with traffic congestion at certain times 

of the day in certain locations, particularly the town 

centre and the A3 which runs through Guildford. 

Problems on the A3 are likely to get worse as other 

bottlenecks are improved, particularly at Hindhead. The 

RTS recognises this and proposes, as a matter of priority, 

a regional study aimed at improving traffic flow through 

Guildford. This Plan similarly recognises the need for an 

integrated transport strategy for Guildford and the wider 

area encompassing Woking as well. 

1.25 Woking has a different but complementary role to 

Guildford. It has also experienced high employment 

growth over the last decade, although not on the same 

scale as Guildford. The RES draft Action Plan identifies 

Woking as an important free-standing town and one of a 

number of key economic drivers in the region. It is also 

a significant transport node for rail and bus with direct 

rail links to London, Portsmouth, Southampton and 

Farnborough. As with Guildford, Woking has been 

identified as a key public transport hub in the emerging 

RTS and rail services are likely to be enhanced even 

further through the AirTrack proposals. The main road 

link between Woking and Guildford is the A320 but 

capacity on this road is already restricted at peak times. 

Woking has no direct access to the Motorway and 

Primary Route Network. 

1.26 In line with the role of Woking in the Regional 

Transport Strategy (RTS) as a key public transport hub, 

there is an opportunity within and around the town 

centre to deliver concentrations of higher density land 

uses and mixed land uses that require a high level of 

accessibility. In particular, the juxtaposition of a modern 

and dynamic town centre, an area of less intensive 

commercial activity and a residential area which exhibits 



signs of relative disadvantage, presents an opportunity 

for a comprehensive approach to the improvement of 

both the built and living environment which could 

deliver additional housing provision supported by both 

new infrastructure and services. 

1.27 The countryside area west of Guildford and Woking 

separates the Blackwater Valley from the rest of Surrey. 

The area is notable for extensive stretches of heathland 

which are of international importance in terms of their 

ecological value. The value of this wildlife corridor is 

enhanced by its continuation to the south in the South 

West Surrey sub-area and to the north in adjoining parts 

of Berkshire. Numerous small settlements occur in this 

countryside area, many with an historic core surrounded 

by more suburban forms of development. The 

settlements along the A322 from Bagshot to West End 

have expanded in size significantly in the last twenty 

years. Development in these settlements should support 

their continuing economic and social viability whilst 

retaining their character and overall quality of life. 

The aim 

To support the continuing role of Guildford and 

Woking as centres of strategic importance within 

the county. 


The key spatial and land use priorities to achieve this are 

to (in no priority order): 

f support the role of Guildford and Woking as centres 

of strategic importance; 

f provide additional housing at Guildford and Woking 

to support the growth of the towns as part of the 

longer term spatial strategy; 

f deliver a significant proportion of the housing 

allocations in Policy LO6 on previously developed 

land within Guildford town and in and around 

Woking town centre through local development 

frameworks and area action plans; 

f support the expansion of the University of Surrey 

and research and development activity associated 

with the University; 

f maintain the individual identity of Guildford and 

Woking by retaining the Metropolitan Green Belt 

gap between the two towns; 

f develop and implement an integrated transport 

strategy focusing on Guildford and Woking to support 

their role as regional hubs; 

f support the provision of a solution to movement 

along the regionally important A3 corridor, 

particularly through Guildford; 

f support AirTrack proposals to provide a direct rail 

link from Guildford and Woking to Heathrow 

Airport; 

f maintain a broad natural corridor separating the 

Blackwater Valley from Guildford/Woking and North 

Surrey; 

f support the restoration and enhancement of 

internationally important heathland habitats; 

f allow small scale development to maintain the 

economic and social wellbeing of small communities 

and rural settlements. 

22 



South East Surrey 

1.29 This sub-area extends eastwards from the A24 to 

the county boundary with Kent. Its northern extent is 

marked in general terms by the M25 and to the south 

by the county boundary with West and East Sussex. It 

includes Redhill and Horley and the market towns of 

Reigate and Oxted. The main focus of the sub-area is the 

A23/M23 corridor which runs from Redhill in the north 

to the Crawley/Gatwick area in the south. Regionally, 

the corridor’s influence extends further north beyond 

the M25 into greater London and south through West 

Sussex to Brighton on the south coast. 

1.30 The A23/M23 corridor forms part of the area 

identified in Regional Planning Guidance for the South 

East (RPG9) as the Crawley/Gatwick/M23 Sub-region. 

Within the emerging South East Plan, Redhill is identified 

as being within the London Fringe Sub-region, whilst the 

area south of Redhill, including Horley, lies within the 

Gatwick Sub-region. It is also identified as a movement 

corridor of regional importance in the RTS and Gatwick 

Airport is identified as an International Gateway. The 

Surrey section of the corridor coincides with one of the 

narrowest stretches of Metropolitan Green Belt around 

London, where the Metropolitan Green Belt is critical in 

maintaining the separation of London, Reigate/Redhill, 

Salfords and Horley. 

1.31 Gatwick Airport is a major employment generator, 

exerting its influence over central Sussex, south east 

Surrey and parts of East Sussex. The area also has 

significant clusters of employment in financial services, 

chemical and pharmaceutical industries which, combined 

with the airport, represent a significant economic base. 

With the proposed expansion of the airport’s annual 

passenger throughput to 40 million by 2012, the 

employment generated by the airport directly and 

indirectly is set to increase. 

1.32 The White Paper The Future of Air Transport (2003) 

recommends the safeguarding of land for a second 

runway at Gatwick Airport and development of this may 

be required from 2020 if the proposed third runway at 

Heathrow is not practicable. 

1.33 Redhill is a centre of strategic importance, being a 

major employment and business centre in its own right, 

specialising in advanced electronics, engineering and 

financial services. This area has traditionally looked 

northwards towards London as a major source of 

employment, rather than southwards to Crawley/ 

Gatwick. Redhill, a regional hub in the RTS, has good 

rail links to London, Brighton, Ashford, Dorking, 

Guildford and Reading. 

1.34 The 1994 Surrey Structure Plan has already identified 

a contribution towards meeting sub-regional housing 

needs through the allocation of 2,600 new dwellings at 

Horley. This housing allocation is now being progressed 

through the Reigate & Banstead Local Plan (First 

Alteration), principally through two proposed urban 

extensions to the north east and north west of the town. 

Additional housing is also being proposed within West 

Sussex to meet sub-regional needs through the review 

of the West Sussex Structure Plan. The economic ties 

between Horley, Gatwick and Crawley are evidenced by 

the Fastway public transport initiative. 



1.35 The northern part of the area is dominated by the 

scarp slope of the North Downs, part of the Surrey Hills 

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The Vale of 

Holmesdale and greensand ridges, which form part of 

the High Weald Area of Great Landscape Value (AGLV), 

lie to the south and contain the towns of Reigate, 

Redhill and Oxted. Between these towns and the county 

boundary the Low Weald landscape is relatively flat and 

featureless. Outside the main M23/A23 corridor, the area 

is mainly open countryside, almost all of which is 

designated Metropolitan Green Belt. In the extreme 

south east, this area also includes part of the High Weald 

AONB. The market towns of Oxted and Reigate provide 

services and facilities to the area and have a continuing 

economic and social role to play in providing jobs and 

services for the area. There are also many smaller 

villages and rural settlements. 

The aim 

To support the role of Redhill as a centre of 

strategic importance and contribute to growth 

associated with Gatwick Airport by meeting 

development needs within the M23/A23 corridor, 

allied to improvements to public transport and 

other infrastructure. 


The key spatial and land use priorities to achieve this 

are to (in no priority order): 

f support preparation of a strategy for the London 

Fringe and Gatwick Sub-regions to inform the 

development of the South East Plan and to ensure 

that it is planned in a co-ordinated way, taking into 

account future economic, housing and transport 

needs, as well as the environmental constraints and 

impact of the airport; 

f support sub-regional housing needs in the short to 

medium term through provision within the urban 

areas and the existing planned development of 

Horley, and address longer term need when this has 

been demonstrated; 

f maintain the individual identity of settlements within 

the Metropolitan Green Belt along the A23/M23 

corridor; 

f support Redhill as a centre of strategic importance; 

f oppose further expansion of Gatwick Airport beyond 

its current planned capacity as a one runway airport; 

f support investment in public transport infrastructure 

required to improve movement along the A23/M23 

corridor and the east-west rail corridor (North 

Downs Line); 

f conserve the innate qualities of the High Weald 

AONB and distinctive landscape character areas east 

and west of the M23; 

f allow small scale development to support the role of 

Reigate and Oxted as market towns providing local 

services; 

f allow small scale development to maintain the social 

and economic wellbeing of the villages and smaller 

rural settlements. 

24 



South West Surrey 

1.37 This sub-area is predominantly open countryside 

covering the southern part of the county from south of 

Farnham in the west as far east as Dorking. It includes 

the greater part of the Surrey Hills AONB and the 

Wealden countryside south of that. Landscape quality, as 

reflected in the AONB designation and the Areas of Great 

Landscape Value (AGLV) which adjoin the Surrey Hills, 

underpins the character of this area. 

1.38 The countryside is also significant for its ecological 

value, with extensive stretches of heathland on the 

sandstones, different habitats on the chalk along the 

North Downs and significant remnants of ancient 

woodland in the Wealden part of the area. These diverse 

resources, which are of national and European 

significance, add considerably to the quality of the area. 

The value of these resources in contributing to broad 

wildlife corridors which continue to the north in the 

North West Surrey sub-area and to the south and west in 

adjoining parts of Sussex and Hampshire, is of regional 

significance. 

1.39 The market towns of Cranleigh, Dorking, 

Godalming and Haslemere provide services and facilities 

to the area, supported by other towns adjoining the area, 

notably Farnham and Guildford. Numerous small, 

generally attractive, villages complete the settlement 

pattern. 

The aim 

To protect the countryside resource in its widest 

sense, reflecting the innate qualities of much of the 

countryside and support the long term viability of 

the market towns and rural communities. 


The key spatial and land use priorities to achieve this 

are to (in no priority order): 

f support development needed to underpin the 

economic and social wellbeing of the rural 

community; 

f support the role of Cranleigh, Dorking, Godalming 

and Haslemere as market towns serving the rural 

communities; 

f maintain the quality of landscapes in the Surrey Hills 

AONB and adjoining AGLV; 

f safeguard and manage the Wealden heathland habitats 

to enhance their ecological diversity; 

f safeguard the countryside to maintain broad wildlife 

corridors facilitating the movement of species; 

f enhance recreational opportunities provided by the 

Greensand Way, North Downs Way and Downs Link 

long distance footpaths; 

f enhance management of woodland for multiple use – 

timber, biomass, recreation and biodiversity; 

f safeguard mineral resources of sand and clay; 



f support improvements to the A3 at Hindhead and the 

A24 south of Capel. 

The Blackwater Valley 

1.41 The Blackwater Valley area is distinct from adjoining 

areas in the west of the county in that it forms a large 

area of relatively dense urban development centred on a 

number of medium sized and smaller towns within 

Surrey, Hampshire and the former Berkshire. In Surrey, 

the area covers the western parts of the boroughs of 

Guildford, Surrey Heath, and the town of Farnham and 

its immediate surrounds which lie in Waverley borough. 

1.42 The Blackwater Valley area has seen rapid growth in 

the past 25 years in response to former regional policy, 

particularly in Camberley and the surrounding area. It 

now supports a population of around 300,000 people 

and 120,000 jobs. The buoyancy of the local economy, 

allied to business park and further aviation development 

at Farnborough Aerodrome in Hampshire, give rise to 

pressures for continued economic development. 

Pressures on transport infrastructure remain significant 

despite the completion of the A331 road. 

1.43 For these reasons and because the Blackwater Valley 

straddles so many local authority boundaries, it was 

identified as a sub-region in RPG9 and was the subject of 

a sub-regional study. As a result of this study, the area 

has now been subsumed into the wider Western 

Corridor Sub-region within the emerging South East 

Plan. 

1.44 Farnham is a particularly attractive historic market 

town with a character and sense of place which must be 

safeguarded. The valley of the River Blackwater itself 

provides a narrow natural corridor within the heart of 

the built-up area. This is an extremely important 

environmental and recreational resource and performs 

a strategic gap function on either side of the river. 

Extensive areas of lowland heath which are habitats of 

European importance adjoin the built-up area. 

The aim 

To plan the area in an integrated way, focusing 

on improvements to the quality of the built 

environment and the transport network. 


The key spatial and land use priorities to achieve this are 

to (in no priority order): 

f contribute to the preparation of a shared vision for 

the Blackwater Valley within the wider Western 

Corridor Sub-region to inform the South East Plan and 

to ensure that the area is planned in a co-ordinated 

way, taking into account the social and economic 

needs, recognising the limited potential of Surrey to 

contribute to the wider sub-regional development 

needs; 

f support an integrated transport solution to improve 

accessibility in the area; 

26 



f facilitate sustainable economic growth through the 

re-use of existing employment land; 

f give priority to the re-use of previously developed 

land and buildings within the existing urban area and 

maintain the existing Blackwater Valley Strategic Gap; 

f safeguard the character and sense of place of 

Farnham; 

f conserve and manage the character of the Blackwater 

Valley river corridor and promote its value as a 

resource for wildlife, recreation and outdoor pursuits. 

Urban extensions (new communities) 

1.46 The priorities for Guildford include the provision of 

additional housing on previously developed land within 

Guildford town. If this process fails to identify sufficient 

housing capacity, then consideration will be given 

through the local development framework to the 

development of a new community, through an urban 

extension in north east Guildford. If required, the new 

community will be progressed through a masterplan 

approach. 

1.47 Development of the new community will be 

conditional upon: 

f the amount of housing delivered on previously 

developed land within Guildford town; and 

f delivery of the supporting infrastructure and services 

identified through the masterplanning process and 

on a suitable transport strategy being in place. In 

particular, there will be a need for the Highways 

Agency to bring forward proposals to improve 

movement along the A3 through Guildford, together 

with access and egress to and from this key route. 

1.48 Where required to meet the aims of the Spatial 

Strategy, urban extensions should be delivered through 

a master planning process prepared through local 

development frameworks. Proposals for urban 

extensions should aim to create new communities in 

which housing, employment, service, transport and 

environmental needs are fully integrated. To achieve 

this, the master planning process should be inclusive, 

involving landowners and local communities and 

should take into account needs arising from local and 

countywide community strategies and Housing Needs 

Statements. Other mechanisms used for implementation 

include: 

f supplementary planning documents on design, 

based on the principles in Surrey Design; 

f environmental and sustainability appraisal; 

f joint working between transportservice/ 

infrastructure providers, utility service providers, 

health and community services providers, the local 

authorities and developers; 

f legal agreements under planning and transport 

legislation. 



Our vision for new communities 

New communities should: 

f have a community development initiative set up 

and staffed from outset; 

f be designed to the highest quality, in accordance 

with the principles set out in Surrey Design, with 

identifiable neighbourhoods, landmarks and views, 

and a layout which encourages pedestrian/cycle 

use for local trips and is sensitive to natural and 

cultural features on, and adjacent to, the site; 

f be efficient in the use of resources – land, water 

and energy (sustainable drainage systems to 

achieve net nil run-off from the sites will be used); 

f have an accessible local centre with schools, shops, 

social and community buildings; 

f have open space, recreation and sports facilities 

planned as an accessible network; 

f have a choice in housing tenure, type and size, 

with at least 40% affordable/key worker housing; 

f provide a range of local service employment and 

home working opportunities (with integral ICT 

networks to facilitate home working/shopping); 

f have quality bus services to the town centre, 

transport interchanges and employment hubs. 

28 


CHAPTER 

2 

the location 

of development 

POLICY LO1/ 

The Location of Development 

New development will be located primarily within the 

existing urban areas, through the re-use of previously 

developed land and buildings. New development should 

be directed to locations that can be easily accessed 

without a car, or appropriate measures should be 

introduced to ensure adequate accessibility for those 

without a car. 

Limited development will be permitted to support the 

vitality of rural settlements. Major development in the 

open countryside will be inappropriate. 

Within the five sub-areas identified on the Key Diagram, 

development should accord with the following principles: 

f North Surrey: to improve the quality of life and the 

environment and promote an urban renaissance, 

resisting the outward spread of urban areas and 

restricting new development to the use of previously 

developed land and buildings within the existing urban 

area. 

f North West Surrey: to provide additional housing on 

previously developed land within the urban areas of 

Guildford and Woking to support their role as centres 

of strategic importance and regional hubs; in Guildford 

an urban extension will be provided to the north east 

of the town if the housing allocation identified in 

Policy LO6 cannot be accommodated on previously 

developed land within the urban area. 

f South East Surrey: to implement the existing planned 

proposals for comprehensive development in and 

around Horley as Surrey’s contribution to sub-regional 

housing requirements and make the best use of 

previously developed land in Redhill to support its role 

as a centre of strategic importance and a regional hub. 

f South West Surrey: to restrict development to 

previously developed land and buildings within the 

market towns of Cranleigh, Dorking, Godalming and 

Haslemere and to small scale development within 

other settlements to meet local needs. 

f Blackwater Valley: to make best use of opportunities 

for housing on previously developed land and buildings 

within the urban area, ensuring that new development 

contributes to improvements to the quality of the built 

environment and transport network.The Blackwater 

Valley Strategic Gap will be maintained. 

P 

2.1 olicy LO1 sets out the locational strategy of the 

Plan and reflects the priorities included within 

the Spatial Strategy. New development will be focused 

primarily on existing urban areas, where most homes, 

jobs and services are already located. This will: 

f improve access to services and jobs by walking, 

cycling and public transport; 

f provide an opportunity to improve the prosperity of 

urban areas as centres for business, shopping and 

social and community services; 

f assist urban revitalisation and promote improvements 

to the urban environment; 

f increase the choice of local employment 

opportunities; 

f help to protect the countryside and the Metropolitan 

Green Belt. 

2.2 The re-use of previously developed land and 

buildings within urban areas is a key objective of 

national land use policy and will be the principal means 

of meeting development requirements in Surrey. 


chapter 2 · the location of development 

Proposals for such development will need to 

demonstrate, through design and sustainability 

statements, that the process will enhance the quality 

of life and townscape and ensure the provision of all 

necessary infrastructure and services. 

2.3 Traffic congestion remains a major problem in 

Surrey’s towns and new development that is likely to 

attract a significant number of car borne trips will only 

add to this problem. The policy therefore supports the 

aim of reducing the length of journey needed to access 

jobs and services, and the need to travel by car, by 

directing such development to locations that are easily 

accessible by public transport. These tend to be town 

centres or the edge of town centres but may also be next 

to a major public transport node within the urban area 

generally. 

2.4 Limited development will be acceptable within 

rural settlements where it can be shown to support the 

economic and social vitality of rural communities. Major 

development in the countryside will not be permitted as 

this would result in further dispersal of development and 

intensification of activity. The exceptions to this are: 

f the existing planned urban extensions at Horley, and 

f where it is demonstrated that the development 

needed to meet the allocations identified in Policy 

LO6 for Guildford cannot be accommodated on 

previously developed land within the urban area. 

This presumption against development also applies to 

previously developed land in the countryside, except 

where major developed sites have been identified, or 

where small scale development or agricultural 

diversification can be shown to support the local 

economy. 

2.5 Within the 5 sub-areas identified on the Key 

Diagram, a number of key development principles have 

been identified. These principles reflect the development 

and other priorities for the sub-areas outlined in the 

Spatial Strategy. They should be considered in 

conjunction with the general approach to development 

in urban and rural areas set out in the Spatial Strategy 

and the more detailed policy guidance elsewhere in this 

Plan. 

2.6 Further development in the A23/M23 corridor and in 

the Blackwater Valley will only be considered if a need 

has been fully demonstrated through the South East Plan 

and the need for investment in transport infrastructure 

has been identified as a priority through the Regional 

Transport Strategy(RTS). Any requirement for 

development in these areas emerging out of the South 

East Plan will be considered through local development 

frameworks. 

How the policy will be implemented 

f The local authorities will: 

g assess the implications of proposals for the re-use 

of previously developed land and buildings in 

urban areas against the availability of infrastructure 

and services; 

g look first to previously developed land and 

buildings when considering planning applications 

and allocating land in local development 

frameworks; 

30 



g progress proposals for development in and around 

Horley as set out in the Reigate & Banstead 

Borough Local Plan (First Alteration) and the 

accompanying masterplan; 

g work closely with other authorities in the A23/ 

M23 corridor and Blackwater Valley areas to 

develop a co-ordinated land use, transportation 

and environmental strategy for these areas; 

g work closely with partners to identify 

opportunities to develop the role of the centres 

of strategic importance identified in the Spatial 

Strategy. 

f Local development frameworks will: 

g define urban areas and rural settlements; 

g allocate land for new development primarily 

within urban areas; 

g identify those rural settlements where additional 

development to support the economic and social 

vitality of the settlement will be acceptable; 

g include policies which reflect the development 

principles and other priorities for the 5 sub-areas, 

set out in the Spatial Strategy. 

f The Transport Authority will advise on the 

transportation implications of development that 

could attract a high level of car borne trips. 

Indicators of policy performance 

f Amount and proportion of development by land 

use on previously developed land 


use on previously developed land in urban areas 

f Amount and type of development within the 

Blackwater Valley Strategic Gap 

f Amount and type of development at Horley 

f Number and proportion of major developments 

located at sites which have good access by 

public transport, cycling and foot 

TARGETS 1, 2 & 3/ 



POLICY LO2/ 

Managing Urban Areas 

The planning authorities will manage development within 

the urban areas and promote the principles of urban 

renaissance through a comprehensive and co-ordinated 

approach to policy development and infrastructure and 

service delivery.The re-use or redevelopment of 

previously developed land and buildings should enhance 

the quality of the built environment, the facilities and 

services available, and movement within Surrey’s towns. 

These objectives will be achieved through the local 

development framework process, using area action plans 

in all urban areas where significant change is anticipated. 

Development leading to the loss of urban open land, 

which is important to the amenity of local communities 

or identified in a greenspace strategy, will not be 

permitted. 

A 

2.7 lthough Surrey’s urban areas generally offer a 

high quality environment and a high quality of 

life, there are growing concerns that increased levels of 

development, and associated increases in traffic levels, 

are undermining the quality of urban living. 

2.8 Urban areas are dynamic with land uses changing 

over time to meet new development needs. The planning 

authorities will manage the development of the urban 

areas and promote an urban renaissance. In their local 

development frameworks and area action plans, local 

planning authorities will co-ordinate the requirements of 

community strategies, the Spatial Strategy and relevant 

plans of infrastructure and service providers. An 

important role for the planning authorities will be to 

identify existing and potential infrastructure and service 

deficiencies and provide a framework for the negotiation 

of developer contributions as required by Policy DN1. 

2.9 The planning authorities will give priority to 

proposals for the re-use or redevelopment of previously 

developed land and buildings and encourage mixed use 

development. New development should: 

f be of a high quality of design and layout, recognising 

the potential biodiversity or historical interest often 

attached to previously developed land; 

f be compatible with the need to protect and enhance 

natural or cultural resources; 

f ensure sufficient provision for the infrastructure 

requirements and the social, community, recreational 

and cultural needs arising out of the development and 

contribute towards the improvement of existing 

facilities; 

f not undermine the special qualities that contribute 

to local character and sense of identity; and 

f contribute to the wider objectives of improving the 

quality of life in towns. 

2.10 This will ensure that future development leads to 

an improvement in the quality of the environment and 

an enhanced quality of life in urban areas. 

2.11 With the emphasis on making the best use of 

opportunities for development within the urban area, 

it is important to retain existing areas of open land 

which are essential to maintain a high quality urban 

environment and for the enjoyment of urban living. 

32 



Policy LO2 aims to protect open land, both public and 

private, where it is important to the amenity of local 

communities or has been identified in a greenspace 

strategy. Urban open land has the ability to play a 

number of roles, sometimes more than one at the same 

time, and greenspace strategies need to reflect their value 

for recreation, biodiversity, amenity and movement. 


f The local authorities will work with local 

communities, local business and service providers 

to guide the future development of urban areas. 

f The local planning authorities will: 

g give priority to proposals for the re-use and 

redevelopment of previously developed land and 

buildings when considering planning applications 

and allocating land in local development 

frameworks; 

g prepare development briefs for large sites, setting 

out the principles of development and the 

necessary economic, transport and social and 

community improvements required; 

g require the submission of design statements and 

sustainability statements for major proposals; 

g require that all development provides for, or 

contributes towards, remedying the deficiencies 

in local economic, social, infrastructure and 

environmental needs; 

g establish criteria in local development frameworks 

for the protection of urban open land, which is 

important to the amenity of local communities or 

has been identified in a greenspace strategy in 

accordance with PPG17. 

f Guidance will be prepared to help the delivery of 

infrastructure and services in association with 

development, in accordance with the principles 

of urban renaissance. 


f Number of development briefs prepared and 

design statements/sustainability statements 

submitted 


use on previously developed land in urban areas 

f Amount of development allowed on urban open 

land as an exception to local development 

framework policies 

TARGETS 1, 2, 3 & 6/ 



POLICY LO3/ 

Town Centres 

Town centres will continue to be the main focus for the 

development of employment, retail, leisure and other 

service facilities. Higher density residential development 

(over 50 dwellings per hectare) and mixed use 

development will be encouraged. 

Development in the major town centres will be permitted 

where it accords with the priorities set out in the Spatial 

Strategy and where it supports the roles of Guildford, 

Woking and Redhill as centres of strategic importance 

and regional hubs, the role of Staines as a transport 

interchange and major all-purpose centre, and the roles 

of Camberley and Epsom as major all-purpose centres. 

Development in other town centres will be encouraged 

to maintain their role and improve their vitality. 

T 

2.12 own centres are the activity hubs of Surrey and 

contain significant heritage and cultural assets. 

They are at the heart of the strategy to concentrate 

development in urban areas. Policy LO3 aims to attract 

appropriate development and investment to all Surrey’s 

town centres, both large and small, to sustain and 

improve their vitality and significance. 

2.13 Within and around town centres, higher density 

residential development (over 50 dwellings per hectare), 

particularly as part of mixed use schemes, will be 

encouraged where it is compatible with the character of 

the centres and with the overall aim of maintaining and 

enhancing their commercial and retail roles. Significantly 

higher densities may be appropriate where the potential 

has been identified through local housing capacity 

studies, and reflected in local development frameworks. 

2.14 The six major town centres have a key strategic role 

to play in the Spatial Strategy’s aim of reducing the need 

to travel. They provide the widest choice of services, 

shops and employment opportunities in one place and 

therefore limit the need to travel to a number of 

different centres and locations to meet these needs. They 

also have better access by public transport than other 

town centres and provide an opportunity to reduce the 

need to travel by car. The policy aims to direct 

development to the major town centres in accordance 

with the Spatial Strategy and their individual roles: 

f Guildford supports many major commercial and 

regional administrative functions as well as being a 

regional shopping and leisure centre. It has been 

identified as a regional hub in the Regional Transport 

Strategy (RTS) and as a strategically significant urban 

area and key economic driver in the Regional 

Economic Strategy (RES) draft action plan. It is the 

county town and seat of the University of Surrey. 

Future development should support and enhance the 

town’s role as a regional centre and its potential to 

develop as a nationally significant business cluster. 

f Woking has major commercial, retail and leisure 

facilities and has been identified as a major town 

centre and key economic driver within the region in 

the RES draft action plan, as well as being identified 

as a regional hub in the RTS. Future development 

should continue to support the centre’s significant 

economic, retail and leisure base. 

f Camberley and Redhill are major commercial, retail 

and leisure centres and Redhill is identified as a centre 

34 



of strategic importance. Future development should 

enhance their respective roles and provide 

environmental improvements where necessary. Major 

expansion of activity should be considered in the 

context of the outcome of sub-regional strategies for 

the Western Corridor, the Blackwater Valley and the 

London Fringe as reflected in the emerging South East 

Plan. 

f Epsom and Staines are also major commercial, 

retail and leisure centres. Future development should 

concentrate on consolidating their current roles 

and in providing environmental improvements to 

residents and businesses alike. 

2.15 Other town centres in Surrey will continue to be 

supported in fulfilling their significant but more local 

role. Development required as part of the ongoing 

revitalisation of both Addlestone and Leatherhead will 

be particularly encouraged. The role of market towns 

serving rural communities within the South East and 

South West Surrey Sub-areas and providing wider 

services and facilities for visitors will also be supported. 



g define the boundaries of town centres, and 

maintain and review these boundaries; 

g set out proposals for development sites within 

town centres; 

g take into account the roles of Guildford, Woking 

and Redhill as centres of strategic importance and 

regional hubs and, in particular, the pre-eminent 

role of Guildford. 


g prepare town centre strategies, taking particular 

account of the transportation needs of centres; 

g prepare town centre design briefs; 

g prepare development briefs for key town centre 

sites; 

g undertake periodic health checks of market and 

other small towns to establish local needs. 

f The Local Transport Plan will include schemes for 

improvement to town centre transport networks in 

its local implementation programme areas. 


f Amount of commercial, retail, tourism, 

residential and other development in each 

of the town centres, and in proportion to the 

rest of the county 

f Economic and social health of town centres 

(note: to be measured through town centre 

health checks) 

f Proportion of total employment in town 

centres 

f Proportion of all town centre development 

in the six major town centres 

f Amount of higher density residential 

development/mixed use development in and 

around town centres 

TARGETS 2 & 4/ 



POLICY LO4/ 

The Countryside and Green Belt 

The openness and intrinsic qualities of the countryside 

will be protected. Most development outside the urban 

areas should be in or near to local service centres, and 

all development must respect the character of the 

countryside. 

Development will be permitted where it is required for 

agriculture, forestry, or where it relates to the essential 

needs of outdoor sport and recreation or for 

management of the countryside as a resource. 

Operational development associated with water supply 

and treatment, sewage treatment, flood defence purposes, 

energy generation from renewable resources, mineral 

working and waste management and any other essential 

utility development will be acceptable where need is 

justified and adverse impacts can be satisfactorily 

managed. 

The Metropolitan Green Belt 

The general extent of the Metropolitan Green Belt in 

Surrey will be maintained.Within the Metropolitan Green 

Belt there will be a presumption against inappropriate 

development.At Guildford, the local development 

framework will include amendments to the Metropolitan 

Green Belt boundary north east of Guildford if the need 

for an urban extension to the town is confirmed. Land 

previously removed from the Metropolitan Green Belt 

to serve as a long term reserve for future development 

requirements should be reassessed against the Spatial 

Strategy of this Plan through local development 

frameworks. 

Urban fringe 

Measures to secure the enhancement of the character 

and management of countryside on the urban fringe 

consistent with the appropriate use of such land, including 

recreational use, will be encouraged. 

Major developed sites 

Where major developed sites in the countryside are 

identified in local development frameworks, further 

infilling or redevelopment may be acceptable.Any 

proposal should demonstrate how any adverse impacts 

are to be mitigated and what measures to enhance the 

character of the area can be achieved. 

Existing buildings 

The re-use and adaptation of buildings in the countryside 

is acceptable in principle, provided that the new use 

would not harm local amenity. 

T 

2.16 he character of the countryside finds expression 

in the diversity of its landscapes, the wealth of 

its natural resources and its ecological, historical, 

recreational and archaeological value. These intrinsic 

qualities need to be conserved and development should 

promote this objective. The Spatial Strategy sets out 

priorities for the rural parts of the county as a whole. 

These will help maintain the character and quality of the 

countryside in its generality. The significance of different 

parts of the countryside in contributing to landscape, 

nature conservation and spatial development objectives 

is identified in the priorities for each of the sub-areas. 

36 



2.17 While Surrey’s countryside has been admired and 

enjoyed for generations, it is also a working countryside. 

In recognition of this, Policy LO4 allows small scale 

development where it is needed in the open countryside 

away from settlements to support rural activities. 

Minerals can only be worked where they are found 

and their extraction will, subject to environmental 

safeguards, continue in the countryside. Other forms 

of development, such as certain utility and waste 

operations, may be acceptable in the countryside where 

an applicant or local development framework has 

demonstrated satisfactorily that alternative locations 

in urban areas are not practicable and any adverse 

impacts are adequately mitigated. In the case of waste 

management facilities in the countryside, priority will 

be given to development on existing waste management 

sites or previously developed land rather than greenfield 

sites. All such development, including mitigation, must 

respect the character of the countryside within which 

it is sited. 

2.18 Much of Surrey’s countryside is also subject to 

Metropolitan Green Belt policy wherein particular 

justification for development is required in order to 

safeguard the openness of the countryside. The 

Metropolitan Green Belt (MGB) plays a crucial role in 

spatial planning throughout the South East Region. The 

presumption against inappropriate development in the 

MGB helps direct investment to those locations where 

regeneration is a priority or where expansion is 

proposed. In Surrey’s case, the MGB supports the role of 

London as a World City, preventing it from sprawling 

further out into the adjoining areas and directing 

investment back into urban regeneration. In Surrey, the 

MGB, which covers approximately 73% of the county, 

has helped to focus development on the existing urban 

areas where most people live and work, and its 

continued general protection is consistent with national 

and regional objectives. 

The purposes of the Metropolitan Green Belt, 

as set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 

Green Belts (PPG2) are: 

i) to check the unrestricted sprawl of large 

built-up areas; 

ii) to safeguard the surrounding countryside 

from further encroachment; 

iii) to prevent neighbouring towns from merging 

into one another; 

iv) to preserve the special character of historic 

towns; 

v) to assist in urban regeneration. 

PPG2 also identifies the following uses for 

Metropolitan Green Belts: 

i) to provide opportunities for access to the 

open countryside for the urban population; 

ii) to provide opportunities for outdoor sport 

and recreation near urban areas; 

iii) to retain attractive landscapes, and enhance 

landscapes, near to where people live; 

iv) to improve damaged and derelict land 

around the towns; 

v) to secure nature conservation interests; and 

vi) to retain land in agricultural, forestry and 

related uses. 



2.19 The general extent of the MGB in Surrey has been 

defined in earlier structure plans and detailed boundaries 

around urban areas are identified in local plans There is 

no intention to alter the general extent of the MGB as 

part of this Plan, although detailed Metropolitan Green 

Belt boundaries around Guildford may need to be 

amended if the need for urban extensions is 

demonstrated in the local development framework. 

2.20 Elsewhere in Surrey, local development 

frameworks will also need to consider any consequential 

modifications to local Metropolitan Green Belt 

boundaries where land has previously been excluded 

from the MGB to meet possible future development 

requirements. Where the development of such land is 

not compatible with the Spatial Strategy or does not 

conform to principles of sustainability, its continued 

exclusion from the MGB is not justified. 

2.21 PPG2 states that in addition to the general policies 

controlling development in the countryside, there is a 

presumption against inappropriate development within 

Metropolitan Green Belts. Very special circumstances 

will need to be demonstrated to justify an exception 

being made to this presumption. 

2.22 Regional Planning Guidance for the South East 

(RPG9) points out the need for positive management to 

improve the landscape and nature conservation value of 

land on the urban fringe. In the area of North Surrey 

where the MGB is fragmented and its landscapes 

relatively degraded, positive action is particularly 

important and is in line with Government advice set out 

in the box following paragraph 2.18. Such initiatives may 

also provide opportunities for recreational access and 

use within the urban fringe, an issue emphasised in the 

2002 revision to PPG17 Planning for Open Space, Sport and 

Recreation. In all cases, the management and use of land 

on the urban fringe has to be integrated with its 

continued agricultural use. 

2.23 Existing strategic facilities for sport and recreation 

are found both in urban fringe areas and elsewhere in 

the countryside. Some, such as country parks, golf 

courses and racecourses, cover extensive areas of land 

and contribute to the character of their locality. Such 

facilities should be supported as part of a regional 

resource, although additional or replacement facilities, 

particularly buildings, must respect the underlying 

objectives of preserving the openness and character of 

the countryside. Further guidance on recreation is given 

in Policy DN13. 

2.24 A general presumption in favour of the re-use of 

previously developed land applies in urban areas. This 

may not be a sustainable approach in the countryside, 

depending on the scale and location of the land. PPG2 

includes specific advice on major developed sites in the 

Metropolitan Green Belt, to the effect that limited 

infilling or redevelopment, which offers environmental 

improvement without adding to the impact on 

countryside character, may be acceptable. This approach 

will be applied within and beyond the MGB to support 

the Spatial Strategy of focusing major development 

within urban areas in the interest of achieving a more 

sustainable pattern of development. 

2.25 Life has changed a great deal for people living and 

working in the countryside over the years. One result of 

this is that many buildings are no longer needed for the 

38 



purpose for which they were originally built. Policy LO4 

therefore encourages the re-use of existing buildings in 

the countryside, recognising the role they play in 

providing opportunities to meet social and economic 

needs without requiring additional buildings. 

2.26 It is accepted that many buildings are located away 

from any settlements and from public transport facilities, 

and the re-use of such buildings may result in an 

increase in road traffic. The benefits from re-using these 

buildings will generally outweigh this factor, provided 

the new use does not result in significant increase in 

traffic or impacts on minor roads. The use and activity 

should also be compatible with safeguarding amenity in 

the surrounding area, safeguarding the interests of 

protected species, and should not prejudice the viability 

of services provided within rural settlements. These 

considerations also apply to farm diversification schemes 

covered by Policy DN16. 


f The local planning authorities will develop the 

assessment work of The Future of Surrey’s Landscape and 

Woodlands into guidance similar to the Countryside 

Agency’s concept of Countryside Design Statements 

to protect the character of the countryside. 


g maintain Metropolitan Green Belt boundaries 

except where land previously removed from the 

MGB to meet possible future development 

requirements is not compatible with the Spatial 

Strategy and should be re-instated in the MGB; 

g include policies consistent with PPG2 to resist 

inappropriate development in the Metropolitan 

Green Belt; 

g encourage the re-use of existing buildings and 

provide criteria to assess the implications of such 

development; 

g identify major developed sites in the countryside 

and Metropolitan Green Belt, where relevant, and 

provide criteria-based policies to guide their 

future use. 

f The local authorities will, in conjunction with 

partner organisations and landowners, promote 

improvements to the character, use and quality 

of urban fringe land. 


f Amount of greenfield land in the MGB that is 

lost to appropriate and inappropriate 

development 

f Amount and type of development on greenfield 

land and on previously developed land in the 

countryside 

f Amount and type of development on major 

developed sites in the countryside and MGB 

f Number and extent of positive urban fringe 

land management schemes 



POLICY LO5/ 

Rural Settlements 

Limited development in rural settlements will be 

permitted where it contributes to meeting the social, 

economic and recreational needs of the local community, 

and its scale, layout and appearance maintains or enhances 

the character of the settlement. 

A 

2.27 pproximately 15% of homes in Surrey are 

located outside the urban areas, mainly in the 

rural settlements identified in local plans. Policy LO5 

aims to help sustain these areas by allowing development 

within those settlements, where social, economic and 

recreational needs of the local community have been 

demonstrated. Provision for affordable housing in 

relation to rural settlements is considered in Policy DN11. 

2.28 The quality of the environment in rural settlements 

is generally very high. Their heritage value, recognised in 

numerous listed buildings, conservation areas and 

archaeological features, forms an important part of the 

cultural history of the county. Development must 

therefore be sensitive to its surroundings, reinforcing the 

character and separate identity of these communities. 

2.29 Maintaining or providing everyday services and 

local employment opportunities within rural settlements 

will help to reduce the need to travel to nearby centres. 

However, urban areas will remain the main focus for 

employment opportunities and service provision, so 

significant development in rural settlements would 

conflict with this objective. 

2.30 The need to sustain rural communities will 

generally override concerns about modest additional 

traffic and activity, provided the development is clearly 

related to, and at a scale commensurate with, the needs 

of the local community. Emerging community strategies 

should assist in establishing the case for retaining or 

augmenting existing services and facilities within 

settlements. 



g identify rural settlements and their boundaries; 

g provide criteria based policies to influence the 

design, scale and impact of development in such 

settlements; 

g encourage the preparation of village design 

statements. 

f Local planning authorities will promote the use of 

conservation area appraisals and enhancement 

schemes. 

f Community strategies and parish plans will enable 

identification of social, economic, recreational and 

environmental issues within rural areas. 

f The Rural Strategy promotes the use of parish plans 

to establish local needs. 

f The Heritage Strategy promotes conservation and 

interpretation of the historic environment. 

40 




f Availability of key services in rural settlements 

f Number of parish plans and actions arising 

f Number of village design statements and 

conservation area enhancement schemes 

POLICY LO6/ 

Housing Provision 

Provision will be made for 35,400 (net) dwellings 

within Surrey between April 2001 and March 2016, 

in the following way: 

Total provision 

Elmbridge 3,370 

Epsom & Ewell 3,000 

Guildford 4,750 

Mole Valley 2,330 

Reigate & Banstead 6,290 

Runnymede 2,030 

Spelthorne 2,580 

Surrey Heath 2,780 

Tandridge 2,120 

Waverley 2,810 

Woking 3,340 

Surrey 35,400 

Most of the above dwellings will be provided on 

previously developed land, principally through the 

proactive approach to the management of urban areas 

set out in Policy LO2. 

The local planning authorities will adopt a Plan, Monitor, 

Manage approach to housing provision, with appropriate 

phasing policies in local development frameworks.Where 

there is a significant shortfall or surplus in the supply of 



housing relative to the above allocations, the local 

planning authorities will review the proposed phasing 

either through the preparation of supplementary planning 

documents or through a formal review of the local 

development framework. 

In Reigate & Banstead, 2,600 of the borough’s dwellings 

allocation will be provided at Horley primarily through 

urban extensions to the north east and north west of the 

town. 

In Guildford provision for a new community to the north 

east of the town will be made in the local development 

framework if sufficient capacity on previously developed 

land cannot be identified to meet the full housing 

allocation within the LDF period. 

R 

2.31 egional Planning Guidance for the South East 

(RPG9) requires Surrey to provide an average 

of 2,360 net additional dwellings per year for the period 

up to 2006. Beyond this date, the RPG advises that 

provision should continue to be made at the same annual 

rate until such time as any different rate is adopted 

through a revision of RPG9. Currently, the review of RPG 

is scheduled for completion in 2006. Over the 15 years to 

2016, this equates to a requirement of 35,400 dwellings, 

a level which is met in Policy LO6. 

2.32 Implementation of Surrey’s regional housing 

requirement will be monitored and assessed against the 

results of the Surrey Housing Capacity Study, and district 

housing capacity studies. The Plan, Monitor, Manage 

approach will be implemented to ensure that the best 

use is being made of previously developed land, 

particularly within existing towns and villages, whilst 

protecting the quality of life for those who live, work 

and visit these areas. 

2.33 The distribution of the overall housing requirement 

has been derived from the results of the Surrey Housing 

Capacity Study (SHCS), carried out jointly by the County 

Council and the borough and district councils. This study 

indicates that, of the total housing requirement, by April 

2003, 15,239 dwellings had either been completed, had 

the benefit of an outstanding planning permission, or 

had been allocated in local plans or through 

development briefs. The remainder of the provision will 

be delivered through new housing allocations within 

local development frameworks and through windfall 

development on unidentified sites, including small and 

medium sites. 

2.34 A number of the borough and district council local 

plans contain sites identified against the strategy of 

earlier structure plans to help meet longer term housing 

needs. Many of these are greenfield sites within, or on 

the edge of, existing urban areas and some have been 

excluded from the MGB. The release of these sites to 

meet the dwelling requirement set out in this policy is 

unlikely to be necessary before 2016. In accordance with 

the requirements of Policy LO4, all reserve sites should 

be reviewed through the production of local 

development frameworks. They should be assessed in 

terms of the sequential approach set out in Planning 

Policy Guidance Note on Housing (PPG3) and the Spatial 

Strategy of this Plan. 

42 



Reigate & Banstead 

2.35 Within Reigate & Banstead, 2,600 of the borough’s 

dwelling allocation will be provided at Horley. This 

will be met largely through two new urban extensions 

to the north east and north west of the town. The 

development of these extensions is subject to the 

provisions of a comprehensive masterplan currently 

being progressed through the Reigate & Banstead 

Borough Local Plan (First Alteration). 

Woking 

2.36 In Woking a significant proportion of the borough’s 

total housing provision will be met in and around 

Woking town centre. 

Guildford 

2.37 The dwelling allocation for Guildford is greater 

than the potential identified within the Surrey Housing 

Capacity Study, reflecting the identification of this area 

as a centre of strategic importance. This additional 

provision should be delivered primarily through the use 

of previously developed land within the urban area of 

Guildford town. The potential to meet the allocation in 

this way will need to be demonstrated through a local 

housing capacity study and through the allocation of 

suitable sites within the local development framework. 

If the capacity study fails to identify sufficient previously 

developed land within Guildford town, then the Borough 

Council should consider the need for a new community 

to the north east of Guildford town. 

2.38 The planning of the new community should be 

subject to the provisions of a detailed masterplan 

prepared through the local development framework for 

Guildford. The masterplan should determine the precise 

site areas, boundaries and housing capacity of the new 

community. It should also demonstrate how 

development will interact and connect with the existing 

urban area and adjoining countryside, and provide for a 

clear separation from the village of West Clandon to 

maintain its identity. The masterplan should: 

f reflect the vision for new communities set out in 

the Spatial Strategy, and 

f set out how and when infrastructure will be provided, 

to ensure that new development does not overload 

existing facilities, and 

f provide for a mix of land uses, including housing, 

employment, retail and social and community 

facilities, and 

f demonstrate how transportation issues will be 

addressed, particularly the need for strategic 

transportation improvements, the provision of public 

transport and access to and within the adjoining 

urban areas, and 

f identify the potential to contribute towards meeting 

longer term development needs, beyond 2016. 


f Local planning authorities will: 

g undertake detailed local housing capacity studies 

to demonstrate how they will meet the allocations 

in Policy LO6; 

g ensure that there is sufficient provision for housing 

to meet annual average requirements for at least 

5 years; 



g phase the release of housing sites, having regard 

to the provision of adequate infrastructure and 

services, and the availability of previously 

developed land within the urban areas; 

g jointly with the County Council, monitor the rate 

at which new housing is being developed. 

f The County Council will: 

g work with the borough and district councils to 

deliver further housing capacity through a more 

proactive approach to the management of urban 

areas; 

g work with Guildford Borough Council, the 

Highways Agency, other infrastructure and service 

providers and the local community to identify the 

infrastructure and service provision required for a 

possible new community; 

g provide further guidance on how the local 

authorities should implement the Government’s 

proposals for Plan, Monitor, Manage, including the 

delivery of additional housing in urban areas. 


f Amount, location and previous use of land 

developed for housing 

f Amount and rate of windfall development on 

previously developed land 

f Monitoring of the Surrey Housing Capacity 

Study and local housing capacity studies 

TARGET 1/ 

f A detailed masterplan for the development of the 

existing planned urban extensions around Horley is 

being developed through the Reigate & Banstead 

Borough Local Plan (First Alteration). 

f Surrey Design will contribute towards the achievement 

of high quality residential and mixed use 

environments by promoting best practice both in the 

development process and the use of key urban design 

principles. 

44 



POLICY LO7/ 

Employment Land 

The development needs of sustainable economic growth 

will be met primarily through the re-use of suitably 

located land already in or available for employment use. 

Suitably located land will be safeguarded. Employment 

land, particularly in or around town centres, may be 

redeveloped for mixed uses. 

Local planning authorities will seek to ensure an 

appropriate mix of types and scale of premises for a 

range of economic activities. In particular, the 

development of small and medium sized enterprises, 

including those requiring ‘move-on’ accommodation from 

incubator units, and the development of business clusters, 

will be supported. 

Local planning authorities will be expected to review 

existing employment land allocations and policies 

protecting land for employment use and reallocate 

surplus or unsuitably located employment land for 

alternative uses.Where unsuitably located land is 

reallocated for alternative uses, local planning authorities 

will review the adequacy of existing employment land 

allocations and designate additional land if justified. 

A 

2.39 successful economy is an important key to 

ensuring a good quality of life. However, 

economic growth must be encouraged in a sustainable 

way, as economic success can bring unwanted pressures 

such as traffic congestion or high house prices, which 

could undermine this success. In Surrey, this means 

creating wealth without adding to the stock of 

employment land, and not being excessively expansive 

in terms of job or travel generation. Surrey’s economy 

enjoyed considerable growth in the 1990s primarily 

through the redevelopment of existing sites and 

premises. Policy LO7 seeks to continue this approach but 

with more flexibility to respond to changing economic 

and development needs, thus ensuring the best use is 

made of urban land. The re-use of existing suitably 

located land will continue to be the primary method of 

meeting future growth in the Surrey economy and, in 

particular, for knowledge based commercial activities 

that can demonstrate high levels of productivity and 

investment per square metre. Suitably located land will 

need to be safeguarded for employment use, although 

mixed use redevelopment will be encouraged, 

particularly in and around town centres. 

2.40 It is also important that the economy grows in a 

balanced way by ensuring that a range of sizes and types 

of sites and premises are available and the associated 

service activities needed to maintain economic diversity 

are provided for. The continuing development of 

innovative and novel ideas into new commercial 

enterprises will provide an important element of the 

economy. It is important that appropriate premises are 

available for such entrepreneurs to build and implement 

their innovations. 

2.41 In 1982, Gross Value Added in the Surrey economy 

totalled £7.8bn. By 2002, this had grown to £16.5bn, 

equivalent to an annual growth rate of 3.8%. Output has 

grown steadily above the UK annual trend growth rate 

of 2.5%, particularly during two periods of sustained 

growth, from 1982 to 1988, and from 1992 to 1999. Output 

might be expected to continue growing above the UK 

trend growth rate from 2003 onwards. 



2.42 In 2003, the single largest sector in output terms in 

Surrey was business services, including activities such as 

professional services, IT services, and consultancy. The 

sector contributed £400m to output, almost twice as 

much as the second largest producer, the retail sector. 

Manufacturing industries produced relatively small 

components of total output, with paper, printing and 

publishing the largest at £30m, 1.5% of the total output 

of Surrey. 

2.43 The sectoral components of output have changed 

over time, with Surrey seeing dramatic increases in the 

importance of business services. In 1982, as well as 

making the largest contribution to employment, the 

health sector also made the largest contribution to 

output. However, the business services sector grew to 

be the largest component of total output by 2003, and 

is expected to continue growing. 

2.44 It is likely that the strongest employment changes 

in the period to 2016 will be in the business services, 

retailing, health, wholesaling and education sectors. The 

policy response to such outcomes will need to have 

regard to the Spatial Strategy, the need to minimise travel 

to work (by car primarily) and the availability of suitably 

located employment land. The encouragement of 

workers (commuters) into Surrey would exacerbate the 

existing problems on the road network unless reliable 

and frequent public transport alternatives are in place. In 

addition the employment implications do not have to be 

met by a predict and provide response. Through changing 

working practices and the more efficient use of business 

space including spaceless economic growth, the land use 

implications as well as the number of workers needed 

can be lessened. 

2.45 A general objective of the Spatial Strategy is to 

focus new development in the urban areas, particularly 

in the major centres in the county which are important 

transport interchanges and employment areas. The focus 

of development and the provision of important services 

and functions will be in these major centres, principally 

Guildford, Woking and Redhill. Town centres are seen as 

the main focus for employment opportunities and where 

people live and transport infrastructure is optimal. The 

priorities of the Spatial Strategy include the 

consolidation of the existing roles of Staines and Epsom; 

particular investment in and revitalisation of Addlestone, 

Chertsey and Leatherhead to maintain their roles in 

providing local services; and small scale development to 

maintain the roles of Reigate, Oxted, Cranleigh, Dorking, 

Godalming and Haslemere as market towns. Additionally 

Camberley, Epsom, and Staines are identified as major 

commercial, retail and leisure centres whose roles 

should either be enhanced or consolidated. 

2.46 As a result of its prosperous economy, Surrey has 

experienced significant employment growth in recent 

years. This has led to some recruitment and skills 

shortages. Local planning authorities will have to 

consider whether some employment sites should 

therefore be used for housing, to help increase labour 

supply to meet the demands of the local economy. A 

change of use, or mixed use development, will be 

particularly encouraged on sites that have historically 

been in employment use but are not suitably located 

either in relation to modern commercial requirements 

or for environmental reasons. It is also important that 

local planning authorities maintain an adequate supply 

of employment land for future requirements. Where 

46 



reallocations of employment land take place, local 

planning authorities will be expected to consider 

whether alternative suitably located employment land 

needs to be identified. 

i) The expectation is that this would result 

in the loss of up to 20% of secondary 

employment sites across the county but 

would involve the retention and/or more 

intensive use of primary employment 

locations, such as business parks. In and 

around town centres, where there is a mix 

of uses and the use of individual sites may 

change to or from employment use during 

the plan period, the expectation is that 

overall employment floorspace would not 

be reduced as a result of this policy, and 

may well increase. 

ii) Surrey’s core supply of commercial and 

industrial land and premises is located in its 

established town centres, business parks and 

industrial estates. In principle these sites 

should be retained in employment use, 

although redevelopment for mixed uses may 

be appropriate in and around town centres. 

High density employment uses should be 

concentrated in town centres or other 

locations with good public transport 

accessibility, particularly if these are within 

the fringe of a town centre.Where a site 

is redeveloped for mixed use, the 

redevelopment scheme should avoid a net 

loss of employment floorspace. On industrial 

estates and business parks, the possibility of 

a change of use should only be considered 

where there is significant evidence of a lack 

iii) 

of market interest in the site for employment 

use. Employment sites within local or district 

centres should also be retained in 

employment use unless there is a lack of 

market interest in the site or there are 

amenity problems associated with the 

employment use of the site. 

The principal way for implementing Policy 

LO7 will be through local development 

frameworks.These should identify key 

employment sites which are significant and 

inalienable.A main principle in determining 

such sites will be the Spatial Strategy.The 

review process should include an audit of 

outstanding commitments and current stock 

of employment land.The practical approach is 

to assess changes in the supply and availability 

of employment land and premises through 

monitoring development completions, 

availability of land and premises, and 

outstanding planning consents.The 

monitoring information should be considered 

in conjunction with surveys of and liaison 

with the business community as to the 

adequacy of employment land supply.Together 

these should indicate employment land 

requirements which can be assessed against 

the availability of labour supply.This 

information would then inform judgements 

on the weight that should be given regarding 

competing land use demands (or reallocation) 



such as housing. If outstanding commitments 

and the floorspace estimates for allocated 

sites exceed the development levels achieved 

for previous years (ten years is recommended 

as an appropriate period), this indicates a 

possible excess of industrial and commercial 

land provision, although such a mechanistic 

approach must be assessed carefully. 

Comparisons should also be against county 

and district employment forecasts, which may 

change over time. If they do change 

significantly, industrial and commercial land 

requirements may need to be re-assessed. 

iv) Other commercial and industrial sites are 

scattered throughout the urban area. It is 

among these sites that there may be potential 

for a change of use, particularly to residential. 

If the site is well located for public transport 

and does not generate significant adverse 

amenity impacts, then the presumption that 

the site should remain in employment use still 

pertains. Such sites contribute to a desirable 

mix of activity within the urban area. 

However, where there are public transport 

accessibility and/or amenity problems, or 

where there is evidence of a lack of market 

interest in the site for business use, then a 

change of use should be considered. 

v) Some employment sites isolated within 

residential areas may be considered to have 

potential for reallocation to housing. 

However, such locations clearly may already 

meet the requirements of minimising car 

usage since they are more likely to attract 

and retain local employees, providing as they 

do opportunities for people to live and work 

locally.Where redevelopment of such sites 

would lead to intensification, this may lead to 

recruitment of staff from a wider catchment 

and generate more car trips to an out of 

centre location. Redevelopment of such sites 

in terms of mixed use may be preferable in 

such cases. 

vi) Commercial and industrial sites located in 

close proximity to the Primary Route 

Network need to be considered in terms 

of the type of the activity that is appropriate 

at such locations. Road-based warehousing 

development at such locations may be 

appropriate. Other employment development 

which may lead to long distance car 

commuting is likely to be inappropriate 

vii) Where the access to an employment site is 

constrained, the suitability of the site for 

continuing in industrial and commercial use 

should be reviewed. Redevelopment for other 

uses may be appropriate, if limitations on the 

employment usage to satisfy access concerns 

would lead to poor utilisation of the site. 

viii) The redevelopment for employment purposes 

of existing employment sites in rural 

settlements is supported by Policy LO5.This 

is intended to maintain rural employment 

opportunities in locations where there is 

some concentration of people offering the 

best chance of a close home and work 

relationship. Only where there is compelling 

48 



ix) 

evidence of a lack of interest in the site for 

business or other employment use, should 

a change of use be considered. Mixed use 

solutions may be appropriate for larger 

employment sites in rural settlements. 

Using the approach detailed above, local 

development frameworks can ensure that 

there is a suitable range of employment 

sites and premises in terms of size, tenure 

and cost in order to foster economic 

diversity within the Plan area.Where a 

surplus of industrial and commercial land is 

identified, individual sites and allocations 

should be assessed in terms of their 

accessibility, impact on amenity and 

marketability. Unsuitably located sites 

should be considered for alternative uses, 

such as housing.The views of the County 

Council’s Transportation Development 

Control Group and the Surrey Economic 

Partnership should be sought.There is a 

presumption of refusal for planning 

applications involving the loss of industrial 

and commercial land contrary to the 

development plan. If an application 

proposes a significant net loss of 

commercial or industrial floorspace and the 

district council considers that such a loss 

has strategic implications, the proposal 

should be referred to the County Council 

as a strategic consultation.The County 

Council will apply the criteria outlined 

above to determine whether a strategic 

objection should be raised to the proposal. 



g undertake a local employment land capacity study 

identifying ‘key’ and ‘secondary’ employment 

sites; 

g examine the likely future relationship between 

floorspace, jobs and workforce taking account of 

the housing allocations; 

g review the adequacy of existing land allocations 

in the light of this relationship, the desirability of 

a better balance between job opportunities and 

resident work force, and the scope to release up 

to 20% of secondary employment land which is 

unsuitably located or surplus to requirements. 

f The County Council will assist in the preparation of 

local forecasts of future economic needs, based on 

the requirements for innovative or emerging industry 

and established local industry, including small 

businesses, bearing in mind the forecasts for the 

county and the need to retain diversity. 

f The Economic Strategy will promote economic 

growth within the land use framework set by the 

Structure Plan in order to achieve sustainable 

development. 




f Amount, percentage and type of commercial, 

industrial and mixed use development on land 

previously developed for employment 

floorspace 


POLICY LO8/ 

Retail Development 

Retail development will be directed in accordance with 

the strategic retail hierarchy of centres in Surrey. 

Where there is a need to allocate land for retail 

development the local planning authorities will consider 

town centre sites followed by edge of centre sites if these 

are not available. Only where there are no suitable sites 

in these locations will out of centre sites be considered. 

Retail development in edge of centre and out of centre 

locations will only be permitted where need and a 

sequential approach to site selection are demonstrated, 

where it would not undermine the vitality and viability of 

any existing centre and where it is accessible by means of 

transport other than the private car. 

S 

2.47 hops play a crucial role in ensuring the success 

and the vitality of town centres. Policy LO8 

therefore aims to ensure that retail development needs 

are addressed through the local development framework 

process and that these needs are met as far as possible in 

town centres. If there are insufficient sites within a town 

centre, local planning authorities should consider sites 

on the edge of the centre. Only as a last resort should 

other sites be considered. 

2.48 The policy also aims to ensure that the existing 

hierarchy of shopping centres in Surrey is maintained. 

New retail provision should be appropriate to the scale, 

function and accessibility of the town centre where the 

new development is planned, having regard to the 

hierarchy of shopping centres. The strategic retail 

50 



hierarchy below identifies three main groups, with 

Guildford identified as a regional retail centre. 

Maintaining the vitality and viability of smaller local 

centres is also important and local development 

frameworks may identify further groups at a local level. 

The Surrey retail hierarchy of town centres 

Group 1 – Guildford 

Group 2 – Camberley, Epsom, Redhill, Staines,Woking 

Group 3 – Dorking, Farnham, Godalming, Reigate, 

Walton-on-Thames. 

Local centres as identified in local development 

frameworks 


f Local planning authorities will assess retail needs and 

identify any sites needed for retail development in 

local development frameworks, area action plans or 

town centre briefs. 


f Amount and location of retail development 

TARGET 4/ 

2.49 If a retail planning application is received for 

an edge of centre or an out of centre site that is not 

allocated for retail development in the local 

development framework, its potential impact on the 

viability and vitality of existing centres will be assessed. 

Both its impact individually and its impact cumulatively 

with other existing or proposed retail developments will 

be part of this assessment. The applicant must 

demonstrate the retail need to justify the application and 

that the site search has followed a sequential approach. 

The policy will also apply to proposed extensions of 

existing edge of and out of centre retail establishments. 


CHAPTER 

3 

SUSTAINING 

THE ENVIRONMENT 

POLICY SE1/ 

Natural Resources and Pollution Control 

Designated areas and features of acknowledged 

importance within the natural environment should be 

conserved and enhanced. 

Development should be located and designed to promote 

the efficient use of energy and water, and the careful use 

of natural resources, including land and soils. 

Development which requires the provision of new water 

supply or sewage treatment infrastructure should not 

prejudice existing water abstractions, river flows, water 

quality, wetland habitats or fisheries. 

Development must comply with prevailing standards for 

the control of emissions to air, water and land.The 

planning authorities will not permit development which, 

by reason of noise, odour, radiation or light pollution, 

would be harmful to the environment or to other land 

users in the area and will avoid locating sensitive 

development in the vicinity of known sources of pollution 

or hazard. 

P 

3.1 rotection of the environment requires that 

development should not prejudice the quantity 

or quality of important elements of the natural 

environment. Where the scale or nature of a proposed 

development, its potential impact on the environment, 

or its location in relation to sensitive areas could affect 

areas or features of acknowledged environmental 

importance, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 

should be undertaken. Such developments must also be 

considered against the objectives set out in various 

national strategies, for example, the UK Biodiversity 

Action Plan and the National Air Quality Strategy, as well 

as European Directives and international obligations. 

3.2 The policy is central to ensuring the prudent use of 

the basic natural resources of air, land and soils, water 

and minerals, and protecting the environment. These 

are key strands of the national strategy for sustainable 

development. One of the basic resources, often 

neglected in the past, is soil quality, which contributes 

to a range of environmental and economic goods. 

Development should re-use previously developed land 

and be more intensive in form to promote the 

conservation of land. The more concentrated form of 

development will facilitate adoption of energy 

conservation measures, which along with greater use 

of public transport, cycling and walking, can help to 

reduce the growth in greenhouse gas emissions. New 

development should be as sustainable as possible, 

designed to achieve a BREEAM or EcoHomes standard 

of ‘excellent’ (please see Glossary). 

3.3 Water resources to support development are finite 

without major investment in new storage facilities and 

the attendant environmental impacts associated with 

them. This, and the uncertainty over future seasonal 

fluctuations in supply associated with climate change, 

supports taking a precautionary approach to resource 

conservation. Ground and surface water resources need 

to be protected from the pressure for over-abstraction 

and from pollution to ensure that they remain available 

to provide drinking water, to sustain agriculture and 

related activity and to support wetland habitats. Creation 

of ponds for storage of winter rainfall for subsequent 

52 


chapter 3 · sustaining the environment 

agricultural use reduces pressure on water resources and 

should be supported. 

3.4 The impact that increasing discharge rates has on 

water quality in Surrey’s rivers raises concern. In 

particular, in headwater locations, the dilution rates for 

sewage effluent are low. Further development in areas 

where treatment works are at or near capacity must not 

be allowed prior to the upgrading of the treatment 

works. Development prejudicial to the achievement of 

river water quality objectives will not be acceptable. 

3.5 If a proposed development has any potential 

pollution risk associated with emissions or discharges to 

air, land or water, the risk must be reduced to comply 

with national or European standards of control, 

whichever is the more stringent. The planning 

authorities, in conjunction with other agencies, will 

promote the use of the best available techniques to 

achieve this. The Environment Agency has specific 

responsibilities in relation to the regulation of waste 

management, radioactive substances and emissions to air 

from complex industrial processes, as well as regulating 

discharges to the water environment. Other forms of 

pollution, such as noise, odour and light emanating from 

a development, will be controlled in the interests of 

local amenity and the environment. Where Air Quality 

Management Areas have been designated, or known 

sources of pollution or potential hazard exist, 

restrictions on the form and nature of development 

proposals will be imposed in the interests of personal 

safety. 



g select locations for development which contribute 

to conserving the use of natural resources and 

avoid harm to areas of environmental or cultural 

importance; 

g require Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) 

for major developments, those in sensitive 

locations or those that impact on features of 

particular importance; 

g produce EIA Best Practice Guidance to assist 

scoping of EIAs in Surrey; 

g adopt policies which require use of the principles 

in Surrey Design concerned with resources; 

g include policies in local development frameworks 

which promote greater efficiency in the use of 

energy by improved siting, layout and design of 

development, better building insulation, passive 

solar design and use of energy efficient domestic 

appliances and heating systems; 

g adopt policies which require careful use of natural 

resources and the salvaging and re-use of 

secondary aggregates in construction; 

g consult water supply undertakers and the 

Environment Agency to ensure that adequate water 

resources are available to meet demands arising 

from development; 

g promote, in conjunction with water companies 

and the Environment Agency, the incorporation of 

water efficiency measures in new development; 



g consult the Environment Agency where 

development poses a pollution risk or a threat to 

groundwater quality; 

g require development affecting contaminated or 

unstable land to include measures to rectify the 

problems identified; 

g phase development in relation to the available 

capacity of sewage treatment works to deliver 

effluent which does not prejudice river water 

quality objectives. 


g consult and liaise with other agencies to ensure 

best practice is applied to limit polluting 

discharges to air, land and water; 

g designate Air Quality Management Areas where 

standards are not satisfactory and develop action 

plans including land use planning responses; 

g resist further development in areas of known risk 

from pollution or other hazard. 


f Number of occasions when air quality fails to 

meet statutory targets 

f Number of development schemes with water 

efficiency measures 

f Water quality in rivers and groundwater 

f Number of pollution incidents 

f Trends in the level of groundwater 

POLICY SE2/ 

Renewable Energy and Energy 

Conservation 

Development for the generation of energy from 

renewable resources of wind, sun and biomass as a 

contribution to the regional target will be encouraged. 

Small scale proposals to serve individual buildings, or 

small groups of buildings, are becoming practicable and 

will be supported. In areas such as the AONBs, landscape 

considerations may preclude larger schemes, but small 

scale schemes may be acceptable. 

Commercial and residential development should be 

designed such that a minimum of 10% of the energy 

requirement is provided by renewable resources.The use 

of combined heat and power or similar technology will 

be encouraged, and for all developments in excess of 

5,000 sq m floorspace should be regarded as the norm. 

All types of development should incorporate energy 

efficiency best practice measures in their design, layout 

and orientation. 

A 

3.6 long term objective in the UK is for more 

energy to be generated from sources which emit 

little or no carbon dioxide, and in particular from 

renewable energy resources such as solar or wind power 

and biomass. The Government’s present target to achieve 

10% of UK electricity generation from renewable 

resources by 2010 will only be achieved if development 

providing for such technology is permitted. Targets of 

generation capacity from renewable sources for the 

South East region have been developed by the South East 

England Regional Assembly (SEERA). The SEERA strategy 

54 



proposes that planning authorities should undertake 

assessments of potential and collaborate on a subregional 

basis to identify how the targets are to be 

achieved. 

3.7 In Surrey, SEERA’s research indicates that biomass 

has considerable potential in the period to 2016. The 

England Rural Development Programme provides support 

for biomass projects, although landowners are unlikely to 

commit to growing fuel crops until a local market is 

available. Wind power is capable of making a valuable 

contribution either in the form of clusters of small wind 

turbines and/or single large turbines. Solar power, either 

passive or active, is a further valuable resource although 

it is assumed that the contribution from active solar 

power (photovoltaics) will be greater after 2016. 

Electricity generation from landfill gas will continue to 

make a limited contribution to energy supply up to 2016. 

3.8 Development of biomass processing plant and wind 

turbines to enable the exploitation of renewable energy 

resources should be encouraged where the wider benefits 

outweigh any local impacts on amenity and character. 

Particular care will need to be taken in the case of 

proposals within areas designated for their landscape or 

nature conservation quality. Technological advance is 

also facilitating the localised generation of energy from 

renewable sources to meet the needs even of individual 

buildings and opportunities should be taken wherever 

possible to adopt such technologies in smaller schemes. 

3.9 The energy demands from new development should 

reflect the wider national objective of increasing supply 

from renewable resources by incorporating appropriate 

technology within the design of buildings. Larger 

development sites provide the opportunity to promote 

innovative approaches to heat and energy, such as 

district heating or combined heat and power (CHP). 

Mixed use schemes in and around town centres offer 

particular opportunities to share both heating and 

cooling demands between different users. These 

technologies offer substantial benefits in terms of energy 

efficiency, reducing the impact of development over its 

lifetime. 

3.10 Greater energy efficiency is an objective common to 

all forms of development and further guidance is given in 

Surrey Design. Energy efficient design and layout should be 

seen as the norm for new development, with passive 

solar design being the basic starting point. Development 

briefs for larger schemes should establish the need to 

incorporate measures that go beyond the minimum 

requirements set out in the Building Regulations. 


f Local development frameworks will include policies 

to: 

g encourage renewable energy generation from 

wind, sun and biomass resources including supply 

for individual properties; 

g require new development to provide a proportion 

of its energy requirement from renewable 

resources; 

g encourage the use of combined heating (and 

cooling) and power schemes for major 

developments; 

g promote energy conservation in construction 

of buildings (building energy ratings). 



f Surrey Design promotes energy conservation through 

innovation and layout designs which make best use of 

natural light and energy. 


g collaborate on the assessment of the local 

potential for renewable energy generation in the 

light of the regional targets to 2026; 

g identify criteria for the assessment of renewable 

energy proposals. 

f The local planning authorities will collaborate on 

the assessment of the local potential for renewable 

energy generation and the sub-regional deployment 

of such resources. 


f Energy generated from renewable sources in 


f Proportion of new buildings achieving high 

energy conservation rating 

f Take up of energy conservation schemes within 

existing buildings 

f Number of district heating systems and installed 

capacity of CHP plant 

POLICY SE3/ 

Flooding and Land Drainage 

Development for residential or commercial purposes in 

undeveloped areas at high risk from flooding is 

unacceptable.A flood risk assessment will be required 

for any proposal within a high risk area and for new 

residential development in areas of low to medium risk. 

Proposals for redevelopment of existing buildings and 

their curtilage within areas where there is a high risk of 

flooding should aim to improve conditions locally and 

not worsen flood risk elsewhere in the catchment. 

New development should not lead to an increase in 

run-off, which would exacerbate flood risk elsewhere. 

The regulation of run-off will be required as part of 

development proposals, including the use of sustainable 

drainage solutions as appropriate, to reduce the impact 

of development on flood risk elsewhere. 

New development will not be permitted in the functional 

floodplain unless it relates to the use or management of 

the water environment or to open recreation. 

S 

3.11 ignificant areas of Surrey within each of the main 

river catchments are prone to flooding. The 

predictions of the impact of climate change include the 

prospect of increased flood risk as a result of higher 

rainfall, greater seasonality in rainfall and a greater 

incidence of extreme events. The Environment Agency 

produces indicative flood risk maps for main rivers 

showing areas at risk of flooding from an event occurring 

once in a hundred years. These may be supplemented by 

Section 105 maps for some stretches of the main rivers. 

PPG25 Development and Flood Risk defines events of this 

56 



magnitude as high risk and advises that residential or 

commercial development should not take place within 

undeveloped areas exposed to such a risk. 

3.12 The implications of larger residential schemes in 

areas of low to medium risk also need careful 

assessment. PPG25 defines low risk as areas where 

flooding may occur in an event with a return period of 

once every thousand years. The Environment Agency is 

in the process of producing indicative maps for this level 

of risk. Flood risk assessment should become the norm 

for all developments within high risk areas and for larger 

developments elsewhere. The planning authorities will 

liaise with the Environment Agency on the outcome of 

flood risk assessments and run-off mitigation proposals. 

3.13 Many existing buildings within the Mole, Wey and 

Lower Thames catchments lie in areas of high flood risk. 

Proposals for redevelopment of existing buildings and 

land within these high risk areas will be carefully 

assessed in consultation with the Environment Agency. 

The objective will be to reduce risk to people and 

property as far as possible by the design and method of 

construction. 

3.14 The control of run-off within the catchment as a 

whole can help to reduce risks to existing property in 

the future. At appropriate locations, the use of 

sustainable urban drainage solutions will be promoted in 

all new development or redevelopment schemes across 

the catchments to control the rate and quality of run-off 

as close to its source as possible. Advice on sustainable 

urban drainage is included in Surrey Design as part of the 

advice on resource efficiency in new development. The 

intensification of development within existing urban 

areas imposes extra demands on sewerage infrastructure 

which need to be mitigated. Development which would 

exacerbate the threat of pollution from the surcharging 

of the sewerage system at times of flood will only be 

accepted where improvements are undertaken 

contemporaneously. Advice from the water utility 

companies will be sought as appropriate. 

3.15 The natural function of undeveloped parts of flood 

plains needs to be retained as a means of mitigating the 

risk of flooding elsewhere. This is a greater priority given 

the predicted effects of climate change. There will be a 

presumption against development which affects the open 

nature of undeveloped parts of the flood plain or reduces 

its capacity to store water at times of flood. Some land 

uses such as recreation and mineral working may be 

acceptable in such areas and development related to 

essential infrastructure or river management functions 

may be necessary. 

3.16 The role played by floodplains in absorbing and 

retaining flood waters and their consequent value as 

wetland habitats has diminished. The UK Biodiversity 

Action Plan places emphasis on the restoration of 

wetland habitats and in floodplains this can also bring 

benefit in helping protect people and property elsewhere 

in the catchment. The land use imperative in floodplains 

is therefore to restore their natural function and expand 

wetland habitats at the expense of other land use. 





g require the provision of flood risk assessments 

for development proposals within areas of high 

risk of flooding and for larger developments in 

areas of low to medium risk; 

g consult the Environment Agency on development 

within previously developed land at high risk from 

flooding; 

g promote source control techniques to regulate 

land drainage and ensure that run-off from 

development does not exacerbate flood risk 

downstream; 

g in partnership with the Environment Agency, resist 

development within undeveloped parts of flood 

plains and adopt a precautionary approach. 

f Surrey Design provides advice on sustainable urban 

drainage systems. 

f Liaison with the Environment Agency and water 

utility companies on issues of flood risk and land 

drainage will inform implementation of this policy. 


f Development on land at risk from flooding 

f Number of development schemes with source 

control measures 

TARGET 5/ 

POLICY SE4/ 

Design and the Quality of Development 

Development should contribute to improvements to the 

quality of urban and rural areas whilst retaining features 

that contribute to sense of place.The design, both of 

buildings themselves and of the way they integrate with 

their surroundings, must be of a high standard.Within this 

framework, new residential development should be built 

at a density which makes best use of limited land 

resources. 

The layout of new development and the opportunities 

presented by redevelopment within built-up areas should 

give emphasis to the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and 

public transport users, thereby enhancing movement 

choice. 

The local planning authorities will identify, promote and 

safeguard a framework of open spaces and green 

corridors for each settlement. 

D 

3.17 evelopment, particularly where higher 

densities are proposed, is often seen as a 

threat to the quality of life within existing developed 

areas but there is no reason why this should be so. The 

design and layout of new buildings and landscape 

features are ways in which new development can 

complement what already exists, strengthen the sense 

of place or form the basis of new character. Design 

excellence and a design led approach to development are 

national and regional objectives which must be applied 

locally and are a means of achieving greater efficiency in 

the use of urban land. 

58 



3.18 Design excellence will also be concerned with the 

objectives of sustainable construction which include: 

f high energy efficiency and increased use of 

renewable supplies; 

f high water efficiency with sustainable supply and 

water collection systems; 

f healthy buildings – natural light & ventilation, 

non-toxic materials; 

f maximising the use of local and regional materials 

and products; 

f minimising waste. 

3.19 The Spatial Strategy seeks to make the best use of 

urban and suitably located previously developed land. 

This puts a premium on the quality of development if 

higher densities are to be achieved and the objective of 

improving the quality of life is also to be satisfied. Higher 

densities also have other benefits, such as improving the 

viability and patronage of public transport services, 

increasing support to a range of local services and 

offering improvements in energy conservation and the 

potential for alternative means of energy generation, 

such as combined heat and power schemes (CHP). 

3.20 PPG3 sets out minimum density standards for new 

residential development, avoiding densities below 30 

dwellings per hectare and encouraging development at 

between 30 and 50 dwellings per hectare or higher in 

central locations. The local planning authorities should 

have regard to this guidance, and to the principles set 

out in this Plan and Surrey Design when setting local 

density guidelines. Where residential development is 

proposed on its own or as part of a mixed use scheme in 

an area with good public transport accessibility, such as 

within and around a town centre, higher densities of 

over 50 dwellings per hectare (net) should be sought. 

Significantly higher densities may be appropriate to 

deliver the objectives for the centres of strategic 

importance. 

3.21 An imaginative approach to design and density 

should create attractive developments which enhance 

the character of an area. To ensure that higher density 

development makes a positive contribution to improving 

the quality of the living environment, proposals will 

need to be accompanied by: 

f an infrastructure and needs statement which 

demonstrates that the proposed development 

addresses local social, economic and transport needs, 

particularly the need for affordable housing, and 

does not overload local infrastructure or exacerbate 

existing deficiencies. Effective mitigation measures 

should be proposed to overcome, reduce or avoid 

any identified harm; and 

f a design statement which demonstrates how the 

development responds to relevant design principles 

and identifies the positive benefits of higher density 

development to urban form, movement and the 

overall sense of place. 

3.22 All development proposals, including small scale 

infill and redevelopment schemes, will be required to 

satisfy the fundamental design principles set out in the 

design guide Surrey Design, the maxim being that proposals 

must be good enough to approve, not bad enough to 

refuse. Small scale infilling and redevelopment schemes 

should not prejudice the established character and sense 



of place within existing primarily residential areas. 

Where green or open space is protected, this should be 

because it contributes to public amenity or nature 

conservation. Integration with existing development, 

particularly to facilitate and widen transport choices and 

connections, is a prerequisite 

of good design. 

3.23 Surrey’s towns and villages are rich in character. 

A traditional building, a famous landmark or view, or a 

natural asset like a stream or meadow, distinguish 

localities and stamp an identity on a settlement. Many 

features may already be protected through legislation but 

others are worthy of retention in their own right. Such 

local identity should be cherished and not submerged by 

anonymous new development. Where significant change 

is anticipated, consultation with local communities may 

be warranted to achieve new development which is 

sympathetic in form and layout to that which already 

exists. 

3.24 Open land, such as parks, allotments and 

recreational areas, is important and appreciated by 

residents and visitors alike. Often a “corridor” that links 

open spaces can be just as important, whether it is a 

river or stream, or even a railway line or road. These can 

in themselves provide opportunities for informal 

recreation, have biodiversity significance, or form part 

of pedestrian or cycle routes. A greenspace strategy for 

settlements is required to ensure that future 

developments create the opportunity for new open 

spaces to be made or for improvements to the network 

and linkages between existing open spaces and playing 

fields to be achieved. 


f Surrey Design promotes a design led approach to 

new development to: 

g promote good design through the development 

process; 

g create attractive and accessible places that are 

easy to move through; 

g ensure that all development contributes to local 

character and distinctiveness; 

g conserve energy and water, maintain and enhance 

biodiversity and reduce waste and pollution; 

g encourage vibrant and mixed communities where 

people feel safe; 

g create places and buildings for people that are 

safe; 

g make the best use of the available land; 

g maximise the potential for the future conversion 

of buildings and occupation for alternative uses. 


g adopt policies which require all new development 

to be of the highest design quality in accordance 

with the objectives and principles set out in Surrey 

Design; 

g require design statements, as part of an application 

for development sites to explain the design 

philosophy and integration with surroundings; 

g as part of a design statement, encourage an 

objective assessment of the sustainability of a 

development by using the SEEDA Sustainability 

Checklist, the Building Research Establishment’s 

Environmental Assessment Methods (BREEAM) or 

equivalent; 

60 



g identify areas for urban renaissance and renewal; 

g identify and justify areas of special character; 

g identify local features contributing to sense of 

place; 

g identify a greenspace framework including 

strategic open space and corridors; 

g promote conservation area enhancement schemes; 

g promote the use of village design statements, 

parish plans and conservation area appraisals; 

g work with local communities to develop a shared 

vision of the type of built and physical 

environment they wish to see; 

g set density standards for new residential 

development; 

g prepare development briefs to guide the 

appearance, layout and density of major new 

residential development; 

g require the submission of infrastructure and 

needs statements where there is a net increase in 

dwelling provision. 


f Number of major developments subject to a 

design statement 

f Number of design awards achieved for new 

development 

f Adoption of greenspace strategies 

f Area of and accessibility to greenspaces 

according to their function 

f Number of developments achieving a BREEAM 

rating of ‘excellent’ 

f Average density of new residential development 

f Density of development in and around town 

centres relative to urban and rural areas 




POLICY SE5/ 

Protecting the Heritage 

Surrey’s valuable cultural heritage of buildings, sites and 

landscapes will be conserved and enhanced. Heritage 

resources are irreplaceable and development affecting 

them will only be permitted where it has been clearly 

demonstrated that there is an overriding need for the 

proposal which outweighs the need to protect the 

heritage interest, and that no alternative is possible. 

Prior archaeological assessment, and if necessary 

evaluation, will be required on all development of sites 

over 0.4 hectares or within areas of high archaeological 

potential.Where important archaeological remains are 

found, there will be a preference for their preservation 

in situ. 

A record will be required of any features discovered, 

removed or altered. 

S 

3.25 urrey is one of Britain’s most historic counties, 

with many buildings, landmarks and landscapes 

that remind us of our proud heritage and are 

irreplaceable assets. The historic environment not only 

provides an important insight into our cultural heritage 

but also contributes to the identity and distinctiveness of 

a place. Policy SE5 will ensure that development 

conserves the heritage and, where possible, enhances it 

as well. Surrey’s Heritage Strategy contains further 

guidance as to how the heritage will be conserved 

whether by initiatives associated with development or 

otherwise. 

3.26 Every effort should be made to protect the historic 

environment, for instance, by encouraging the sensitive 

re-use of historic buildings for purposes which meet 

economic or social needs. Tourism is playing an 

increasingly important role in the local economy and 

conservation and enhancement of the cultural heritage 

supports this activity. 

3.27 This policy also affords protection to features of 

archaeological importance. Scheduled monuments and 

other sites of national importance are already given 

strong protection. In order to safeguard other, presently 

unknown, archaeological resources, the developer will 

be required to take responsibility for the provision of an 

assessment prior to development on larger sites or areas 

of known high archaeological potential. Assessment may 

result in the need for a site evaluation: the outcome of 

this evaluation will indicate whether in situ preservation 

is recommended. Recording of archaeological features or 

buildings that are altered, disturbed or removed as a 

consequence of development will be required. Such a 

record is essential if knowledge of their contribution to 

the cultural heritage of the county is to be retained for 

the benefit of future generations. 



g include policies in their local development 

frameworks for the protection of buildings/areas 

of heritage value (listed and locally listed buildings, 

historic parks and gardens, scheduled monuments, 

conservation areas, areas of special historic 

landscape value, county sites of archaeological 

62 



importance, sites and areas of high archaeological 

potential); 

g include policies in their local development 

frameworks to require archaeological assessment 

and evaluation, and to provide for subsequent 

preservation in situ of important archaeological 

remains and for adequate recording of features and 

listed buildings affected by development; 

g promote schemes for enhancement of 

conservation areas; 

g periodically review the schedule of listed and 

locally listed buildings with a view to making any 

appropriate additions, and review buildings at risk; 

g promote schemes under the Townscape Heritage 

Initiative and the Local Heritage Initiative; 

g promote the elements of the Heritage Strategy 

which relate to the built environment, the 

countryside and archaeological resources. 

f Supplementary planning guidance will provide further 

policy advice on archaeology and historic landscapes, 

including that arising from the Historic Landscape 

Characterisation and Extensive Urban Archaeology 

Strategy Projects. 


f Development adversely affecting heritage 

buildings, sites or areas, and historic parks and 

gardens 

f Number and proportion of listed buildings at 

risk 

f Number of sites and buildings where 

preservation in situ is achieved 

f Number of schemes for the enhancement of 

conservation areas 

f Proportion of developments on sites over 0.4 

hectares or within areas of high archaeological 

potential for which a prior assessment of the 

archaeological resources was prepared 

f Records made where development affecting 

sites or areas takes place 

TARGET 7/ 



POLICY SE6/ 

Biodiversity 

Biodiversity within Surrey should be conserved and 

enhanced and development will be expected to 

contribute to actions safeguarding and managing habitats 

identified as important through the UK and Surrey 

Biodiversity Action Plans, or where they are protected 

by wildlife legislation. Species protection will contribute 

to safeguarding biodiversity.This will be secured by: 

1 ensuring that site evaluation is undertaken to 

establish the nature conservation value of 

proposed development sites; 

2 providing for the identification, safeguarding and 

management of existing and potential land for 

nature conservation as part of development 

proposals, particularly where a connected 

series of sites can be achieved. 

Features within the landscape which are of importance 

for wild fauna and flora should be protected. 

Development should seek to retain such features and 

their management will be encouraged by agreements 

or conditions as appropriate. 

Developers will be required to provide information on 

species or features present within sites, or on adjoining 

land, and to propose how impacts on their conservation 

will be mitigated. 

B 

3.28 iodiversity includes all living things; it includes 

rare or threatened species but encompasses the 

whole of the natural world. The threat to biodiversity is 

an increasing one in a world facing pollution, climate 

change and development pressures. Policy SE6 aims to 

tackle that threat in Surrey while at the same time 

ensuring we meet our commitments to conserve 

biodiversity outlined in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. 

3.29 The Surrey Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) sets out 

how Surrey’s biological resource is to be conserved and 

enhanced for future generations. It identifies ten priority 

habitats within the county. Habitat action plans address 

the need for conservation and management of land 

within these important habitats. Habitats are not simply 

a countryside issue as one of the action plans for Surrey 

covers urban areas. Development will be expected to 

contribute to these biodiversity objectives and local 

development frameworks will identify locations where 

habitat creation can be achieved. 

3.30 The EU Habitats Directive and advice within PPG9 

Nature Conservation point to the need to conserve wildlife 

outside the designated sites. The UK Sustainable 

Development Strategy highlights concern over the 

decline in many species of birds and mammals in the UK. 

There are many features within the landscape that are of 

benefit to the survival and dispersal of species, e.g. rivers 

and streams, ditches, field boundaries, ponds and small 

woods. Such features should be properly managed and 

wherever possible conserved by careful detailed 

planning. Preventing further fragmentation by 

safeguarding existing habitats and improving linkages 

between them will help to maintain the current range 

and diversity of flora and fauna. 

3.31 Where development, essential to meet social and 

economic objectives, requires the removal of features, 

their replacement or the enhancement of similar features 

in the locality should be provided for. The developer 

64 



should undertake a prior assessment of the development 

site in order to ascertain whether it contains species or 

features of importance to Surrey’s biodiversity, how 

these are affected by the proposal and what mitigation 

is to be undertaken. 



g include policies to conserve and enhance 

biodiversity, ensure protection and management of 

key habitats, conserve features of value to wildlife, 

provide for species protection, and provide for 

measures to offset loss or damage to landscape 

features which are of value to wildlife such as 

trees, hedgerows and ponds; 

g include a species protection policy; 

g identify features of major importance for wild 

fauna and flora. 


g require prior assessment of the development site 

by the developer to provide information on 

species and features of the landscape important 

to Surrey’s biodiversity; 

g use conditions and agreements to manage 

development affecting species and features of the 

landscape important to Surrey’s biodiversity; 

g identify locations and proposals for habitat and 

species managements, restoration and creation. 

f English Nature’s Natural Areas profiles and policy, 

including advice on geological and physiographical 

sites and features of interest, will be followed. 

f The Surrey Biodiversity Action Plan will provide 

specific habitat and species targets and local 

development frameworks will identify locations 

where habitat creation is proposed. 

f When preparing local development frameworks and 

assessing planning applications, advice on local nature 

conservation issues will be sought from the 

appropriate agencies. 

f Supplementary planning guidance provides further 

information on Biodiversity and Nature Conservation. 


f Area of each key habitat for which Surrey 

Biodiversity Action Plan prepared and area of 

these habitats created or restored 

TARGET 8 / 



POLICY SE7/ 

Nature Conservation 

Land or water habitats designated as of importance for 

nature at an international, national, regional or county 

level will be conserved and enhanced and inappropriate 

development will be resisted.The degree of protection 

given will be appropriate to the status of the site in terms 

of its international, national or local importance. 

Development, whether directly or indirectly, which may 

harm designated sites that are important for nature 

conservation will be permitted if mitigating measures can 

be put in place to prevent damaging impacts or where it 

has been clearly demonstrated that the need for the 

proposal outweighs the need to safeguard the nature 

conservation importance, and that no alternative site is 

available. 

C 

3.32 onservation of land or water comprising 

habitats designated as important to nature 

conservation is essential for the maintenance of Surrey’s 

biodiversity and has implications for the quality of life of 

Surrey’s residents. The nature conservation value of a site 

should be taken into account in all developments both 

in the countryside and the urban areas. 

3.33 Sites of nature conservation and natural history 

importance have been designated by reference to their 

international, national, regional or local importance and 

are identified in local plans. Sites designated for their 

nature conservation importance cover about 15% of 

Surrey and it should therefore be possible to meet 

development requirements without prejudice to this 

land. The intention of the policy is that there should be a 

presumption against development which directly affects 

such sites. This protection extends to indirect impacts, 

such as changes to groundwater levels or potential 

downstream pollution, which may harm their nature 

conservation interest. Wildlife corridors between such 

sites should be created, conserved and enhanced. 

3.34 Where a proposal does affect a site, the 

presumption against development will be assessed in 

relation to the status of the site as set out in the 

Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000, the 

Habitats Regulations 1994 and PPG9, the potential impact 

on the interests which justify its importance, the need 

for the development and the objectives of the Surrey 

Biodiversity Action Plan. The presumption against 

development will be strongest for internationally and 

nationally designated sites as mentioned in RPG9. Where 

development harmful to a designated site takes place, 

measures to compensate for the loss of nature 

conservation value must be provided by the developer. 



g include policies to protect land of nature 

conservation value/earth science interest including 

SPAs, potential SPAs, SACs, candidate SACs, Ramsar 

Sites, SSSIs, NNRs, LNRs, SNCIs and RIGs (all are 

defined in the glossary); 

g include policy and proposals on the protection 

of Local Nature Reserves. 

f Supplementary planning guidance provides further 

information on Biodiversity and Nature Conservation. 

f When preparing local development frameworks and 

66 



assessing planning applications, advice on local 

nature conservation issues will be sought from the 

appropriate agencies. 

f The local planning authorities will periodically 

reassess the status of nature conservation sites in 

conjunction with other agencies. 


f Area of land in active conservation management 

f Area of designated sites and extent of loss, 

damage or enhancement of such land resulting 

from development 

f Creation of wildlife corridors between 

designated sites 

TARGET 8/ 

POLICY SE8/ 

Landscape 

The quality of landscape in Areas of Outstanding Natural 

Beauty (AONBs) and Areas of Great Landscape Value 

(AGLVs) should be conserved and enhanced. In the 

AONBs, development inconsistent with the primary aim 

of conserving the natural beauty of the landscape will be 

resisted. Major development will only be permitted where 

it has been clearly demonstrated that the need for 

development is of national importance, and that there is 

no alternative site. 

Development in the AGLV will be expected to maintain 

the existing character of the area particularly in locations 

which are visible from the AONB or contribute to the 

setting of urban areas. 

Elsewhere, development should retain the distinctiveness 

of the County Landscape Character Areas, thereby 

conserving and enhancing the diversity of the Surrey 

landscape. Development will be expected to contribute to 

meeting the objectives of local countryside management 

projects and, in particular, to improvements to areas 

where landscape is becoming degraded, especially on the 

urban fringe. 

S 

3.35 ignificant parts of Surrey’s countryside are 

recognised nationally as of high landscape 

quality and designated as Areas of Outstanding Natural 

Beauty (AONB). An AONB Management Plan exists for 

each, prepared in response to the Countryside and Rights 

of Way Act 2000, and local planning authorities will 

have regard to this in considering development proposals 

in the area. There will be a presumption against major 



residential or commercial development within these 

areas, while new development in areas visible from the 

AONB should not prejudice enjoyment of their natural 

beauty. However, there are numerous villages in the 

AONB and limited development to provide services and 

local employment for these communities may be 

necessary. Where this is the case, schemes should 

respect the character of the settlement and of the 

surrounding countryside in order to conserve the 

qualities for which the AONB was designated. Mineral 

resources may need to be worked in the AONB or nearby 

and in either case mitigation of the impact of any 

development will be required to a high standard. 

3.36 Areas of Great Landscape Value (AGLV) were 

designated in the 1950s before the AONB and are 

significant within Surrey in conserving the landscape 

setting of some towns, in part acting as a buffer to the 

AONB and also for their own inherent landscape quality. 

Landscape quality within the AGLV will be conserved 

and detailed criteria to guide development in these areas 

will be developed within the context provided by the 

countryside character assessment and set out in relevant 

local development frameworks. The review of landscape 

character will develop criteria specific to each of the 25 

County Landscape Character Areas (which are set out 

below) and also identify areas of degraded landscapes 

where action needs to be taken to arrest the decline in 

landscape character. 

3.37 Surrey has a rich diversity of landscape, reflecting 

the variety of geology, topography, land cover and 

human influence on the countryside. The Countryside 

Character Initiative was developed by the Countryside 

Commission (now Countryside Agency) and English 

Nature with the help of English Heritage. The underlying 

philosophy is the recognition that every part of the 

countryside has a distinct character which is important 

to people’s enjoyment of the English countryside. It does 

not deny that some areas are of higher quality than 

others, but the National Map defines, at a regional level, 

areas of broadly similar character and suggests 

management opportunities to conserve or enhance this 

character. The national map of countryside character 

shows seven countryside character areas in Surrey. A 

more detailed assessment, The Future of Surrey’s Landscape 

and Woodlands (SCC 1997), has enabled the identification 

and description of 25 County Landscape Character Areas 

within these seven areas. Retaining this diversity, which 

is a characteristic feature of Surrey’s countryside, 

requires that development should respect the elements 

of the landscape which contribute to the individual 

character of the different areas. The box sets out the 

basic components of Surrey’s landscape as defined in the 

National Map and how the more detailed countywide 

assessment relates to this. 

68 



Regional Countryside Surrey Countryside Sub-division of Surrey area 

Character Areas (7) Character Areas (25) for descriptive purposes (17) 

Thames Valley Thames Floodplain Stanwell 

Laleham and Sunbury 

Molesey 

Thorpe 

River Thames 

Thames Basin Heaths Western Surrey Virginia Water 

Chobham and Ottershaw 

Bagshot and Pirbright 

Worplesdon 

Painshill 

Blackwater Valley 

Lower Wey 

Thames Basin Lowlands 

Wanborough 

Ockham and Clandon 

Lower Mole 

Esher and Epsom 

North Downs 

Hogs Back 

Ranmore and Hackhurst Downs 

Mole Gap 

Woldingham, Chaldon and Box Hill 

Wealden Greensand 

Low Weald 

High Weald 

Puttenham and Seale 

Greensand Plateau 

Valleys of the Upper Wey 

Hindhead Greensand 

Hascombe Greensand 

Pippbrook and Tillingbourne 

Leith Hill Greensand 

Holmesdale 

Reigate Greensand 

Wooded Weald 

Open Weald 

Upper Medway 

Shackleford 

Witley and Churt 

Dippenhall 

Dockenfield 

Limpsfield Chart 

Nutfield and Tilburstow 

Reigate Heath 

Deepdene 




f The County Council, in partnership with the relevant 

authorities, will: 

g review the AGLV in Surrey as part of a wider 

assessment of landscape quality and character; 

g define criteria to guide development design in 

relation to character and quality. 

f The local planning authorities will include policies 

in their local development frameworks to conserve 

the diversity and distinctiveness of the landscape. 

f The Future of Surrey’s Landscape and Woodlands (FSLW) 

identifies 25 County Landscape Character Areas 

(see box); supplementary landscape guidance will 

be prepared, to illustrate how the character and local 

identity of these areas can be conserved. 

f The Forestry Commission and other agencies will 

promote multi-purpose woodland management. 

f Management plans for the Surrey Hills and High 

Weald AONBs will be implemented. 

f Schemes based on the Countryside Agency Local 

Heritage Initiative will be undertaken. 


f Type, amount and quality of development 

in AONB and County Landscape Character 

Areas 

f Maintenance of distinctiveness within and 

between landscape character areas 

POLICY SE9/ 

Trees and Woodland 

Trees and woodlands, particularly ancient woodlands, 

will be protected and their management promoted.The 

planning authorities will seek to ensure that the extent of 

tree cover in the county is maintained and in particular 

will resist the fragmentation and loss of woodland. 

Proposals for new development will be expected to show 

how new planting and existing trees and woodland will be 

effectively managed and integrated whether in town or 

country. Development associated with the positive long 

term management of woodland resources, such as wood 

to energy schemes or the processing of local wood, will 

be encouraged. 

Hedgerows, parklands and wood pasture are a 

characteristic feature in many parts of the county and 

should be safeguarded where their landscape, biodiversity, 

or historical interest is significant. 

S 

3.38 urrey is England’s most wooded county with 

almost three times the national average 

woodland cover. The well wooded nature of Surrey’s 

landscape contributes to making Surrey an attractive 

place in which to both live and work, adding to the 

quality of life. While appropriate new planting is 

welcome, particularly in relation to new development 

and linking or expanding woods, the conservation and 

management of existing woodland is more of a priority. 

Selective felling may be required to retain historic 

landscapes and in areas of nature conservation value in 

order to maintain or promote biodiversity. 

70 



Encroachment of trees and scrub on to valuable open 

habitats such as heathlands and grasslands will result in 

the loss of their wildlife value. Habitat management 

including removal of trees in such circumstances is 

appropriate. 

3.39 The Government’s England Forestry Strategy 

recognises the important role woodlands play in 

delivering a range of benefits for society. These range 

from their function as carbon sinks and their role in 

ameliorating atmospheric pollutants, to their value in 

reducing both the visual and audible impact of 

development. Woodland is an important ecological 

resource and also an important resource for recreation 

and tourism. Timber is a valuable commercial crop and 

wood fuel is potentially a major source of renewable 

energy in Surrey. 

3.40 Ancient woodlands over two hectares in size are 

identified in English Nature’s provisional inventory of 

ancient woodland. Ancient woods are important as 

historic landscapes and in the contribution they make 

towards biodiversity. They are an irreplaceable national 

resource and will continue to be conserved. 

3.41 Individual and groups of trees within the urban area 

have a number of roles, not least the psychological one 

of providing contrast and tranquillity within towns. 

Intensification of development in urban areas should not 

be at the expense of the contribution which trees can 

make to the street scene, air quality and sense of 

wellbeing. 

3.42 Hedgerows can be a significant feature in the 

landscape and may be important for a number of 

reasons. Important hedgerows should be conserved and 

other hedgerows should be retained as features within 

new development wherever possible. 


f The local planning authorities will include policies 

in their local development frameworks to conserve 

woodland, to encourage schemes which promote 

woodland management and to protect individual or 

groups of trees, including specimen and veteran trees, 

within both urban and rural areas. 

f The Forestry Commission and other agencies will 

be encouraged to promote multi-purpose woodland 

management. 

f The Forestry Commission should be consulted where 

tree felling is proposed to determine whether or not 

a felling licence is required. 

f Supplementary Planning Guidance is available in 

The Future of Surrey’s Landscape and Woodlands – Part 3 – 

Woodland Strategy. 

f Where a planning application may affect ancient 

woodlands, the Forestry Commission should be 

consulted in accordance with Circular 9/95. 




f Loss of woodland cover to development 

f Extent and quality of woodland cover 

f Extent of woodland under active management 

f Number of schemes which exploit woodland 

resource 

f Loss of semi-natural or ancient woodland 

POLICY SE10/ 

River Corridors and Waterways 

Development should conserve the character, setting, 

ecology and heritage of river corridors or waterways. 

Development ancillary to water-based recreation will 

be encouraged where consistent with the above. 

The function of rivers and waterways as green corridors 

within and between urban areas should be safeguarded 

as part of a greenspace strategy for settlements and as 

valuable links in access between town and country. 

S 

3.43 urrey has many rivers, streams and canals, each 

of which are important features in the landscape 

or townscape and for many people, contribute to their 

quality of life. They also contribute to sustaining 

ecological diversity by forming a basis for wildlife 

corridors and supporting one of the priority habitats in 

the Surrey Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). Some of the 

rivers and canals are extensively used for boating and all 

provide recreational opportunities as linear routes either 

through town or country or linking the two. Use of 

rivers and waterways for boating requires the provision 

of infrastructure in the form of boatyards and moorings. 

Floodplains are a characteristic feature of many corridors 

and it is important that this natural function is not 

prejudiced. 

3.44 Surrey’s waterways combine some or all of these 

functions as well as being important in providing a rich 

heritage of industrial archaeology. It is important that 

they are cherished and that development affecting them 

72 



should seek to conserve or enhance their character, 

retaining features of natural and cultural heritage 

importance. In urban areas, the redevelopment of 

riverside and canalside sites should promote 

enhancement of the townscape, the natural qualities of 

the river/canal and its role as a corridor for movement 

and recreation, linking with other open space. This 

should form part of a greenspace strategy for each 

settlement, as required under Policy SE4. 


f Number of development related enhancement 

schemes within river corridors 



g identify river corridor policy areas for the Thames, 

Wey, Mole, and Blackwater rivers and for 

tributaries within their catchments; 

g identify and protect corridors for the Basingstoke 

and Wey and Arun Canals; 

g identify a green framework, including strategic 

open space and corridors (greenspace strategy). 

f The local authorities and other agencies will: 

g develop a River Thames Policy Area Strategy; 

g promote integrated management of the Mole Gap 

between Dorking and Leatherhead; 

g promote the Wey and Godalming Navigation 

conservation area; 

g encourage/facilitate public access for water-based 

or waterside recreation, including use of corridors 

as linear features in town and country; 

g promote the creation of buffer zones along 

watercourses. 


CHAPTER 

4 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS 

POLICY DN1/ 

Infrastructure Provision 

The local planning authorities will ensure that the 

infrastructure requirements of a development are 

established when identifying proposals in local 

development frameworks and in determining planning 

applications. 

Local planning authorities will not permit development 

unless the infrastructure that is required to service the 

development is available or will be provided within a 

timescale determined by the local authorities. 

In assessing infrastructure requirements local planning 

authorities will have regard to the cumulative impact of 

development. 

The developer will be expected to provide or contribute 

to the infrastructure improvements related to new 

development including any requirements emerging out 

of local development frameworks. 

I 

4.1 nfrastructure includes transport facilities 

(including roads, access, on-site circulation and 

servicing, cycle paths, footpaths and public transport), 

water supply (including water supply for the fire services 

and fire sprinkler systems), utility services, land 

drainage, surface and foul water sewerage, sewage 

treatment, public open space, facilities for education, 

social and health care, libraries, waste disposal and other 

community facilities, combined heat and power plant 

and district heating systems. Policy DN1 aims to ensure 

that the right infrastructure is provided in relation to 

development and at the right time. While infrastructure 

is often provided in response to an application, the 

local authorities should work closely with infrastructure 

providers and other partners to identify infrastructure 

requirements for important sites as early as possible in 

the planning process. 

4.2 By seeking to accommodate most of the additional 

35,400 dwellings proposed under Policy LO6 within the 

existing settlements, existing infrastructure can be used 

more efficiently by utilising spare capacity and the 

provision of major new infrastructure can be kept to a 

minimum. 

4.3 Where improvements to supporting infrastructure 

and services related to new development have been 

identified, the developer will be asked to contribute to 

the costs of providing new or improved infrastructure 

and services commensurate with the scale of the 

development. These improvements will be secured by 

either a planning condition or obligation, or other legal 

agreement or undertaking. 

4.4 In setting out a vision for how an urban area should 

develop and change, local development frameworks 

should include an assessment of infrastructure capacity 

and opportunities for expansion. This will inform the 

potential scale and location of development 

opportunities and ensure the vision includes a coordinated 

programme for all essential infrastructure 

improvements. Where such local assessment has been 

undertaken, it will justify a standard approach to 

development contributions for all proposed 

developments within the area covered by the 

assessment and throughout a specified time period. 

74 


chapter 4 · infrastructure and development needs 


f Good practice guidance, Infrastructure and Amenity 

Requirements to Support New Development, provides further 

advice on the principles behind the need for 

development related infrastructure provision and sets 

out a consistent, easily understood and co-ordinated 

approach to securing infrastructure contributions 

throughout the county. 

f Surrey Design contains guidance regarding the 

provision of transport and sustainable drainage 

infrastructure. 

f In preparing local development frameworks and 

local transport plans, the local planning and transport 

authorities will: 

g develop policies that ensure that development 

does not proceed without adequate infrastructure 

either in place or firmly committed; 

g identify areas where existing infrastructure is 

either overloaded or at capacity to ensure that all 

new development in the area contributes in a 

cumulative way towards necessary enhanced 

provision. 

f Where new communities are proposed, the local 

planning and transport authorities will ensure that 

infrastructure provision is planned and provided in 

an integrated and sustainable way. 


f Planning obligations requiring infrastructure 

related to development 

POLICY DN2/ 

Movement Implications of Development 

Development will only be permitted where it is, or can be 

made, compatible with the transport infrastructure in the 

area.The implications of all proposed development for 

transport and the environment should be assessed. 

Measures to encourage walking, cycling and the use of 

public transport should be incorporated in development 

proposals.Where the transport implications of 

development would lead to a harmful impact on other 

people or the environment, mitigation measures should 

be included. 

T 

4.5 raffic generated by development can place a 

strain on the surrounding transport network 

in terms of safety, capacity and environmental 

considerations. Policy DN2 aims to minimise the 

transport impact of new development, helping to make 

the most efficient and effective use of existing road 

capacity and maximising potential for movement by 

walking, cycling and public transport. 

4.6 The environmental consequences of road traffic are 

also a matter of concern and can result in increased 

noise and air pollution, as well as having an impact in 

terms of visual intrusion, severance and reduced safety 

for all road users. Proposals for development will 

therefore be expected to contain appropriate mitigation 

measures, which minimise the adverse environmental 

impact of road traffic generated by new development. 

4.7 Proposals expected to have significant transport 

implications must be supported by a Transport 



Assessment. This should indicate how any adverse 

transport impact can be ameliorated by mitigation 

measures, designed to reduce car dependence and 

promote walking, cycling and use of public transport. 


f The local planning authorities may require planning 

applications to be supported by an assessment of the 

transport impact. Measures to increase the proportion 

of walking, cycling and use of public transport will be 

set out in an accompanying travel plan. 

f The Highway Authority: 

g will advise on the requirement for a Transport 

Assessment, with reference to national guidance; 

g will have regard to the Local Transport Plan (LTP) 

local area implementation programme as part of 

any mitigation measures; 

g will advise on the internal geometry and layout 

of all development sites where they potentially 

affect the adjacent highway. 


f Proportion of major applications: 

g incorporating improvements to walking, 

cycling and public transport facilities 

g supported by Travel Plans 

POLICY DN3/ 

Parking Provision 

Development proposals should comply with the aim of 

promoting sustainable travel choices by reducing the 

amount of land used for car parking but increasing cycle 

parking facilities. 

Maximum car parking standards will be set according to 

location, type of development and public transport 

accessibility. Minimum cycle parking standards will be 

retained. 

Park and Ride schemes will be supported where they 

form part of an integrated planning and transport 

strategy for an area. 

C 

4.8 ar parking often takes up valuable land in 

urban areas and encourages people to drive to 

locations that are accessible by other means, particularly 

public transport. Maximum standards for all forms of 

development will be applied based upon Government 

guidance. A lower level of provision below the 

maximum standard will be expected in areas where 

accessibility by non-car means is good, particularly in 

town centres, where long stay parking will be 

discouraged. Tighter controls on parking provision will 

be sought in areas adjoining London. Whilst it is 

accepted that out-of-centre developments will require 

higher standards of car accessibility than town centre 

developments, it will be inappropriate for the larger outof-centre 

developments to be located where public 

transport cannot provide for a significant proportion of 

travel movements. The provision of long stay car parking 

76 



at railway stations should be managed to ensure that it 

is only for rail users. Any changes in the provision of 

parking at railway stations should be made as part of 

an integrated surface access strategy. 

4.9 Parking provision must also be considered in terms 

of other demand management measures included in the 

Local Transport Plan (LTP) and in terms of promoting an 

integrated approach to transport. It may therefore be 

necessary to release land for Park and Ride schemes that 

reduce the need to travel by car to congested areas or as 

part of an integrated planning and transport strategy 

which promotes the use of public transport. 


f Completion of Local Parking Management Plans 

f Proportion of new development incorporating 

maximum parking standards 



g adopt proposals for the control and provision 

of public parking facilities; 

g include maximum car parking standards for 

development proposals in local development 

frameworks, but minimum parking standards 

for disabled facilities and cyclists; 

g prepare local (district wide) parking management 

plans within the context of Supplementary 

Planning Guidance, A Parking Strategy for Surrey, as 

part of the LTP strategy to manage traffic and 

restrain the demand for travel; 

g consider proposals for Park and Ride facilities 

where they form part of integrated planning 

and transportation strategy for the area. 



POLICY DN4/ 

Public Transport 

Development which would result in the use of public 

transport will be supported, particularly where it is 

related to the priorities set out in the Local Transport 

Plan or to the Spatial Strategy. 

Any necessary land required for the strategic proposals 

set out in the Local Transport Plan will be safeguarded in 

local development frameworks. 

B 

4.10 us and rail travel is the most realistic alternative 

to car travel for medium and longer distance 

journeys. The local authorities in Surrey are strongly 

committed to promoting public transport improvement 

in order to reduce dependence on the private car and as 

a consequence, reduce traffic volumes and pollution 

at the local level. 

4.11 Policy DN4 endorses support for this approach and 

the major public transport proposals that are already 

reflected in the Local Transport Plan 2001/2-2005/6. 

These schemes, listed in the box below, will be 

examined in greater detail as part of the Regional 

Transport Strategy (RTS). The County Council will give 

priority to these schemes and other proposals that 

improve accessibility to the transport hubs and the links 

or spokes between them as identified in the RTS. Further 

public transport schemes may come forward during the 

course of the Structure Plan. 

Strategic public transport schemes 

set out in the Local Transport Plan 

2001/2 – 2005/6 

AirTrack is designed to provide a direct rail 

connection between Heathrow Airport and the 

south west rail network, including Farnham, 

Guildford,Woking, Reading, Bracknell and London. 

The scheme would facilitate the creation of a 

number of major public transport interchange ‘hubs’, 

such as at Woking and Guildford. Land for the 

construction of a new station and associated rail 

track in Staines town centre and further rail track 

across Staines Moor will be safeguarded. Further 

appraisal work including assessment of the 

environmental impacts associated with the scheme 

will also be necessary. 

Thameslink 2000 expands the current Thameslink 

network to enable trains to run between 

destinations to the north of London and Guildford, 

Horsham, Littlehampton, Brighton, East Grinstead, 

Ashford (Kent) and Dartford via central London. 

Land for station improvements and ancillary works 

will be safeguarded. 

Blackwater Valley rail link: land will be 

safeguarded for the provision of an improved rail 

access between the Ascot – Camberley – Aldershot 

Line and London, which is necessary to address the 

poor rail service provision at Bagshot, Camberley 

and Frimley. 

78 



Fastway: land will be safeguarded for bus route and 

priority measures proposed for the High Quality 

Public Transport Service which will provide a bus 

network linking Horley, Gatwick Airport and 

Crawley. 

Rail capacity improvements: any land necessary 

will be safeguarded for improvements to rail 

capacity, particularly the London Victoria to Brighton 

line via Gatwick and the London Waterloo to 

Basingstoke line via Woking, which will provide 

opportunities for enhanced services for rail users in 

Surrey. 

North Downs rail line: enhanced orbital rail 

services and infrastructure will be provided through 

upgrading the line between Gatwick Airport and 

Reading via Redhill and Guildford. 



g require development related contributions to 

improve public transport facilities; 

g safeguard land required for public transport 

proposals in local development frameworks, 

including retention or replacement of off-street 

accommodation provided in connection with bus 

services. 

f The Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) will set the 

public transport priorities for the South East Region. 

f The Local Transport Plan (LTP) will include proposals 

for the integration of public transport facilities and 

promote the long term strategic transport priorities 

in accordance with the Spatial Strategy. 

f The Strategic Rail Authority has set out a programme 

of rail infrastructure improvements in its Strategic 

Plan. 


f Proportion of all journeys to work by public 

transport 

f Progress towards implementation of regional 

and sub-regional public transport schemes 



POLICY DN5/ 

Cycle and Pedestrian Routes 

Local development frameworks will identify a network 

of pedestrian and cycle routes to improve accessibility 

to facilities and to widen travel choice. 

Priority will be given to providing safe and convenient 

access to town centres, public transport interchanges, 

schools, colleges and shopping areas. 

C 

4.12 ycling and walking can provide a practical, 

genuine and healthy alternative to car travel, 

particularly for shorter distance trips. To increase the 

proportion of trips made on foot and by cycle, the 

County Council is seeking to promote measures in the 

Local Transport Plan (LTP) and through other initiatives 

aimed at improving access to schools and traffic 

management in rural areas. Improvements will be carried 

out through various management and design measures. 

Although proposals contained in the LTP will be the 

means of implementation, local development 

frameworks will provide policy support for the 

development of pedestrian and cycle networks. They 

must also ensure that any facilities for pedestrians are 

suitable for people with mobility and sensory difficulties. 

Where appropriate, the needs of horse riders should also 

be taken into consideration in the planning of routes. 


f The local planning authorities will identify pedestrian 

and cycle routes and safeguard land for this purpose, 

including links with the National Cycle Network and 

the Thames Valley Cycle Route, in local development 

frameworks. 

f The LTP will promote measures to encourage cycling 

and walking and include detailed proposals through 

the Transport Programme Areas. 


f Proportion of all journeys by bicycle and on 

foot 

f Improved accessibility by bicycle and on foot 

f Extent of the cycle and pedestrian networks 

(kms) 

80 



POLICY DN6/ 

The Motorway and Primary Route 

Network 

The County Council will support a Motorway and 

Primary Route Network in Surrey that contains routes 

of national or regional significance, as shown on the 

Key Diagram. Development proposals adjacent to this 

network will be resisted where the traffic generated 

would reduce its efficiency and safety. 

Any necessary land required for highway schemes on 

the Motorway and Primary Route Network will be 

safeguarded in local development frameworks. 

T 

4.13 he Motorway and Primary Route Network, 

which is shown on the Key Diagram, is kept 

under review by the Department for Transport (DfT). 

The major highway schemes proposed on the network 

that require land to be safeguarded for their construction 

are listed in the box below. A countywide study to 

identify potential new major schemes is being carried 

out, with particular reference to passenger transport 

improvements and local by-passes affecting that part of 

the Primary Route Network and other roads which are 

the responsibility of the County Council. 

4.14 The Government Office for the South East (GOSE) 

is leading on the London Orbital multi-modal study 

to determine what investment is needed to tackle 

movement problems around London. With the 

commitment by the Government to relieve the 

bottleneck on the A3 at Hindhead, it is recognised that 

the section of the A3 through Guildford will become 

the next critical bottleneck. The Regional Transport 

Strategy (RTS) refers to the need for a study to consider 

further the options for resolving the transport issues 

associated with the future role and advantages of this 

hub. This study should also consider the impact on the 

A3 of the further residential development in and around 

Guildford and Woking set out in this Plan. 


f The DfT will keep the motorway and trunk road 

network under review. GOSE, for the DfT, will keep 

the Primary Route Network under review in 

conjunction with the County Council. 

f The DfT will review the programme and priorities 

as set out in Transport 2010: The 10 Year Plan. 

f The Local Transport Plan (LTP) will indicate the 

County Council’s programme and priorities. 

f The Highways Agency will consider planning 

applications adjacent to motorways and trunk roads. 

f The local planning authorities will safeguard land 

required for improvements to the network. 


f Progress on schemes implemented by the 

County Council and by the DfT 

f Development proposals adjacent to the 

motorway and primary route network refused 

on grounds of safety and/or efficiency of the 

network 



Major highway schemes proposed or under construction on the Motorway and Primary Route 

Network 

DfT schemes 

M25 junctions 12–15 widening: this scheme is included 

in the Targeted Programme of Improvements announced in 

the New Deal for Trunk Roads White Paper. Completion is 

due by the end of 2005.The scheme involves widening the 

section between junction 12 and 14 to five lanes in each 

direction and the section between junctions 14 and 15 to 

six lanes in each direction.This work will be carried out 

within existing highway boundaries.A new spur road from 

a free flow interchange on the M25 to the proposed 

Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 building will also be built. 

A3 Hindhead improvements: the scheme at Hindhead 

involves the construction of a twin bore tunnel under 

this environmentally sensitive area. It will also relieve the 

congested bottleneck at the cross roads with the A287. 

As the start of construction depends upon a successful 

outcome at the Public Inquiry, the best estimate is for a 

start in 2005, with tunnel construction getting under 

way in 2006 and open in 2008/9, and final completion in 

2010. Land required for construction of this scheme is 

safeguarded in the Waverley Borough Local Plan. 

A23/M23 Hooley improvements: this scheme involves 

the reconstruction of a complicated junction to allow full 

turning facilities between the A23 and M23.Any land 

required for this scheme will be safeguarded in the Reigate 

& Banstead Borough Local Plan. 

Surrey County Council schemes 

A24 Capel – West Sussex Boundary (as part of 

the A24 Capel to Horsham scheme): this is a joint 

scheme with West Sussex County Council to improve the 

route of the A24 between the southern end of the Capel 

By-pass at Clark’s Green and the junction with the A264 

to the north of Horsham.The scheme is proposed for 

construction during the current LTP period up to 2006. 

A31 Farnham By-pass (Hickleys Corner): this 

scheme involves an improvement to the carriageway and 

the signal controlled junction with the B3001 South 

Street/Station Hill. Land for the scheme is safeguarded in 

the Waverley Borough Local Plan but a construction start 

has not been set. 

82 



POLICY DN7/ 

Freight Transport 

Development that provides for sustainable methods 

of freight distribution will be encouraged. 

The transfer of freight from road to rail, including the 

development and use of railhead facilities, will be 

supported provided the benefits to the wider community 

are clearly demonstrated to outweigh the local impact. 

Local planning authorities will safeguard the necessary 

land along railway lines for future transfer of freight 

from road to rail. 

E 

4.15 ffective freight distribution is essential to 

accessing goods and services but the main 

mode of distribution, the heavy goods vehicle (HGV), 

contributes to adverse environmental conditions in 

many of Surrey’s historic town centres and rural areas. 

In order to minimise the impact of lorry traffic on local 

neighbourhoods, HGV drivers should use the highest 

category of road available for their journey and 

particularly Surrey’s advisory HGV routes. 

4.16 Development which attracts significant freight 

movements, such as warehousing and distribution 

centres, should be located away from congested town 

centres and residential areas. The environmental issues 

associated with road freight transport will be addressed 

through Freight Quality Partnerships. Proposals for 

transhipment depots identified as part of a Freight 

Quality Partnership should be safeguarded by local 

planning authorities. 

4.17 In seeking sustainable methods of freight 

distribution and reduction in the number and length 

of heavy goods vehicle movements, the County Council 

will encourage development which is or can realistically 

be served by rail, through the promotion of railhead 

facilities at suitable locations with good access to the 

Motorway and Primary Route Network. Railhead facilities 

will not be permitted in residential areas or areas of 

countryside designated for their environmental quality. 


f The local planning authorities, in conjunction with 

rail freight operators, should identify and safeguard 

sites suitable for development to support rail freight 

operations. 

f The LTP will include measures to reduce the 

environmental impact of heavy goods vehicles in the 

Transport Programme Areas. 

f Site applications for goods vehicle operator licences 

will be monitored to reduce the environmental 

impact and to ensure highway safety is maintained. 


f Number of rail freight schemes and Freight 

Quality Partnerships 



POLICY DN8/ 

Airport Development 

When responding to consultations for airport related 

development, the County Council will wish to safeguard 

the role of Heathrow and Gatwick as major international 

airports, provided that: 

a) at Heathrow, the impacts on Surrey are sufficiently 

mitigated and substantial investment in supporting public 

transport infrastructure is provided to address current 

and future needs; 

b) the development of Gatwick Airport makes best use 

of its existing capacity of one runway and two terminals, 

in accordance with the Airport’s Sustainable Development 

Strategy. Proposals for any further runway or terminal 

capacity at Gatwick will be opposed. 

Provision for all development directly related to an 

airport should be provided within its boundary, with the 

exception of facilities to improve public transport, cycle 

and pedestrian access. Development that is not directly 

related to airport operations should not be permitted 

within the airport unless its relationship to airport 

related business can be explicitly justified. 

S 

4.18 urrey is located between Heathrow and 

Gatwick, two of the busiest international 

airports in the world. As a consequence, Surrey enjoys 

unrivalled worldwide accessibility making it a very 

attractive business location and this contributes to a 

buoyant local economy. The contribution of the airports 

to Surrey's prosperity is fully acknowledged. However, 

the proximity of Heathrow and Gatwick also results in 

significant environmental impacts such as traffic 

congestion, urbanisation, noise and pollution. 

4.19 In November 2001, the Government granted 

planning permission for a fifth terminal at Heathrow 

Airport. Key conditions included an annual movement 

limit of 480,000 air transport movements and 

restrictions on the level of noise and car parking. The 

new terminal is due to open in 2008 and will increase 

the capacity of the airport from 63 to approximately 

90 million passengers per annum (mppa). 

4.20 At Gatwick, a Sustainable Development Strategy 

was produced in July 2000 to support the expansion 

of the airport from 30 to 40 mppa by 2008. However, 

due to the recent downturn in air traffic, the airport 

operator (BAA Gatwick) now forecasts that a passenger 

throughput of 40 mppa will not be reached until 2012. 

The Strategy contains strict limits on aircraft noise, 

ground noise and levels of air pollution, and seeks to 

reduce airport related car trips and increase the 

proportion of passengers using public transport. A legal 

agreement commits BAA Gatwick to monitor progress 

towards achieving the commitments set out in the 

Sustainable Development Strategy. 

4.21 The Government published its White Paper, 

The Future of Air Transport in December 2003. This 

promotes the development of two new runways in the 

South East to meet the forecast growth in air transport 

over the next 30 years. The White Paper supports a new 

runway at Stansted around 2011/12, followed by a new 

short parallel runway to the north of Heathrow between 

2015 and 2020. This would enable the airport to handle 

116 mppa and is likely to require the development of a 

sixth passenger terminal. In the meantime, the White 

84 



Paper supports greater utilisation of Heathrow’s two 

existing runways, subject to carrying out a detailed study 

and a full public consultation. 

4.22 The Government’s support for a new runway at 

Heathrow is conditional on measures to prevent a 

deterioration of the noise climate, improve public 

transport access, and meet EU mandatory air quality 

limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO2). However, the 

Government cannot be confident that air quality limits at 

Heathrow with the addition of a third runway can be 

met. As a consequence, if these conditions are not 

achievable, the White Paper proposes a second widespaced 

runway to the south of Gatwick after 2019 and 

requires land to be safeguarded for that purpose. This 

would increase capacity at Gatwick to 83 mppa. 

4.23 Provision for airport related development, 

excluding improvements to transport access as set out in 

this policy, should take place on the airport in order to 

minimise the impact of aviation related activities on 

surrounding areas and countryside. 

4.24 The County Council considers that if further 

growth at Heathrow is to be considered then it should 

be conditional on adequate mitigation measures, 

together with substantial investment in surface access 

including AirTrack. The statement in the Air Transport 

White Paper that the Government will not take action to 

overturn the 1979 legal agreement between BAA Gatwick 

and West Sussex County Council, which prevents the 

construction of a second runway at Gatwick before 2019, 

is welcomed. However, the provision of a second runway 

at Gatwick after 2019 would have a significant adverse 

impact on Surrey and for this reason, cannot be 

supported. 


f The local planning authorities will work with BAA 

Gatwick to ensure that the targets and commitments 

contained in both the Sustainable Development 

Strategy and the legal agreement are met, and that 

remedial action is undertaken where it is evident that 

sufficient progress has not been made. 

f The local planning authorities, airport operators 

and other relevant organisations will work together in 

applying sustainable development principles to the 

planning and operation of the airports affecting 



f Airport passenger numbers, aircraft movements, 

noise levels, air quality, proportion of airport 

trips by car and public transport, and levels of 

freight. 

f Amount and location of airport development 



POLICY DN9/ 

General Aviation 

When responding to consultations for airport related 

development: 

a) the development of Biggin Hill Airport to support 

its role as a general aviation airfield will be accepted, 

provided any adverse impacts on Surrey are sufficiently 

mitigated and the development fully complies with the 

terms laid out in the existing lease. 

b) the development of Farnborough Airport will be 

supported within the parameters of the existing planning 

conditions, provided any adverse impacts on Surrey are 

sufficiently mitigated. 

Within Surrey, the development of business aviation 

facilities at Fairoaks Airport will be permitted on a limited 

scale where the impact on the surrounding area is 

acceptable. Development likely to cause an intensification 

of flying and other related activities at Redhill Aerodrome 

will be resisted. 

With the exception of Dunsfold Aerodrome, the 

development of new airfields or the reopening of disused 

airfields will not be permitted.Airstrips or landing sites 

for private and recreational flying will only be permitted 

where the environmental impacts are acceptable. 

T 

4.25 he Future of Air Transport White Paper, published 

in December 2003, explains that the potential 

of Biggin Hill Airport to provide services to meet local 

demand should not be overlooked, and in principle, 

supports the development of the airport for this 

purpose, subject to relevant environmental 

considerations. 

4.26 In 1994 Biggin Hill Airport Limited signed a lease 

with Bromley Borough Council, the landlord, enabling 

them to manage and operate the airport for 125 years. 

The lease places a number of controls on flying activity 

at Biggin Hill in order to control the environmental 

impact of the airport on the surrounding area. The 

provision of scheduled flights for fare paying passengers 

however is not currently permitted. 

4.27 The White Paper also acknowledges the important 

contribution made by small airports in the South East 

in providing capacity for business aviation and supports 

the continued provision of these services at Biggin Hill, 

Farnborough and Fairoaks. Whilst the role of general 

aviation airfields in supporting the Surrey economy is 

acknowledged, it is recognised that they can have an 

adverse environmental impact on Surrey residents 

which needs to be controlled. 

4.28 At Farnborough, the Ministry of Defence leased 

the airport to TAG Aviation in 1998 for the continuation 

of business flying. TAG received planning consent in 

2000 to operate 28,000 business aircraft movements 

per annum, subject to limits on both the nature and type 

of flying to ensure that future growth is contained and 

controlled. The local council has also imposed a number 

of environmental and other obligations on TAG to 

minimise the impact of flying. 

4.29 The location of Fairoaks Airport and Redhill 

Aerodrome within the Metropolitan Green Belt places 

86 



a constraint on the scale and type of new development 

that can be permitted. Fairoaks Airport has a fixed wing 

movement limit within which there is scope for 

expansion of business aviation, taking full account of 

environmental and infrastructure considerations. There 

are no controls over the number of movements at 

Redhill Aerodrome, which caters more for recreational 

and training flights which tend to generate more 

environmental disturbance. Any further development 

which leads to increased disturbance from such flying 

will generally be resisted. 

4.30 The development of new airfields, or the reopening 

of existing ones, will not be permitted as there is 

sufficient capacity at both Fairoaks and Redhill for 

additional flying activity. The only exception is Dunsfold 

Aerodrome, which was vacated by British Aerospace at 

the end of 2000. The local planning authority will 

prepare an area action plan for the site which will 

indicate whether a future aviation use is considered 

appropriate. If the site is promoted for aviation, then 

light aviation use is considered as being the most 

suitable option, provided any adverse impacts are 

sufficiently controlled. 


f The County Council’s interests will be promoted 

through its representation on airport consultative 

committees. 

f In responding to consultations for airport related 

development, Policy DN9 will be used to provide a 

policy justification in support of the Council’s 

response. 

f The local planning authority will prepare an area 

action plan to determine the most suitable long term 

use for Dunsfold Aerodrome. 


f Aircraft movements (business and other 

general aviation: fixed and rotary wing) and 

noise levels 

f Amount of development at general aviation 

airfields 



POLICY DN10/ 

Housing Type and Need 

New dwelling provision should incorporate a mix of 

sizes and types and contribute towards meeting the 

needs of all sections of the community.The identification 

of specific needs and the mix of dwellings on each site 

will be determined by the local authorities. 

W 

4.31 ithin Surrey, there has been widespread 

concern that market demand for larger, 

executive style, housing is excluding not only those 

most in need but also families who require two or three 

bedroom accommodation. Continuing reductions in 

household size also suggest that there is a need for more 

dwellings suited to one and two person households. 

4.32 The County Council is committed to addressing 

the needs of all sections of the community and to 

encouraging social cohesion. Government Planning 

Policy Guidance on Housing (PPG3) indicates that a 

community’s need for a mix of dwelling types is a 

material planning consideration which should be taken 

into account in formulating development plan policies 

and determining planning applications. Borough and 

district councils should determine the type, mix and size 

of dwellings on individual sites in response to local 

assessments of need and the priorities set out in local 

Housing Strategy Statements and having regard to local 

market, site and environmental considerations to ensure 

that a choice of housing is available. The mix of 

dwellings should have regard to the need to create 

balanced communities and the potential for Lifetime 

Homes, taking account of the advice in Surrey Design. 



g work closely with housing departments to 

determine priority housing groups and their needs, 

through local housing needs surveys, having regard 

to the Housing Strategy Statement, and with local 

employers to determine the housing needs arising 

out of existing and proposed economic 

development; 

g provide policy guidance, development briefs 

and supplementary planning documents, where 

required, on the overall mix of dwellings required 

in local development frameworks having regard to 

the principles set out in Surrey Design; 

g determine the type, mix and size of dwellings 

required on individual sites. 


f Size and type of housing completed 

TARGET 9 / 

88 



POLICY DN11/ 

Affordable Housing 

Local development frameworks will include a target for 

affordable housing, having regard to the objective that at 

least 40% of new housing provision in the county should 

be affordable, including housing for key workers. 

Local authorities will: 

· determine the sizes of sites on which a contribution 

to affordable housing will be sought, based on 

evidence of local need and the supply of housing land; 

· negotiate with applicants to determine the amount 

of affordable housing to be provided on each site, 

taking into account market, identified need, site 

and other considerations; 

· in rural areas, where there is evidence of local need, 

permit small scale affordable housing within or well 

related to settlements, on land that would not 

otherwise be released for development. 

E 

4.33 nabling people to live in a home which is 

suitable to their needs and which they can 

afford is fundamental to the achievement of sustainable 

development, to the economic success of the county 

and critical to the development of mixed and balanced 

communities. Surrey is one of the most expensive places 

in England in which to buy or rent a home and, in recent 

years both house prices and rents have risen rapidly. 

Many public and private sector organisations within the 

county are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and 

retain key staff, partly because of the high cost of 

housing. A greater proportion of the workforce is now 

commuting longer distances to work from lower cost 

housing areas, often outside Surrey. The provision of an 

adequate supply of affordable and key worker housing 

has been identified as a priority by both SEERA and 

SEEDA. All local plans in Surrey have policies actively 

seeking the provision of new affordable housing and it 

is also a key issue emerging out of the development of 

community strategies across the county. 

4.34 More than 40% of the total dwelling provision up 

to 2016 will need to be affordable to meet the needs of 

those who are currently unable to buy or rent a home on 

the open market. Achieving this level of affordable 

housing will require a significant increase in current 

provision, which will depend on major policy changes 

by the Government and other agencies and a significant 

increase in the funding available for affordable housing. 

In order to meet the objective for affordable housing 

provision, a target that 40% of all new housing should 

be affordable has been set for the county as a whole. 

This is not a target for individual sites but is intended to 

provide a strategic framework within which individual 

borough and district councils should set their own 

targets, based upon local evidence of need. The target 

includes provision for key workers but any such 

provision should not be achieved at the expense of 

others in demonstrable housing need. To ensure that this 

does not occur, local authorities should devise separate 

targets for the provision of key worker and other 

affordable housing provision based on local assessments 



of housing need. 

4.35 Circular 6/98 provides that local authorities can 

negotiate for the provision of affordable housing on sites 

of 25 or more dwellings, or 1 hectare or more in size. 

RPG9 indicates that local authorities should consider 

whether local circumstances justify seeking thresholds 

lower than those set out in the Circular. Draft revisions 

to PPG3 now propose a lowering of the Circular 

thresholds to 15 dwellings or 0.5 hectares. Nearly 60% 

of new housing in Surrey is currently being provided 

on sites of less than 1 hectare. To better assist the local 

authorities in meeting their housing requirements, 

affordable housing will need to be provided on a 

significant proportion of sites below current and 

proposed national thresholds. The local planning 

authorities should, therefore, determine appropriate 

site size thresholds locally, in response to evidence of 

local need and the overall supply of housing land. Where 

justified by such evidence, the County Council will 

support the application of thresholds below those set 

out in Circular 6/98, RPG9 and draft revisions to PPG3. 

In accordance with Government guidance, affordable 

housing should normally be provided on site. 

4.36 The scale of need for affordable housing in Surrey, 

together with the limitations on funding available to 

deliver such housing, highlights the need to look for 

alternative means of both delivery and funding. The local 

planning authorities should, therefore, consider whether 

it is appropriate to require a contribution to meeting 

local affordable housing needs from commercial as well 

as housing development. 

Affordable housing in Surrey is defined as housing 

for people who cannot afford to buy or rent on 

the open market, usually subsidised housing for 

rent or home ownership provided by the local 

authorities or a registered social landlord, and 

where planning conditions or agreements exist 

to ensure that it remains affordable in perpetuity. 

This may include low cost market housing where 

a subsidy has been provided by the developer 

to reduce the initial costs, and the costs to all 

subsequent occupiers, of the housing to a level 

significantly below open market levels.This 

definition includes provision for those people 

identified by the local housing authority as being 

in housing need and provision for key workers. 

Low cost market housing does not mean either 

smaller housing or housing of a lower standard of 

construction or finish.The term refers instead to 

the purchase price relative to similar properties 

available elsewhere in the locality. 

4.37 This policy is intended to address the issue of 

affordability irrespective of the size or type of 

accommodation. The community’s needs for a specific 

type and size of housing and the mix of housing on 

individual sites are dealt with in Policy DN10. 

4.38 Where a local housing needs survey provides 

evidence of need, small scale affordable housing may 

be permitted within or well related to rural settlements 

on land which would not otherwise be released for 

development. Such exceptions will only be permitted 

where no other more suitable sites are available. Housing 

90 



provided in this way should be available to meet local 

needs in perpetuity and should respect the form and 

character of the settlement and its setting in the 

surrounding countryside. 



g set targets in local development frameworks for 

the provision of housing for those in housing need 

and key workers, based on the evidence of housing 

needs surveys; 

g identify in local development frameworks 

appropriate site size thresholds for the provision 

of affordable housing; 

g seek appropriate contributions for new affordable 

housing from residential and commercial 

development; 

g set out in local development frameworks or 

supplementary planning documents how affordable 

housing will be provided, having regard to the 

best practice guide, Making Affordable Housing Happen, 

prepared jointly by the Surrey Chief Housing and 

Planning Officers; 

g work closely with registered social landlords, 

business representatives, the house builders and 

regional bodies to ensure an adequate supply of 

housing at affordable rents and prices; 

g work closely with rural communities to promote 

and support the production of parish plans, to 

provide inputs to the determination of local needs 

and to identify suitable sites for rural affordable 

housing, including the proportion of subsidised 

rented and low cost home ownership properties; 

g jointly prepare new guidance on seeking affordable 

housing contributions from commercial 

development. 

f Further information on the need for key worker 

housing is available in the Surrey Local Government 

Association key worker housing strategy, Housing to 

Underpin Economic Success, published in September 2001. 

The local authorities will work together to review and 

update this strategy. 


f Number of affordable homes completed 

f Overall level of need for affordable housing 

as assessed by district housing need surveys 

f House price/rent information, relative to 

average incomes 

f Number of dwellings completed within rural 

exceptions schemes 

TARGET 10 / 



POLICY DN12/ 

Social and Community Facilities 

The local planning authorities should identify sites for 

social and community needs at locations easily accessible 

to the community being served, particularly in those areas 

where major new development is proposed. 

Where development leads to the loss of existing facilities, 

for which there is a continuing need, alternative 

equivalent provision must be made. 

M 

4.39 eeting the needs of the existing population 

and those of future generations is an essential 

component of sustainable development. The County 

Council attaches great importance to promoting social 

cohesion within Surrey. Although Surrey is an affluent 

county, there are pockets of absolute and relative 

deprivation where remedial action is needed. The 

Structure Plan can help to promote this by ensuring 

that adequate social and community facilities are 

retained or are provided within new development in 

both urban and rural areas. 

4.40 The Spatial Strategy emphasises the need to locate 

development primarily within urban areas, in order to 

create a more sustainable pattern of development. For 

this to be acceptable, urban areas need to be made more 

attractive places in which to live and work. Ensuring that 

people in such areas have good social and community 

facilities is an essential part of this process. 

4.41 There is a growing problem of reducing facilities 

and services (including local shops, post offices, pubs, 

health care and transport) in the rural parts of the 

county and local responses to this should be developed 

within parish plans and community strategies. There are 

also problems of the loss of residential care homes 

throughout the county. 

4.42 New and replacement facilities should be provided 

in locations which are both easily accessible to the 

communities being served and are in an equally 

accessible location to any facilities being lost. This 

means that some facilities will need to be located 

outside town centres and within established residential 

areas. 

4.43 This policy also provides a framework for 

contributing to the maintenance of existing facilities 

where threatened by development proposals. When 

assessing the impact of development proposals on 

existing facilities, the local planning authorities should 

also take into account the potential for the re-use or 

sharing of existing facilities. 



g allocate sites in local development frameworks 

for community facilities in areas accessible to the 

community, ensuring that they can be accessed by 

both public and private means of transport; 

g work closely with local communities, through the 

community strategy process, service providers and 

the voluntary sector, to assess the need for social 

and community facilities; 

92 



g include policies within local development 

frameworks requiring developers to submit an 

impact assessment of the loss of existing facilities; 

and ensuring the retention of existing facilities 

where a need has been identified; 

g ensure the retention and improvement of existing 

facilities and the provision of new facilities by the 

developer where required as part of a new 

development; 

g include within local development frameworks a 

definition of social and community needs, 

identifying priorities for new facilities and the 

retention of existing facilities; 

g maximise the opportunities for meeting 

community needs through the re-use and 

sharing of existing community facilities. 


f Net change in amount of land/floorspace 

allocated to social or community use 

POLICY DN13/ 

Leisure and Recreation Facilities 

Development for recreation or leisure use will be 

encouraged in urban areas, particularly where it 

overcomes deficiencies in existing provision. 

Opportunities for informal recreation, such as improved 

pedestrian and cycle networks in town and between 

town and country, should be provided in conjunction 

with development. 

Land and buildings used for sport and recreation should 

be retained in such use unless surplus to requirements. 

Development for other purposes will only be acceptable 

where it is demonstrated that the land is not suitable 

to meet a deficiency in another form of open space 

provision or where relocation of facilities will achieve 

a better and more accessible network. 

S 

4.44 port and recreation are essential parts of the 

quality of life of the community as a whole. 

Demand for facilities changes with changing lifestyles 

and the local authorities will be responsible for assessing 

local needs and auditing the quality and type of 

provision. There is currently a growing demand for built 

facilities, such as gyms and fitness centres. Policy DN13 

aims to ensure that the provision of leisure and 

recreation facilities reflects the demand arising in the 

community. Major built leisure facilities should be 

located in or on the edge of town centres, or adjacent 

to a major public transport node, in accordance with 

Policies LO2 and LO3. 



4.45 Opportunities for informal recreation, such as 

walking, cycling and equestrianism, both in town and 

country, figure highly in people’s perceptions of what 

makes Surrey an attractive place to live and work. These 

need to be encouraged not just for this reason but for 

their potential health benefits and to encourage people 

to change their lifestyles in a way which supports a more 

sustainable approach to day to day living. The extensive 

rights of way network in Surrey is a valuable resource 

which should be protected and expanded. 

4.46 More intensive use of previously developed land 

places a premium on retaining adequate open land for 

sport and recreation. The policy therefore aims to 

protect outdoor recreation facilities such as playing 

fields, play space, open space and allotments. These are 

important facilities that are unlikely to be returned to 

their original use once built upon. Changing demands 

and interests mean, however, that some change in usage 

is inevitable, although the emphasis must be to find 

alternative open space and recreational uses which 

benefit the local community. In some localities, new 

patterns of open space offering better and easier access 

for local people may justify a rationalisation of existing 

open space. Qualitative improvements may also justify 

changes in local provision. 

4.47 Surrey has many sporting facilities that are both 

regionally and nationally important, such as its race 

courses and golf courses. Such facilities are important in 

sporting terms but are also valuable to the local 

economy and in some cases, such as that of the horse 

training industry at Epsom, contribute to the heritage of 

the county. Sport England aims to protect and enhance 

national and regional facilities and is in the process of 

identifying Significant Areas for Sport. The local planning 

authorities should therefore support the continued 

presence of these facilities and such ancillary activity as 

is justified to ensure their viability. 



g audit recreation facilities and the need for playing 

field provision, and identify where deficiencies in 

provision exist and how these might be overcome, 

against the advice in PPG17 and the good practice 

guide, Assessing Needs and Opportunities: A companion 

guide to PPG17; 

g allocate land for new facilities, following 

consultation with partner organisations, including 

Sport England and sports’ governing bodies, where 

deficiencies in quantity or quality are established; 

g protect existing recreational land and buildings 

where deficiencies exist; 

g promote the dual use of recreation facilities. 

f Sport England will identify Significant Areas for Sport. 


f Provision of new and replacement recreation 

facilities 

f Loss of existing recreation facilities as a result 

of development 

94 



POLICY DN14/ 

Tourism Development 

Tourism development will be encouraged in urban areas. 

Outside urban areas, small scale tourism development 

will be encouraged in rural settlements and where it 

assists farm diversification or the retention of buildings 

contributing to the character of the countryside. 

Extensions to existing tourism development in the 

countryside will be permitted, where benefits to the 

local economy are demonstrated. 

P 

4.48 olicy DN14 encourages tourism development 

in the urban areas. Town centres are the 

preferred locations for tourism development. It is 

where businesses and facilities are concentrated and 

accessibility by public transport is highest. Business 

tourism is recognised as a particularly significant sector 

and development which meets the objectives of 

facilitating sustainable economic growth will be 

encouraged. Tourism is an important source of local 

employment which also provides ways of conserving the 

heritage and enriching the quality of life. There has been 

a net loss in the availability of tourist accommodation in 

parts of the county. It is evident that many 

accommodation providers achieve high occupancy rates 

which indicates that there is not an oversupply of this 

type of development. It will be important to retain the 

existing stock of accommodation in the county to 

provide the needed facilities. The provision of hotels 

where they form part of mixed use schemes will be 

supported. 

4.49 Tourism is also an important element in Surrey’s 

countryside and contributes to the local economy by 

supporting local services. The policy looks to encourage 

appropriate tourism development in the countryside for 

the benefit of the rural economy, taking into account 

Metropolitan Green Belt policy which applies across 

most of Surrey’s countryside. The Surrey Tourism 

Strategy provides guidance on development proposed 

to be undertaken beyond that in association with farm 

diversification. Where economic benefits are evident, 

existing tourist facilities may be extended where the 

extension is in keeping with the scale, character and 

setting of the establishment and the traffic impact is 

acceptable. ‘Green tourism’ schemes which promote 

walking, cycling and horse riding are particularly 

welcome. 



g allocate hotel sites in urban areas where a need 

is identified; 

g encourage appropriate development of all types 

of accommodation; 

g foster tourism in the countryside with criteria 

for acceptable tourism development in rural areas. 


f Amount and location of tourism development 

f Hotel occupancy rates 

f Volume and value of tourism by purpose of visit 



POLICY DN15/ 

Further and Higher Education Facilities 

Provision for the expansion of further and higher 

education facilities in Surrey should be made within the 

urban areas.Where a further or higher education facility 

on the edge of the urban area demonstrates that there 

are no suitable sites for expansion within the urban area, 

provision may be made for its expansion beyond the 

urban area through the local development framework. 

T 

4.50 he expansion of further and higher education 

facilities to provide further opportunities for 

lifelong learning is a key element of Government 

education policy. It is also a vital element in securing 

the training of a suitably skilled workforce for the 

knowledge based, higher value economic activity 

envisaged both in the draft Regional Economic Strategy 

and the Surrey Economic Partnership’s Economic 

Strategy. It also contributes towards achieving wider 

education, quality of life and sustainability objectives. 

The County Council accepts that the links between study 

and research are likely to be much stronger in the future 

and will therefore consider sympathetically proposals 

involving a mix of academic and research activity. 

4.51 Further education has an important role in meeting 

the educational and vocational needs of young and adult 

people in Surrey. In particular, whilst Surrey has a 

relatively high overall level of educational attainment, 

there are significant concerns regarding the extent of low 

literacy and numeracy skills in the South East, including 

Surrey. This represents a considerable challenge to 

further education providers and other key stakeholders. 

The County Council will therefore look sympathetically 

at proposals for the development of new accommodation 

where this is shown to be needed. There may be 

circumstances where dual use of further and higher 

education facilities represents a more efficient and 

sustainable use of these facilities. In determining 

proposals, local authorities will consider if such 

intensification could lead to unacceptable impacts such 

as on the local highway or loss of amenity for local 

residents. 

4.52 Further and higher education institutions are also 

major employers in the county, making an important 

contribution to the local economy as well as providing 

valuable links to local businesses and industry. 

4.53 Policy DN15 emphasises the strong preference for 

expansion of facilities within the urban area in line with 

the Spatial Strategy. Local planning authorities will look 

to redevelopment within their urban areas to meet the 

expansion needs of education institutions through 

proposals in local development frameworks. Where this 

is not possible, a proposed expansion outside the urban 

area should be promoted on a case by case basis through 

the local development framework process, having regard 

to the advice in PPG2. 



g work with education providers to develop criteria 

in local development frameworks which can be 

used to assess applications for expansion; 

96 



g determine whether a development brief is 

required, depending primarily on the scale 

of the proposed expansion. 


f Amount of development for new further 

and higher education facilities 

POLICY DN16/ 

Agriculture 

The diversification of activities on agricultural holdings 

will be permitted where it contributes to sustaining the 

viability of farming enterprises and to safeguarding the 

character of the countryside. 

Development leading to the loss of the best and most 

versatile agricultural land should be avoided unless 

other material considerations override this. 

A 

4.54 spects of diversification, such as the 

introduction of new crops (energy or industrial 

raw materials), can support the continued viability of 

agricultural holdings without any regard to land use 

planning. In other cases, such as value added processing, 

local marketing initiatives and the re-use of buildings for 

non agricultural purposes, diversification will be 

supported where it contributes to the retention of 

agriculture as a part of the rural economy. Schemes 

should be developed in the context of farm development 

programmes, providing for the ongoing management of 

land and buildings consistent with safeguarding 

countryside character, as well as meeting the business 

needs of the enterprise. 

4.55 Diversification should not lead to new buildings 

within Surrey’s countryside, so schemes which involve 

the re-use of existing buildings will be encouraged. The 

impact of proposals for diversification on local amenity 

(countryside character, historic buildings and features, 

noise generation, traffic generation, ecological and 

recreational value) will need to be carefully assessed. 



It is accepted that, as agricultural buildings tend to be 

located away from a settlement, there can be an increase 

in traffic as a result of a diversification scheme. PPG13 

recognises that some increase in vehicular trips is a 

likely outcome but is not in itself a sufficient reason to 

reject a scheme. 

4.56 The best and most versatile agricultural land is a 

national resource which needs to be safeguarded for the 

benefit of future generations. Surrey has a relatively small 

proportion of its agricultural land which falls into Grades 

1 or 2 of the Agricultural Land Classification but 

significant amounts of Grade 3 land. Consequently, 

higher grade land should be retained for future crop 

production and to support agriculture in the county. All 

significant proposals affecting agricultural land should be 

accompanied by a detailed evaluation of agricultural land 

quality to determine whether any land within Grade 1, 2 

and 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification is involved. 

4.57 The local planning authority has to determine 

whether higher grade agricultural land should be 

safeguarded from development. There may be 

circumstances where alternative land of lower 

agricultural value may warrant greater protection. 

Reasons include its biodiversity, landscape character and 

quality, or heritage interest, all issues which are relevant 

in Surrey. Other issues, such as the need to promote 

sustainable patterns of development, may also be a 

material consideration which need to be taken account 

of when evaluating the conservation of such land. 


f Local development frameworks should: 

g promote the use of farm development programmes 

to support diversification proposals; 

g encourage farm diversification schemes to 

use existing buildings. 


g promote adoption of the recommendations of 

the Surrey Farm Study Two; 

g conserve the best and most versatile agricultural 

land (Agricultural Land Classification Grades 1, 2 

and 3a) unless other material considerations are 

considered to override its retention. 

f The Horse Pasture Management Project will provide 

best practice guidance on diversification into horse 

related activities. 


f Number and type of farm diversification 

schemes 

f Loss of best and most versatile land to 

development 

98 



POLICY DN17/ 

Mineral Workings and Restoration 

Mineral workings including extensions and/or mineral 

processing will be allowed where the need for the 

mineral outweighs the adverse impact of the 

development. Identified mineral resources should not 

be sterilised by alternative development. 

In Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty mineral workings, 

including extensions, will only be allowed where it is 

clearly shown that the need for the mineral is essential 

and of national interest and there is no suitable 

alternative site. 

Mineral workings will be restored to the highest 

possible standards and at the earliest practicable date. 

M 

4.58 inerals can only be worked where they are 

found. Extensive valuable mineral deposits 

occur in Surrey, sometimes adjoining densely populated 

areas. In planning policy, their working is considered to 

be a temporary use of land though one of long duration 

in some cases. This may have unacceptable impacts upon 

amenity, particularly close to residential areas. This has 

been particularly the case in the Lower Thames Valley 

where the rate of production is carefully monitored. 

4.59 Planning applications for new or extended mineral 

working will normally be considered against the 

outcome of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), 

required by the 1999 Regulations. 

4.60 The Government has issued revised guidelines for 

aggregates provision in England. A Minerals Development 

Plan will be prepared to replace the Surrey Minerals 

Local Plan, taking into account the identified national, 

regional or local need for minerals and the practicable 

availability of alternative sources of supply. Proposals 

within the Surrey Hills AONB will need to be supported 

by an assessment of alternative options. 

4.61 Mineral workings have in the past been restored 

to agricultural land by infilling with waste. This has 

provided both a means of disposing of waste and 

assisting in the restoration of the best and most versatile 

agricultural land. However, policy limitation of landfill 

and revised guidance in PPS7 have changed this context. 

There are likely now to be more low level or wet 

restoration schemes and alternative after uses such as 

nature conservation, woodland or amenity, as well as 

agriculture, thereby contributing to biodiversity and 

flood alleviation. 


f The local planning authorities will be expected to 

comply with the mineral safeguarding requirements 

of Minerals Policy Guidance Notes 1, 6 & 15. 

f The County Council will: 

g prepare a Minerals Development Plan and 

identify preferred areas for further mineral 

extraction; 

g secure an appropriate regional apportionment of 

aggregate provision; 

g explore the potential for aggregate provision from 

local sources, recycling and imports; 



g identify former mineral workings that require 

improvement and foster partnerships that will 

implement high quality restoration and 

management schemes encouraging biodiversity; 

g prepare good practice guidance on restoration 

and enhancement which will apply to former, 

existing and new workings; 

g assist in the screening and scoping of EIAs 

for mineral working proposals. 


f Rate of extraction relative to the extent of 

the landbank of permitted reserves 

f Progress towards completion of restoration 

and after use schemes 

f Monitor the supply of alternative aggregates 

including both recycled material and imports 

POLICY DN18/ 

Waste Management 

Provision will be made, in accordance with the Best 

Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO), for sufficient 

waste facilities to deal with the amount equivalent to 

the waste arising in Surrey, and any agreed additional 

requirement deriving from regional policy guidance. 

Provision will be made primarily by specific site 

identification in the Surrey Waste Development Plan. 

Land in existing waste management use will be 

safeguarded for future waste management needs until 

the Waste Development Plan can assess the suitability 

of individual sites. 

Waste facilities should be located as close as practicable 

to the origin of the waste, subject to acceptable impact 

on amenity.The handling, treatment, transport and 

disposal of waste will be carried out to the highest 

environmental standards practicable. 

S 

4.62 urrey, like many other counties, faces a huge and 

urgent challenge to provide new and extended 

facilities to manage its waste, in compliance with 

European and Government landfill diversion measures 

and sustainable waste management practices. The scale 

and urgency of new provision required in Surrey is 

estimated (by Babtie Group Ltd) as an additional 8 large 

waste facilities by 2010, rising to 14 by 2020. If smaller 

scale facilities were to be developed, the number 

required could be 22 by 2010 and 43 by 2020. 

100 



4.63 The County Council is the waste planning 

authority (WPA) for Surrey. PPG10 states that it is the 

responsibility of WPAs to ensure that there is an 

adequate development plan framework to enable the 

waste management industry to establish appropriate 

waste management facilities, in a way which meets the 

objectives of sustainable development. The planning 

policy framework should take account of amenity and 

resource considerations, the Government’s waste 

strategy and relevant European Directives. 

4.64 The County Council will identify sufficient sites 

for waste facilities in the Surrey Waste Development 

Plan, which will replace the Waste Local Plan, 

to deal with an amount of waste equivalent to arisings 

within Surrey. Surrey will continue to contribute towards 

meeting regional waste management needs, aiming for 

net self-sufficiency in waste capacity, and will make 

diminishing provision for London’s waste. The Surrey 

Waste Development Plan will set out detailed 

development control policies for the consideration of 

waste proposals on unallocated sites, ensuring the 

protection of residential amenity and the environment. 

4.65 The Waste Development Plan will address provision 

for the management of the three main controlled waste 

streams, namely municipal (mostly household waste), 

commercial and industrial waste, and construction and 

demolition waste. In addition, provision will also be 

made for agricultural waste when it too becomes 

classified as controlled waste. Within each waste stream, 

there will be different materials and categories of waste, 

which will need to be separated out and managed in 

order to achieve recycling, composting and recovery 

targets. 

4.66 Policy DN18 requires that the Best Practicable 

Environmental Option (BPEO) is achieved in providing 

sufficient facilities for waste management. The 

achievement of the BPEO, or equivalent updated 

Government test, involves satisfying the waste hierarchy, 

the proximity principle and regional self sufficiency, 

which all need to be taken into account in identifying 

the combination of facilities and other waste 

management options which give the best balance in 

meeting environmental, social and economic needs. 

The waste hierarchy is set out in the Government’s 

Waste Strategy 2000 and indicates that: 

f the most effective environmental solution is to 

reduce the generation of waste (waste minimisation); 

f where further reduction is not practicable, products 

and materials can sometimes be used again, either 

for the same or a different purpose (waste re-use); 

f failing that, value should be recovered from waste, 

through recycling, composting or generating energy 

from waste (waste recovery) – recycling and 

composting opportunities should be explored before 

consideration of incineration with energy recovery; 

f only if none of the above offers an appropriate 

solution should waste be disposed of in landfill 

(residual landfill). 

4.67 Surrey residents and businesses generate about 

2 million tonnes of waste each year. The County Council 

and the borough and district councils have prepared an 

Integrated Waste Management Strategy for Surrey. 

The Strategy focuses on how municipal waste is to be 

managed and also takes account of potential synergies 

with the commercial and industrial waste sector. 



4.68 Landfill is the means by which most waste is 

currently disposed of in Surrey. However, this will need 

to change very quickly, particularly for municipal waste, 

to comply with landfill diversion requirements. 

Furthermore, Surrey is rapidly running out of landfill 

capacity. Locations will need to be identified for the 

development of alternative ways of dealing with waste 

such as the provision of composting and recycling 

facilities and energy from waste plants. These alternative 

waste management techniques also have associated 

environmental impacts so they will need to be located 

where such impacts are minimised. 

4.69 Many new waste facilities are likely to be needed 

in Surrey over the period of the Structure Plan. Suitable 

land is scarce and may be subject to pressure for other 

development. Therefore, land in existing waste use will 

be safeguarded to ensure the availability of at least some 

potential sites for waste development. Borough and 

district councils will consult the County Council on any 

application for alternative development of a waste 

management site, which should continue in waste 

management use unless it is considered unsuitable for 

that purpose. The Waste Development Plan will assess 

the suitability of existing sites along with other potential 

sites in identifying preferred locations for the necessary 

new facilities. It will remove the safeguarding from waste 

sites which are found to be unsuitable for future waste 

development. 

4.70 Transport impacts from waste related development 

are significant. The use of rail rather than road for the 

movement of waste will be encouraged where 

practicable, although generally it is only practicable 

for larger scale facilities. Overall road journey lengths, 

numbers of movements and localised road impacts 

should be kept to a minimum. Everyone, from the 

public to local authorities and industry, will have to take 

responsibility for reducing the rate of growth in waste 

that is produced. 

4.71 The application of the waste hierarchy requires 

waste management to move towards the provision of 

waste treatment and sorting facilities which need 

buildings and structures. Such development should 

generally be accommodated within urban areas, but in 

Surrey there is limited land availability and conflicts with 

residential and commercial amenity are likely. Policy 

LO4 recognises that there may be a need in these 

circumstances for such facilities to be located in the 

countryside, with preference to development on existing 

waste management sites or previously developed sites 

rather than greenfield sites, subject to the application of 

the BPEO. With the application of the proximity 

principle, the location of some built waste facilities in 

the urban fringe could be justified. This, amongst other 

factors, could be considered to represent very special 

circumstances in relation to proposed development in 

the Metropolitan Green Belt. 

102 




f The waste planning authority will: 

g prepare a Waste Development Plan, following 

adoption of the Surrey Integrated Waste 

Management Strategy; 

g facilitate meeting the Government’s targets and 

objectives for implementing the waste hierarchy; 

g monitor the capacity of existing and new waste 

handling facilities against local and regional needs; 

g seek to reduce non-inert landfill capacity in the 

medium term; 

g work with the Environment Agency and highway 

authority to reduce the impacts of transporting 

waste; 

g seek to ensure that the development of additional 

waste disposal handling capacity accords with the 

principle of Best Practicable Environmental 

Option; 

g work with potential developers to secure Freight 

Facilities Grant. 

f Landfill will only be allowed for the restoration of 

mineral workings and the reinstatement of damaged 

or degraded land. 


f Proportions of capacity for treating waste 

towards the top of the waste hierarchy 

f Road mileage travelled by municipal waste 

f Waste management capacity within Surrey 

relative to waste arisings, for each broad 

category of waste (where this information 

is available) 


CHAPTER 

5 

IMPLEMENTING 

THE STRUCTURE PLAN 

Introduction 

5.1 This chapter summarises how the County Council 

will seek to deliver the Spatial Strategy by implementing 

the Structure Plan, both directly and in partnership with 

others. Structure Plan policies will be implemented by 

the County Council and the borough and district councils 

and other organisations responsible for making and 

influencing decisions affecting land use. Under each 

policy is a section that sets out how the County Council 

will seek to achieve its policy objectives. The County 

Council has also developed a series of targets that, if 

achieved, will give a firm indication of the success of 

the strategy (see Chapter 6: Monitoring and Review). 

5.2 One of the conclusions drawn from the 

sustainability appraisal of the Structure Plan was the 

significance of the way in which the Plan is implemented 

in determining the overall degree of sustainability 

achieved. As a whole, the Plan and its policies will help 

to deliver the concept of sustainability but there is scope 

to achieve considerable progress if the principles of 

sustainability become the cornerstones of decisions, 

even for small scale development proposals. The policies 

seek to secure this but all parties need to embrace these 

principles when taking forward proposals for 

development. 

Changes to the planning system 

5.3 The Government has undertaken a major reform 

of the planning system in England, abolishing structure 

plans and local plans and replacing them with regional 

spatial strategies and local development frameworks. 

Under the provisions of the Planning & Compulsory 

Purchase Act 2004, the Structure Plan will remain part of 

the Development Plan until subsumed within the South 

East Plan and local development frameworks (LDFs). 

Individual policies within the Plan may be taken forward 

in either the South East Plan or LDFs and, at the very 

least, will remain in force for a period of 3 years from 

the date of adoption of the Plan. The Structure Plan will 

therefore remain a statutory document for several years. 

During the transition period the County Council will 

work closely with SEERA and the borough and district 

councils to ensure that the County Council’s priorities 

continue to influence policy within the new 

development plan system. 

A comprehensive approach 

5.4 Land use planning is an essential tool for improving 

the quality of our environment. However, it is only one 

of the mechanisms for delivering this improvement. As 

a result of the Local Government Act 2000, local 

authorities now have new powers to promote or improve 

the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of 

their area. The expectation is that local authorities will 

take a comprehensive overview of the needs and 

priorities of their area and take a co-ordinated approach 

to meeting these needs and priorities. In order to ensure 

that this is done, they have a duty to prepare community 

strategies. A community strategy will provide the 

overarching framework for the activities of the Council 

and its partners to address local needs and objectives. 

5.5 Within urban areas, the County Council will 

encourage a more positive approach to the management 

of change. Improvements to the quality of life will 

104 


chapter 5 · implementing the structure plan 

require partnership working and a co-ordinated 

approach between all agencies, taking on board the 

overarching objectives and priorities in the community 

strategy and the Structure Plan to deliver an urban 

renaissance. 

Local development frameworks 

5.6 The Structure Plan contains policies that apply 

across the county and will set a broad strategic 

framework for the first round of local development 

frameworks (LDFs). LDF policies will be more detailed 

and site specific than the Structure Plan and will 

generally provide the criteria for assessing individual 

planning applications. The County Council is responsible 

for producing LDFs covering minerals and waste 

development on a countywide basis. LDFs covering all 

other land uses will be prepared by the borough and 

district councils and will replace the existing framework 

of local plans in place across the county. It is a statutory 

requirement that planning applications are determined 

in accordance with the relevant development plan unless 

material considerations indicate otherwise. 

5.7 The County Council will work with borough and 

district councils to ensure that local development 

framework policies are developed in a way that supports 

the implementation of the Spatial Strategy. In particular, 

the County Council will encourage borough and district 

councils to address the specific actions set out under 

each policy in the Structure Plan. 

Masterplan process 

5.8 The Spatial Strategy includes the existing 

commitment to expand Horley and identifies the 

potential need for Guildford Borough Council to make 

provision for a new community to the north east of 

Guildford town in the event that insufficient previously 

developed land can be identified to meet the housing 

allocation in this Plan. The expansion of Horley has been 

taken forward within the framework of a masterplan for 

the town as a whole, which is expressed in the First 

Alteration to the Reigate & Banstead Borough Local Plan. 

Detailed masterplans for both the north east and north 

west development areas in Horley will need to be 

prepared. 

5.9 If monitoring of the rate of housing provision in 

Guildford through the Local Development Framework 

identifies a need for a new community to the north east 

of Guildford town, then it will need to be implemented 

within the context of a masterplanning process which 

looks in detail at the technical issues involved, from the 

standpoint of implementing the principles of 

sustainability but also addresses community involvement. 

The Spatial Strategy mentions some generic issues which 

will apply to the process but it should also take into 

account other issues which may identified. The approach 

will also be relevant to other major proposals which may 

emerge from the process of urban renaissance. 



Supplementary planning guidance and 

good practice guidance 

5.10 In order to give further guidance in interpreting 

and implementing policy, the County Council will work 

in partnership with the borough and district councils 

and through the Surrey Local Government Association 

(SLGA) and the private sector to produce a series of 

supplementary planning guidance (SPG) and good 

practice guidance on a range of issues that are of 

strategic countywide importance. The SPG guidance 

will be subject to consultation and formal adoption and, 

whilst not having the status of a formally adopted plan, 

will nevertheless become material considerations in 

determining planning applications. Other guidance 

documents will be of value in ensuring policy is 

implemented in an effective way. All guidance will be 

periodically reviewed as necessary to take account of 

any changes in European, national and regional policy 

guidance and legislation. 

f Surrey Design was published by the Surrey Local 

Government Association (SLGA) in January 2002 and 

has been adopted by the County Council as strategic 

SPG. Its production was a collaborative effort 

between the County Council, borough and district 

councils and the development industry. It is a holistic 

design guide with an emphasis on creating quality 

places in which people can live in safety and as part 

of a community, without having to rely on the car. 

Surrey Design develops Government guidance and 

Structure Plan and existing local plan policy in a 

Surrey context. 

f A Parking Strategy for Surrey covers all aspects of parking 

across the county. It provides a framework for more 

detailed borough and district parking management 

plans and contains parking standards for new 

development based on parking package areas. The 

strategy aims to complement policies in the Structure 

Plan that seek to restrain traffic growth and to 

promote sustainable patterns of development. The 

Strategy was adopted in February 2003. 

f Infrastructure and Amenity Requirements to Support New 

Development is good practice guidance that gives 

advice to local planning authorities and developers 

on the assessment and funding of the infrastructure 

requirements of new development. It concentrates 

on the process of identifying the capacity of existing 

infrastructure and how to co-ordinate a cross service 

and borough and district/county response to 

additional requirements. It will be updated to take 

on board measures to deal with the cumulative 

impact of development. 

f Housing – Plan, Monitor, Manage will be produced as a 

guidance note for the planning authorities in Surrey 

and advise on how to implement the plan, monitor, 

manage and sequential approach to housing land 

allocation and release. 

f Making Affordable Housing Happen in Surrey is a joint 

Surrey planning and housing officers’ good practice 

guide prepared by consultants and published in 

February 2002. The guide aims to encourage the 

provision of affordable housing by promoting best 

practice and assisting those involved in the planning 

process to maximise the provision of affordable 

housing. 

106 



f Archaeology and Historic Landscapes gives countywide 

guidance on the protection of the archaeological 

and historic landscape resource through the planning 

system. The document is supplemented by a 

development control practice note. The SPG has 

been revised in the light of new national policy 

statements and developing practice as well as the 

policies in this Plan. 

f Landscape will provide an assessment of the quality, 

condition and sensitivity to change of Surrey's 

landscape, linked to the distinctive landscape 

character areas identified in The Future of Surrey’s 

Landscape and Woodlands. It will provide policies 

for the conservation, enhancement and regeneration 

of landscape across the whole county. 

f Biodiversity and Nature Conservation explains how 

information on nature conservation and biodiversity 

within Surrey has been gathered and the way it will 

be used in the planning system. The SPG has been 

revised in the light of the policies in this Plan. 

Other strategies 

5.11 The Structure Plan is primarily concerned with 

providing a strategy for the development and use of land. 

However the implementation of the objectives of the 

Structure Plan will depend on a range of other social 

and economic issues which can only partly be influenced 

by land use planning. Other strategies, produced either 

by the County Council on its own or in partnership with 

others, contain policies relevant to the aims of the 

Structure Plan: 

f Community strategies will be the result of 

community planning at both a borough and district 

and county level. The aim of community planning 

is to work with others to improve the quality of life 

of the people of Surrey. Community strategies will 

set an overarching framework for other strategies 

and service delivery plans. The eleven borough and 

district community strategies will deal with local 

priorities and issues. The countywide strategy will 

focus on common issues and priorities where action 

is best co-ordinated at strategic level. 

f Surrey Local Transport Plan (LTP) is the key 

document for seeking funding for and implementing 

movement policy. The LTP Strategy and Programme 

complement the sustainable land use policies in the 

Structure Plan by developing an integrated approach 

to transport at the local level. 

f Surrey’s Rural Strategy is the outcome of a long 

running partnership initiative that has been in 

existence since 1991. The general aim of the strategy 

is to promote actions that work towards the 

achievement of a more sustainable future, whether 

social, economic or environmental, for Surrey’s 

countryside and rural settlements. Various other 

working documents have been developed under the 

umbrella of the Rural Strategy such as The Future of 

Surrey’s Landscape and Woodlands. 

f Surrey’s Heritage Strategy is a partnership approach 

to conserving and enhancing Surrey’s cultural heritage 

including buildings of historic and architectural 

quality. There is particular emphasis on information, 

management and interpretation to ensure that 



heritage issues are widely appreciated. 

f Surrey Economic Strategy is prepared by the Surrey 

Economic Partnership, of which the County Council is 

a member. It seeks to promote a prosperous economy 

but in the context of the sustainable development 

goals promoted by the Structure Plan. Each year an 

action plan is produced with key initiatives – many 

of which will directly complement the Spatial 

Strategy, such as promoting and encouraging the 

adoption of Company Transport Plans. 

f The Surrey Tourism Strategy provides a sustainable 

framework for the development of the tourist 

industry. 

f Housing to Underpin Economic Success is a SLGA 

strategy that sets out short and long term measures 

for providing affordable and key worker housing in 

Surrey, published in September 2001. 

Individual development control decisions 

5.13 The County Council will seek to ensure that 

development control decisions at the local level do not 

compromise the implementation of the Spatial Strategy 

and accord with regional and national land use policies. 

As the Structure Plan remains part of the development 

plan for the county for the next 3 years, borough and 

district councils still have a statutory duty to consult the 

County Council on certain major applications, subject to 

certain criteria, and take into account the County 

Council’s views. In assessing these larger proposals the 

County Council will only be concerned with issues of 

strategic importance. 

5.14 The County Council will always be able to advise 

borough and district councils regarding strategic policy 

interpretation with regard to all development proposals. 

As Highway Authority, the County Council will make 

recommendations regarding transportation issues at a 

strategic level through strategic consultations or directly 

to borough and district councils. 

5.12 The County Council is directly responsible for 

determining applications for minerals and waste 

proposals and the County Council’s own developments. 

Borough and district councils, however, will make the 

majority of development control decisions. 

108 


CHAPTER 

6 

MONITORING 

AND REVIEW 

R 

6.1 egular monitoring of this Plan will enable the 

County Council to ensure that it remains the 

most appropriate and locally acceptable response to 

current issues of environmental, social and economic 

importance in Surrey. Monitoring is also essential to 

enable the County Council to meet its statutory 

requirements under the Planning & Compulsory 

Purchase Act 2004. 

6.2 Further details of the arrangements for monitoring 

are provided in the Structure Plan Monitoring Scheme. 

This provides details of the rationale which underlies 

each of the targets and indicators; the data sources and 

monitoring systems which will be used; and links to 

other targets and indicators such as those contained in 

Surrey County Council’s strategy documents including 

Making Surrey a Better Place and the Local Transport Plan. 

6.3 The Scheme reflects a change in emphasis from 

current monitoring arrangements. In particular, it reflects 

the increasing importance which is attached to issues 

such as the location, previous use, and density of 

development. The monitoring scheme addresses the 

question of whether or not the Spatial Strategy is being 

successfully implemented and also whether it is still 

appropriate. Monitoring places emphasis on assessing 

whether the valued environmental features of the county 

are being successfully conserved and enhanced. 

Particular attention is being given to assessing the 

infrastructure and transport position in the county. 

6.4 The scheme incorporates the requirements of the 

evolving Monitoring Framework for Regional Planning 

Guidance and of the Department of Environment, 

Transport and the Regions’ (DETR) Good Practice Guide: 

Monitoring Provision of Housing through the Planning System 

(October 2000). The scheme will be kept under review 

and will be amended to reflect changes in emphasis and 

in priorities. 

6.5 The County Council has already begun to re-design 

information systems to enable the monitoring of targets 

and indicators. Further technical developments will be 

required to ensure that the monitoring systems are 

robust and responsive to changing demands. An 

important feature of the scheme is that it will be 

operated jointly with the eleven Surrey borough and 

district planning authorities and will draw upon 

information and experience related to other strategies 

adopted by the County Council and by other partner 

organisations. The scheme is also designed to service 

the needs of the regional monitoring scheme operated 

by SEERA. 

6.6 The County Council will prepare an annual 

Structure Plan Performance Report, which will examine the 

performance of the Plan in relation to the targets and 

indicators and will include recommendations for action 

where targets are not being achieved. 

6.7 The targets, which will provide the focus of the 

monitoring scheme, are set out below. Unless otherwise 

stated, the targets relate to the Plan period as a whole. 

Not all policies have associated targets but all policies 

have indicators to enable the effectiveness of each policy 

to be monitored. The fact that an individual policy does, 

or does not, have a specific target does not imply that 

any policy has an importance which outweighs any other 

policy. The targets are designed to facilitate the 

monitoring scheme and are not a guide to the 


chapter 6 · monitoring and review 

interpretation and implementation of Structure Plan 

policies. 

6.8 A new source of information, Surrey Data Online, 

is available on the County Council's website and is 

regularly updated. This provides a reliable and up to 

date source of data on land use planning and other 

related issues. A series of technical reports will report 

on specific projects such as housing land availability 

and the presentation of survey results. 

6.9 All the targets and indicators have been drafted with 

reference to indicators and targets contained in other 

related documents, including the LTP, RPG9, and the 

headline indicators in the Government’s document 

Sustainability Counts and The Common Agenda for a 

Sustainable Surrey. 

Targets 

TARGET 1: 

90% of new housing will be provided on previously 

developed land in urban areas. 

TARGET 2: 

At least 80% of additional major commercial 

development each year will be located within town 

centres or at other sites within the urban area which 

have good access by public transport, cycling and 

walking. 

TARGET 3: 

80% of employment development will be provided 

on land previously used for employment purposes. 

TARGET 4: 

90% of additional retail development will be provided 

in and around town centres. 

TARGET 5: 

No new development will take place on undeveloped 

land at high risk from flooding. 

TARGET 5: 

All local development frameworks will include the 

identification of a framework of urban open land, 

open spaces and green corridors, and policies for 

their promotion and safeguarding. 

110 


chapter 6 · monitoring and review 

TARGET 7: 

There will be no direct loss or damage through 

development to designated sites and buildings of 

international, national or county heritage importance. 

TARGET 8: 

There will be no loss or damage through development 

to sites of international, national or county wildlife 

importance, including priority habitats identified in 

the Surrey Biodiversity Action Plan. 

TARGET 9: 

70% of completed houses will contain 3 or fewer 

bedrooms. 

TARGET 10: 

By 2016, 40% of new housing development completed 

will be for affordable housing. 

TARGET 11: 

The average density of all completed housing 

developments will be at least 35 dwellings per hectare 

(dpha). 


Acronyms, Glossary 

and Further Information 

Acronyms 

AGLV 

Area of Great Landscape Value 

MLP 

Minerals Local Plan 

AONB 

BAA 

BAP 

BPEO 

BREEAM 

CHP 

cSAC 

DEFRA 

DfT 

EIA 

ESDP 

EU 

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty 

The company that owns Heathrow and 

Gatwick airports 

Biodiversity Action Plan 

Best Practicable Environmental Option 

Building Research Establishment’s 

Environmental Assessment Methods 

Combined heat and power 

candidate Special Area of Conservation 

Department for Environment, Food and 

Rural Affairs 

Department for Transport 

Environmental Impact Assessment 

European Spatial Development Perspective 

European Union 

MPG 

mppa 

NNR 

ODPM 

PPG 

PPS 

pSPA 

RES 

RIG 

Minerals Policy Guidance Note (a list of the 

most relevant MPGs is included in the section 

on further information) 

million passengers per annum 

National Nature Reserve 

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 

Planning Policy Guidance Note (a full list of 

current PPGs is included in the section on 

further information) 

Planning Policy Statement (a full list of 

current PPSs is included in the section on 

further information) 

proposed Special Protection Area 

Regional Economic Strategy 

Regionally Important Geological or 

Geomorphological Site 

FSLW 

The Future of Surrey’s Landscape and Woodlands 

RQO 

River Quality Objective 

GDP 

Gross Domestic Product 

RPG 

Regional Planning Guidance 

GLA 

Greater London Authority 

RPG9 

Regional Planning Guidance for the South East 

GOSE 

Government Office for the South East 

RTS 

Regional Transport Strategy 

HGV 

Heavy goods vehicle 

SAC 

Special Area of Conservation 

LPA 

Local planning authority 

SCC 

Surrey County Council 

LNR 

Local Nature Reserve 

SEEDA 

South East England Development Agency 

LTP 

MGB 

Local Transport Plan 

Metropolitan Green Belt 

SEERA 

South East England Regional Assembly 

(also known as the Regional Assembly) 

112 


acronyms, glossary and further information 

SLGA 

SNCI 

SPA 

Surrey Local Government Association 

SPG 

SSSI 

SUDS 

Supplementary Planning Guidance 

Site of Nature Conservation Importance 

Site of Special Scientific Interest 

Special Protection Area 

Sustainable Urban Drainage System 

Glossary 

Affordable housing – housing for people who cannot 

afford to buy or rent on the open market, usually subsidised 

housing for rent or home ownership provided by the local 

authorities or a registered social landlord, and where 

planning conditions or agreements exist to ensure that it 

remains affordable in perpetuity.This may include low cost 

market housing where a subsidy has been provided by the 

developer to reduce the initial costs (and the costs to all 

subsequent occupiers) of the housing to a level significantly 

below open market levels. 

After use – the ultimate purpose to which former mineral 

or waste disposal sites are returned. 

Agricultural land classification – the process used by the 

DEFRA to determine the quality of agricultural land. Grades 

1, 2 and 3a are classed as being the ‘best and most versatile’ 

land, and are deemed as being a nationally important 

resource for the future. Considerable weight should be 

attached to the protection of such land. 

Agriculture – includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed 

growing, dairy farming and livestock breeding and keeping, the 

use of the land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, 

market gardens and nursery grounds and the use of land for 

woodlands where that use is ancillary to the farming of land 

for other agricultural purposes. 

Air Quality Action Plans – programme for improvements 

to tackle sources of air pollution within air quality 

management areas. 

Air Quality Management Areas – areas to be established 

by borough and district councils following local assessment of 

air quality where individual pollutants are forecast to exceed 

standards defined in the National Air Quality Strategy. 

Airport related development – includes passenger and 

cargo terminals, maintenance facilities, oil storage depots, 

administrative offices, warehouses, storage and distribution 

facilities, car parking and catering facilities. 

Air Transport White Paper – published in 2003 as 

The Future of Air Transport, this is the most recent 

comprehensive statement of Government airports policy. 

AirTrack – a proposal to provide direct rail access to 

Heathrow from areas to the west and south, through the 

construction of a link from the airport to the London 

Waterloo line at Staines. 

Ancient semi-natural woodland – woodland which is 

likely to have existed since before 1600 and contains trees 

and shrubs that are predominantly native, not obviously 

planted but have arisen through natural regeneration or 

coppice regrowth. 



Archaeological assessment – procedure undertaken by 

developers prior to the submission of a planning application 

to inform the local planning authority of the likelihood or not 

that important archaeological remains may exist on the site 

in question. 

Area Action Plan – under the Planning & Compulsory 

Purchase Act 2004, these will be part of the local 

development framework for an area and will provide the 

planning framework for areas where significant change or 

conservation is needed, with an emphasis on implementation. 

Area of Great Landscape Value (AGLV) – an area 

designated by the County Council as being of high visual 

quality worthy of conservation. 

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – an 

area designated under the National Parks and Access to the 

Countryside Act 1949 as being of national importance for its 

natural beauty, which should be conserved and enhanced. In 

Surrey there are two designated areas, the Surrey Hills and 

part of the High Weald. 

Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) – 

the outcome of a systematic and consultative decisions 

making procedure which emphasises the protection and 

conservation of the environment across land, air and 

water.The BPEO procedure establishes, for a given set of 

objectives, the option that provides the most benefits or the 

least damage to the environment as a whole, at acceptable 

cost, in the long term as well as in the short term. 

Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPs) – strategies for 

conserving, restoring, enhancing and creating habitats of 

importance for flora and fauna in Surrey and the UK. 

Biomass – crops that can be burnt to produce energy, 

includes wood from short rotation coppice, waste from 

forestry operations and woodland management and straw. 

Building Research Establishment’s Environmental 

Assessment Method (BREEAM) – assesses the 

performance of buildings in terms of management, energy 

use, health and wellbeing, pollution, transport, ecology and 

water efficiency. BREEAM covers a range of building types 

including homes (known as EcoHomes), offices, schools, 

industrial units and retail. 

Buffer zones – land next to a watercourse managed to 

protect the water from the physical or polluting effects of 

human land use. 

Building energy rating – a system which measures the 

energy efficiency of building design. 

Bus Quality Partnership – co-operative arrangement 

between local authorities and operators to improve bus 

services. 

Business aviation – the operation of aircraft for corporate 

purposes or as sole-use charter or air taxi services. 

Business tourism – visiting for business purposes. 

Centres of strategic importance – towns within the 

county with a strong economic base and which as regional 

hubs have the potential to achieve a more sustainable growth 

in their employment and service functions. Sustainable 

growth in the towns should seek to maintain and increase 

the degree of self-containment of the local economy by 

increasing opportunities for the workforce to live locally, and 

respect the character and quality of the local environment. 

Circulars – documents issued by the Government setting 

out policy which has legal connotations. 

Combined heat and power (CHP) – technology for 

energy recovery systems, usually from waste but also 

applicable to other sources such as biomass, which provides 

both electricity and heat and can be linked to community 

heating schemes or to individual premises. 

114 



Common Agenda – a checklist of issues prepared by 

the Sustainable Surrey Forum needing to be addressed 

by all people and organisations within the county if a more 

sustainable Surrey is to become a reality. 

Community strategies – strategies prepared in response 

to the Local Government Act 2000. Duty placed on local 

authorities to address jointly with their communities issues 

facing the future economic, social and environmental 

wellbeing of the area. 

Conservation area – an area designated under the Town 

and Country Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation 

Areas) Act 1990 on account of its special architectural or 

historic interest, the character and appearance of which it 

is intended to preserve and enhance. 

Countryside – those areas of the county not included 

in urban areas defined in local plans/local development 

frameworks. 

Countryside Design Statement – a district wide 

statement that brings together guidance on the design of 

new development to ensure that it is compatible with the 

objective to conserve and enhance the character of the 

countryside. 

County Landscape Character Areas – 25 landscape 

character areas arising from the sub-division of the seven 

regional character areas set out in the former Countryside 

Commission’s National Map. 

Dearing Report – Higher Education in the Learning Society 

(1997) – a comprehensive review of high education 

commissioned by the Government and chaired by Sir Ron 

Dearing. 

Development briefs – documents describing in detail the 

local planning authority’s views on different aspects of the 

future development of a particular site, and which lists the 

requirements the council may have for the site. 

Development plan – a document which sets out a local 

planning authority's policies and proposals for the 

development and use of land within its area. In areas with 

county and district authorities it is currently comprised 

of structure and local plans. Under the provisions of the 

Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, following 

adoption of the South East Plan, the development plan will 

comprise the South East Plan and borough and district 

council local development frameworks. Development control 

decisions must conform to the development plan, unless 

material considerations indicate otherwise. 

District heating – a pipe network system for distributing 

heat from a central source to numerous end users; it can be 

linked to CHP plant or other energy generators. 

Diversification (agricultural) – broadening of agricultural 

enterprises to include new crops, added value processing of 

traditional crops, farm shops, tourism or non-agricultural 

enterprises, which improve the viability of existing holdings. 

Dwelling – self-contained separate residential 

accommodation with independent access. 

Earth science interests – the rich and diverse heritage of 

rocks, fossils, minerals and landforms which provide valuable 

insight into the natural heritage of an area. 

EcoHomes – dwellings subject to sustainable design and 

build principles. 

Economic Strategy – the Surrey Economic Strategy, 

developed and implemented by the Surrey Economic 

Partnership, aims to progress the sustainable development 

of the local economy. 

Edge of centre – a location within easy walking distance 

of a town centre. 

Employment land – land in office, research and 

development, industrial, storage and distribution use. 



Energy from waste (EfW) – the burning of waste to 

create heat that can be used directly or to generate 

electricity. 

Environmental Impact Assessment – a process of 

assessing the environmental implications of a proposal.A 

statutory requirement where proposed development is of a 

type listed in Schedule 1 to the Town and Country Planning 

(Environmental Impact Assessment) (England & Wales) 

Regulations 1999, or is of a type listed in Schedule 2 and 

is likely to have significant effects on the environment. 

Farm diversification – see Diversification. 

Fastway – a high quality passenger transport system linking 

the Crawley area with Gatwick and Horley.The scheme 

involves the use of state of the art buses with bus priority 

measures and sections of guided bus way. 

Freight Facilities Grant – funding provided by the 

Strategic Rail Authority to facilitate the movement of freight 

from road to rail. 

Freight Quality Partnership – an agreed arrangement 

between local authorities, working with the police, transport 

associations and local companies, to introduce a range of 

proposals and other measures for the improvement of road 

freight transport operations within a defined geographical 

area. 

Functional floodplain – the unobstructed or active parts 

of floodplains where water regularly flows in times of flood. 

General aviation – operation of aircraft for purposes other 

than military or commercial passenger flights available to the 

public, i.e. purposes such as training, recreation, business and 

other types of aerial work. 

Good accessibility – locations that are accessible within 

20 minutes door to door in the am peak hour by either foot, 

cycle or public transport, or any combination of these 

modes. (As it is not possible to assess accessibility from all 

possible origins to all possible destinations, homes are taken 

as the origins, and town centres, which provide the widest 

range of shopping, employment and leisure facilities, are 

taken as the destinations. Further details of the definition 

are included in the Local Transport Plan). 

Green corridors – linear routes, such as along rivers, and 

adjacent to railway lines and major roads, linking open spaces 

within the urban area and providing links between town and 

country; similar in concept to the ‘greenways’ promoted by 

the Countryside Agency. 

Green framework – the network of green spaces within 

urban areas, including parks and gardens, cemeteries, 

allotments, playing fields, informal play spaces and natural 

wild areas, and the green corridors (see above) which 

provide for interconnection and for links into the 

surrounding countryside. 

Green tourism – a range of initiatives to help reduce 

the negative impacts on landscapes and townscapes which 

tourism can bring, whilst seeking to maintain the benefits 

in terms of jobs, income, and support for local services. 

Greenfield land – land which has not been previously 

developed, either inside or outside the urban areas, including 

former mineral working which has been the subject of an 

agreed restoration programme. 

Greenspace Strategy – a strategic framework for coordinating 

the long term maintenance, improvement and 

protection of open spaces and corridors within settlements. 

Grey and green water recycling – the recycling of water 

from baths, showers and wash basins, and/or the use of 

rainwater, for the flushing of toilets and/or watering gardens. 

Groundwater – water present in underground strata which 

fills pores and fissures up to the water table. 

116 



Habitat action plans – drawn up as part of the 

Biodiversity Action Plan process, which is co-ordinated by 

the Surrey Biodiversity Partnership. Habitats are identified 

according to their importance on an international, national 

or Surrey scale. Each action plan has a lead partner to 

manage each working group. 

High, medium and low flood risk – high risk areas are 

those where the annual probability of flooding from rivers is 

1.0% or greater; low risk areas are those where the annual 

probability of flooding from rivers is 0.1% or less; medium 

risk areas cover the range between 0.1% and 1.0% 

probability. 

Highway Authority – for the purposes of the Highways 

Act 1980, Surrey County Council is defined as a local 

highway authority.This places a responsibility on the County 

Council for all roads within its administrative area, except 

for motorways and trunk roads. 

Horse Pasture Management Project – an initiative set 

up in 2002 by SCC and the Countryside Agency, this pilot 

scheme contributes to the conservation and enhancement of 

Surrey's landscape character and ecological resources by 

encouraging good standards of pasture management. 

Household – one person living alone or a family or group 

of people living at the same address and sharing domestic 

facilities and housekeeping arrangements. 

Housing strategy statement – a statutory document 

prepared by borough and district councils on an annual basis, 

setting out how housing needs will be addressed and how 

services will be delivered. 

Indicator – a measurement showing how much a situation 

has changed over time or how effective a policy has been. 

Infill development – development of a vacant site in a 

substantially developed frontage or area. 

Informal recreation – an activity in which participants 

require no specific skills or equipment. 

Internationally important site (nature conservation) 

– a site which has been identified as forming part of the 

network of European sites designated under the EU Habitats 

and Birds Directives, which are classified as Special Areas of 

Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Areas (SPA).Also 

includes wetlands of international importance notified under 

the Ramsar Convention. 

Key employment sites – includes modern business and 

research parks, older industrial estates and other industrial 

and employment areas.They do not all share the same 

attributes and characteristics but they do have particular 

advantages for continuing employment use, including: 

f a critical mass of employment uses and/or land for 

employment development which is, and will continue to 

be, capable of meeting a wide variety of business needs; 

f an emphasis on re-use and redevelopment of brownfield 

land and sites, and consequent reduced need to release 

greenfield sites; 

f a balanced geographical spread throughout the county; 

Criteria for identifying such sites include: 

f lying within or on the edge of town centres; 

f good accessibility for workers and potential workers by 

a choice of mode of transport including on foot and, 

wherever possible, by public transport; 

f sites lying within the urban or built-up area having direct 

access to the primary or secondary road network; 

f good accessibility for goods either to and from local 

markets and suppliers and/or to and from the primary 

route network, including locations with potential for 

rail connection. 



Key services (in rural settlements) – services which 

provide for the essential needs of village communities such as 

shops, post offices, health care and education. 

Key worker housing – housing for someone employed in a 

post that provides essential services necessary for continued 

economic growth and to sustain the quality of life. 

Knowledge based sectors – industries which utilise 

knowledge as a key asset and which develop or use advanced 

technologies. 

Land in existing waste management use – includes 

waste separation and recycling facilities, composting facilities, 

incinerators and other energy from waste facilities, landfill 

operations and waste transfer stations. 

Land management – the process of managing the use of 

land, usually areas of countryside, to maintain its character – 

landscape, biodiversity, woodland cover and cultural heritage 

– whilst promoting access for recreation and supporting a 

viable agricultural economy. 

Landbank – a stock of land intended for a particular 

purpose. In minerals planning a stock of planning permissions 

for the winning and working of minerals. 

Landfill – the disposal of waste material by tipping into 

holes in the ground. May be used to landscape or reclaim 

excavated or despoiled land. 

Landfill gas exploitation – use of energy derived from 

gas produced in landfill sites from the decomposition of 

organic waste material to generate electricity or as a 

substitute for other fuel used in industrial processes. 

Lifetime Homes – concept developed by the Joseph 

Rowntree Foundation. Dwellings built to Lifetime Homes 

standards contain 16 specific design features to ensure 

that the dwellings are adaptable and flexible enough to 

meet the changing needs of a household over time. 

Light aviation – the operation of small aeroplanes, 

microlights, gliders, hang-gliders, paragliders and electronic 

and associated equipment.This includes pilot training schools, 

clubs and maintenance suppliers, but excludes helicopters 

and business aviation 

Listed building – a building of special historic or 

architectural interest listed by the Secretary of State for 

Culture, Recreation and Sport under the Town and Country 

Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. 

Local Heritage Initiative – a national grant scheme run 

by the Countryside Agency to help local groups investigate, 

explain, and care for their local landscape, landmarks, 

tradition and culture. 

Local Nature Reserve (LNR) – an area designated by 

local authorities, in consultations with English Nature, under 

the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, 

to provide opportunities for educational use and public 

enjoyment, in addition to protecting wildlife or geological and 

physiographical features of special interest. 

Local plan/local development framework – a detailed 

land use plan for a local area (normally a borough or district) 

or a specific topic (e.g. waste) concerned with the detailed 

implementation of the policies of a structure plan. Under the 

provisions of the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, 

local plans will be replaced by local development frameworks, 

which will comprise a folder of documents for delivering the 

spatial strategy of an area, consistent with the community 

strategy and in general conformity with the regional spatial 

strategy. 

Local Transport Plan (LTP) – the Local Transport Plan is 

Surrey County Council’s statement of transport strategy and 

its bid, submitted to Government in July 2000, for capital 

transport funds for the years 2001/02 to 2005/06.A second 

LTP will be submitted to Government in July 2005 for the 

next five year period from 2006/07 to 2010/11. 

118 



Low cost market housing – housing provided by private 

sector developers at a purchase price significantly below than 

for similar properties available elsewhere in the locality. It 

does not mean either smaller housing or housing of a lower 

standard of construction or finish. 

Masterplan – a comprehensive phased land use plan, 

incorporating layout, design, landscaping, access and all other 

planning arrangements, with an implementation programme. 

Maximum parking standards – the maximum number of 

off-street car parking spaces permitted for a development 

proposal by land use type, dependent on location and 

accessibility by non-car modes of travel. 

Metropolitan Green Belt – predominantly open land 

around urban areas which has the strategic role of checking 

the unrestricted sprawl of the town, safeguarding the 

surrounding countryside from encroachment, assisting in 

urban regeneration and providing areas where outdoor 

recreational activities can take place and wildlife habitats be 

maintained. 

Minerals Policy Guidance (MPG)/Minerals Policy 

Statements (MPS) – guidance issued by the Office of the 

Deputy Prime Minister setting out the Government’s policies 

for mineral extraction and restoration.These will be replaced 

over time by a series of Minerals Planning Statements (see 

Planning Policy Statements). 

Mineral working – the preparation of the ground and 

extraction of minerals. In Surrey, the main minerals that can 

be worked are sand and gravel, soft sand, silica sand, clay, 

fullers earth, chalk and hydrocarbons. 

Minimum parking standards – the minimum number of 

cycle parking spaces or disabled car parking spaces required 

for a development proposal by land use type. 

Mixed use – areas where a mixture of commercial, retail 

and residential uses predominate. 

Multi-modal transport – a means of undertaking a 

journey by a number of alternative forms of transport i.e., 

by rail, bus, cycle, on foot or by car. 

Multi purpose woodland management – the 

management of existing woodlands for a variety of purposes 

generally to include commercial timber, access for recreation 

and nature conservation. 

Multi use corridors – corridors of open land within urban 

areas which are used for a variety of purposes, including 

movement, recreation, wildlife conservation. 

National Nature Reserve (NNR) – a SSSI which is 

particularly important in national terms and is owned, leased 

or managed by agreement with English Nature. 

Natural Area – an area identified by English Nature (in 

conjunction with the former Countryside Commission’s 

work on Character Areas) which characterises locally 

distinctive areas of countryside based on the distribution of 

wildlife and natural features. 

Natural Areas Profile – details of characteristics, threats 

and opportunities for nature conservation within Natural 

Areas. 

Net density/residential density – as defined in PPG3. 

Density of a development including only those areas to be 

developed. It excludes major distributor roads, primary 

schools, open spaces serving a wider area and significant 

landscape buffer strips. 

Out of centre – a location that is clearly separate from a 

town, district or local centre, but not necessarily outside an 

urban area. 

Parish plans – comprehensive strategies prepared by local 

communities setting out a vision for how the community 

should develop in the future, identifying actions needed to 

tackle areas of concern and demonstrating how distinctive 

character and features can be preserved. 



Park and Ride – facilities which seek to reduce urban 

congestion by encouraging motorists to leave their vehicles 

at car parks on the edge of towns and proceed into the 

centre by public transport, usually buses, direct from the 

parking area. 

Parking Management Plan – district level plan to 

implement schedule of measures outlined in countywide 

strategy and to meet aims and objectives of Local Transport 

Plan. 

Parking Package Areas – areas in and around town 

centres where a package of various parking measures will 

apply together with more restrictive parking standards for 

new development proposals. 

A Parking Strategy for Surrey – a document produced 

by the County Council setting out a strategy covering all 

aspects of car parking across the county including car and 

cycle parking standards in new development, public parking 

spaces and on-street parking. 

Plan, Monitor, Manage – an approach to the provision of 

housing, in which local authorities plan for a particular level 

of housing provision, regularly monitor the supply and 

demand of housing and make adjustments to the planned 

provision in the light of the monitoring information. 

Planning obligation – the provision of facilities and/or 

infrastructure either directly by a developer, or through a 

financial contribution, to meet needs arising out of a 

development and without which the development could 

not take place. 

Planning Policy Guidance (PPG)/Planning Policy 

Statements (PPS) – guidance issued by the Office of the 

Deputy Prime Minister setting out the Government's policy 

on planning issues such as housing, employment, shopping and 

tourism. PPGs will be replaced by a series of PPS intended to 

provide clear statements of national policy principles which 

should be followed at the regional and local level, 

accompanied by good practice guides (where necessary) 

which can be interpreted more flexibly. 

Previously developed land – defined for the purposes of 

housing policy in PPG3 as land which is or was occupied by 

a permanent (non-agricultural) structure and associated fixed 

surface infrastructure, including the curtilage of the 

development, in urban and rural areas. It includes defence 

buildings and land used for mineral extraction and waste 

disposal where provision for restoration has not been made 

through development control procedures. It excludes land 

and buildings that have been used for agricultural purposes, 

forest and woodland, and land in built-up areas which has not 

been developed previously.Also excluded is land that was 

previously developed but where the remains of any structure 

or activity have blended in to the landscape in the process of 

time (to the extent that it can reasonably be considered as 

part of the natural surroundings), or has subsequently been 

put to an amenity use and cannot be regarded as requiring 

development. 

Primary Route Network – network of regionally 

significant routes or routes for longer distance travel. 

Priority housing groups – those households who are 

defined as being in priority housing need by borough and 

district councils through local housing need surveys. 

Proximity principle – waste should be disposed of as close 

as possible to where it arises. 

Public open space – an open space to which the public 

have rights of access for recreation/leisure. 

Railhead facilities – sidings and other infrastructure which 

facilitate the movement of freight, minerals or waste by rail, 

in order to reduce the overall environmental impact of HGV 

freight movements. 

120 



Ramsar Convention – an international agreement signed 

in Ramsar, Iran, to protect wetlands of importance for wild 

birds. 

Ramsar site – a wetland site of international importance 

(especially as waterfowl habitat) designated by the Secretary 

of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. 

Recreation and leisure facilities – built and open land 

designated in existing local plans (and in future in local 

development frameworks) for the carrying out of sports, 

leisure, cultural and entertainment activities, but excluding 

hotels and other serviced accommodation. 

Regional hubs – existing urban areas that are of regional 

significance and where the potential to build upon existing 

transport networks to achieve higher accessibility by non-car 

modes provides the opportunity for the urban areas to 

support the Regional Transport Strategy by being the focus 

for economic development. 

Regional Planning Guidance (RPG) – non-statutory 

document produced by the regional offices of Government 

(GOSE in the South East) setting out guidance on the 

regional framework for the preparation of local authority 

development plans (structure and local plans). 

Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) – a statutory document 

prepared by the Regional Assembly and approved by the 

Government Office, setting out a regionally specific set of 

policies to guide development and including specific subregional 

strategies where greater detail is required.The RSS 

(or South East Plan in this region) is intended to replace 

RPG9 by the end of 2006 and will provide the statutory 

framework for future local development frameworks. 

Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) – the Regional 

Transport Strategy is prepared as part of Regional Planning 

Guidance. It sets out policies and proposals for sustainable 

transport that are of regional significance and that integrate 

with the land use planning framework. 

Regionally Important Geological or 

Geomorphological Site (RIGs) – an area of earth science 

interest which is of county significance. 

Registered social landlords – not for profit private sector 

organisations, providing affordable housing and regulated by 

the Housing Corporation. 

Renewable energy – energy generated from the sun, the 

wind, hydro power and plant material (biomass). 

Restoration – in minerals and waste planning, the return 

of land to its former condition using subsoil, topsoil and/or 

soil making material. 

River corridor – land which has visual, physical or 

ecological links to a watercourse which will vary in width 

and landform depending on the reach of the river and the 

nature of the underlying geology. 

River Quality Objective (RQO) – the level of water 

quality that a river should achieve in order to be suitable 

for its agreed uses. 

Rural settlement – settlements in the countryside for 

which village envelopes are designated in existing local plans 

(in future in local development frameworks), but excluding 

small hamlets and other scattered or loose-knit areas of 

housing. 

Scheduled (Ancient) Monument – an archaeological site 

of national importance which is included on a schedule 

compiled by the Secretary of State for Culture, Sport and 

Recreation under the terms of the Ancient Monuments and 

Archaeological Areas Act 1979 (as amended by the National 

Heritage Act 1983). 

Secondary employment sites – includes sites where: 

f there are public transport accessibility and/or amenity 

problems; 

f access to the site is constrained; 



f the site is isolated in a residential area; 

f there is a history of evidence indicating a lack of interest 

in the site for business use. 

Section 105 maps – surveys prepared by the Environment 

Agency under Section 105 of the Water Resources Act 1991 

to define the nature and extent of flood risks. 

Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI) – 

an area (non-statutory) designated by the Surrey Nature 

Conservation Liaison Group as being of county or regional 

wildlife value. 

Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) – an area of 

land or water statutorily notified by English Nature under 

the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, on account of its 

flora, fauna, geological or physiographical features.All NNRs, 

RAMSAR sites, SACs and SPAs have also been notified as SSSIs. 

Social & community needs – a wide range of services 

and facilities provided for the local community (in town and 

country) such as health services including the provision of 

hospitals and GP surgeries, social care provision including 

day care facilities, nursing and residential care homes (but 

excluding private sheltered housing schemes), homes for 

people with physical and learning difficulties and those with 

mental illness, educational facilities including child care, preschool 

nurseries, schools and after school clubs, places of 

worship, facilities for local clubs and societies and young 

people. 

Social cohesion – ensuring equal opportunity of access to 

services and facilities to all sections of the community. 

Special Area of Conservation (SAC) – an SSSI 

additionally designated a Special Area of Conservation under 

the EU’s Habitats Directive 1992 (92/43/EEC), in order to 

maintain or restore priority natural habitats and wild species. 

Together with SPAs, SACs comprise the European Union’s 

‘Natura 2000’ network of habitats of pan-European nature 

conservation importance. 

Special Protection Area (SPA) – an SSSI additionally 

designated a Special Protection Area under the EU’s Directive 

(79/409/EEC) on the Conservation of Wild Birds 1979, 

because of the need to protect threatened birds, their eggs, 

nests and habitats. 

Strategic gap – an area of largely open land between 

existing urban areas which helps to maintain their separate 

identity and amenity and prevent their coalescence with each 

other or with very close small settlements. 

Strategic Rail Authority – a public sector body set up by 

the Government to provide strategic guidance in the planning 

of the railway system. It sets the framework within which 

Network Rail and train companies operate and is responsible 

for franchising the train company contracts. 

Supplementary planning guidance/supplementary 

planning documents – detailed interpretation of policies 

to aid implementation. SPG may be taken forward and 

incorporated into the local development frameworks as 

supplementary planning documents. SPD will form part of the 

planning framework for the area, but will not form part of 

the statutory development plan. 

Surrey Biodiversity Partnership – the biodiversity 

initiative relies on a joint approach, which is essential for the 

successful production and implementation of the Surrey 

Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), including Habitat Action Plans, 

which is why the Partnership was formed in 1996. Partners 

are: English Nature, Environment Agency, Farming and Wildlife 

Advisory Group, Herpetological Conservation Trust, Royal 

Society for the Protection of Birds, Surrey County Council, 

Surrey Wildlife Trust and Woking Borough Council. 

122 



Surrey Farm Study (Two) – published in February 2003 

by the Surrey Learning & Skills Council and Business Link 

Surrey for the Surrey Working in the Countryside Group, 

this reviews the findings from the Surrey Farm Study 1999 

as these had shown a sector in distress with many farms 

fearing for their survival. 

Surrey's Rural Strategy – published as Surrey's Countryside 

– The Future in April 2004, this is a comprehensive strategy 

for rural areas prepared in partnership with a wide range of 

countryside interest groups, which seeks to integrate 

conservation with economic and social objectives. 

Sustainable development – ensuring a better quality of 

life for everyone now and for generations to come. 

Sustainable economic growth – adding value to the local 

economy without compromising environmental quality or 

social objectives. 

Sustainable urban drainage systems – providing 

drainage in a more environmentally sustainable way by 

systems designed to reduce the quantity of run-off, slow its 

velocity or provide for filtering, sedimentation and biological 

degradation of the water. 

Thameslink 2000 – a strategic rail infrastructure project 

intended to enhance the existing Thameslink network 

throughout London and the South East of England and to 

allow the introduction of new cross London services. 

Townscape Heritage Initiative – a Heritage Lottery Fund 

initiative to support strategic action by partnerships of public 

(and other) bodies to address problems of disrepair, erosion 

of quality, and under use of buildings in historic areas. 

Transport assessment – a report submitted with a 

planning application which assesses the transport and 

environmental impact of development proposals on the 

surrounding area. 

Transport Authority – for the purposes of the Transport 

Act 2000, Surrey County Council is defined as a local 

transport authority.This places a number of responsibilities 

on the County Council including, for example, the 

requirement to produce a Local Transport Plan. 

Transport Programme Areas – the 17 local 

implementation programme areas set out in the Local 

Transport Plan. 

Transport White Paper – published in July 1998 as 

A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England, this sets out the 

Government's approach to transport policy and provides the 

framework in which these policies will be taken forward. 

Travel plan – a document most commonly produced for 

large employers such as schools and colleges, which tend to 

generate a large number of journeys by car.The plans include 

measures designed to reduce car dependency and facilitate 

transport choice, by encouraging more sustainable 

alternatives to car use. 

Unsuitably located employment land – land in 

employment use, which is poorly located in terms of public 

transport and/or vehicular access and/or where there are 

intractable problems of compatibility with adjacent uses, e.g. 

maintaining residential amenity. 

Urban area – those areas of the county not covered by 

Metropolitan Green Belt or other countryside designations. 

Urban fringe land – countryside surrounding urban areas, 

often subject to development pressures or pressures from 

people living in towns which threaten the management of the 

countryside. 

Urban open land – all forms of open land within urban 

areas to include open spaces available for formal recreation, 

formal and informal green areas, allotments and natural 

corridors such as river valleys. 



Urban renaissance – the process of encouraging the 

redevelopment and renewal of the built environment within 

urban areas to provide a high quality environment and reduce 

the pressures for the decentralisation of people and activity 

from conurbations. 

Utility operations – gas, electricity, water, sewerage and 

telecommunications functions. 

Village Design Statements – projects undertaken by the 

local community to identify the features and characteristics, 

both built and natural, which contribute to the distinctiveness 

of the settlement and provide guidance to future 

development to ensure that a high quality environment is 

maintained. 

Windfall development – a site which becomes available 

for housing as a result of a planning permission granted on 

land which has not been previously identified within the 

development plan or adopted development briefs. 

Wood pasture – a habitat which is characterised by a 

mixture of large trees (often pollarded) at varying densities, 

in a mosaic of grazed grassland, heath or woodland. 

Woodland cover – the extent of woodland cover in an 

area as measured by the periodic reviews undertaken by the 

Forestry Commission. 

124 



Further information 

Surrey County Council documents 

Available from: 

Surrey County Council 

Sustainable Development 

County Hall 

Kingston upon Thames KT1 2DY 

Tel: 020 8541 9926 

www.surreycc.gov.uk 

f Shops and Services in Surrey’s Town Centres 

(October 2001) 

f A Parking Strategy for Surrey (March 2003) 

f Development Plan Index 

f Structure Plan Monitoring Scheme 

f Surrey Biodiversity Action Plan (1999) 

f Surrey’s Countryside – The Future: 

Rural Strategy (April 2004) 

f Surrey Economic Partnership Five Steps Strategy 2003 

f Surrey’s Heritage Strategy (2001) 

f Surrey Tourism Strategy 2000 – 2005 

f Surrey Housing Capacity Study (2003) 

f Surrey Local Transport Plan 2001/02 to 2005/06 

(July 2000) 

f Surrey Minerals Local Plan (1993) 

f Surrey Waste Local Plan (1997) 

f Surrey Design (2002) 

f Infrastructure and Amenity Requirements to Support 

New Development (2002 – web site only) 

f The Future of Surrey’s Landscape and Woodlands (1997) 

f Historic Landscape Characterisation 

f Extensive Urban Archaeology Strategy 

Department for Transport (DfT) documents 

Available at www.dft.gov.uk and from: 

TSO 

PO Box 29 

Norwich NR3 1GN 

Tel: 0870 600 5522 

book.orders@tso.co.uk 

f The Future of Air Transport,White Paper December 2003 

f A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England, 

White Paper July 1998 

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 

(DEFRA) documents 

Available at www.defra.gov.uk and from: 

TSO 

PO Box 29 


Tel: 0870 600 5522 


f UK Biodiversity Action Plan (1994) 

f UK Sustainable Development Strategy (1999) 

f National Air Quality Strategy (1997) 

f England Rural Development Programme 



Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) 

documents 

Available at www.odpm.gov.uk and from: 

TSO 

PO Box 29 


Tel: 0870 600 5522 


f Mineral Planning Guidance Notes (MPGs) 

MPGs most relevant are: 

MPG1 General Considerations and the Development 

Plan System 

MPG6 Guidelines for Aggregates Provision in England 

f Planning Policy Statements (PPSs) 

PPSs currently available are: 

PPS1 Delivering Sustainable Development 

PPS6 Planning for Town Centres 

PPS7 Sustainable Development in Rural Areas 

PPS11 Regional Spatial Strategies 

PPS12 Local Development Frameworks 

PPS22 Renewable Energy 

PPS23 Planning and Pollution Control 

f Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPGs) 

PPGs currently available are: 

PPG2 Green Belts (1995) 

PPG3 Housing (2000) 

PPG4 Industrial and Commercial Development 

and Small Firms (1992) 

PPG5 Simplified Planning Zones (1992) 

PPG8 Telecommunications (2001) 

PPG9 Nature Conservation (1994) 

PPG10 Planning and Waste Management (1997) 

PPG11 Regional Planning (2000) 

PPG12 Development Plans (1999) 

PPG13 Transport (2001) 

PPG14 Development on Unstable Land (1990) 

PPG15 Planning and the Historic Environment (1994) 

PPG16 Archaeology and Planning (1990) 

PPG17 Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation 

(2002) 

PPG18 Enforcing Planning Control (1991) 

PPG19 Outdoor Advertisement Control (1992) 

PPG20 Coastal Planning (1992) 

PPG21 Tourism (1992) 

PPG23 Planning and Pollution Control 1994) 

PPG24 Planning and Noise (1994) 

PPG25 Development and Flood Risk (2001) 

Forestry Commission 

Silvan House 

231 Corstophine Road 

Edinburgh EH12 7AT 

www.forestry.gov.uk 

f England Forestry Strategy 1998 

126 



Other documents/information 

f Local plans and information on local 

development frameworks available 

from borough/district councils: 

Elmbridge Borough Council 

Civic Centre 

High Street 

Esher 

Surrey KT10 9SD 

Tel: 01372 474474 

www.elmbridge.gov.uk 

Epsom and Ewell Borough Council 

Town Hall 

The Parade 

Epsom 

Surrey KT18 5BY 

Tel:01372 732000 

www.epsom-ewell.gov.uk 

Guildford Borough Council 

Millmead House 

Guildford 

Surrey GU2 5BB 

Tel: 01483 505050 

www.guildford.gov.uk 

Mole Valley District Council 

Pippbrook 

Dorking 

Surrey RH4 1SJ 

Tel: 01306 885001 

www.mole-valley.gov.uk 

Reigate and Banstead 

Borough Council 

Town Hall 

Reigate 

Surrey RH2 0SH 

Tel: 01737 276000 

www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk 

Runnymede Borough Council 

Civic Offices 

Station Road 

Addlestone 

Surrey KT15 2AH 

Tel: 01932 838383 

www.runnymede.gov.uk 

Spelthorne Borough Council 

Council Offices 

Knowle Green 

Staines TW18 1XB 

Tel: 01784 451499 

www.spelthorne.gov.uk 

Surrey Heath Borough Council 

Surrey Heath House 

Knoll Road 

Camberley 

Surrey GU15 3HD 

Tel: 01276 707100 

www.surreyheath.gov.uk 

Tandridge District Council 

Council Offices 

Station Road East 

Oxted 

Surrey RH8 0BT 

Tel: 01883 722000 

www.tandridgedc.gov.uk 

Waverley Borough Council 

The Burys 

Godalming 

Surrey GU7 1HR 

Tel: 01483 523333 

www.waverley.gov.uk 

Woking Borough Council 

Civic Offices 

Gloucester Square 

Woking 

Surrey GU21 1YL 

Tel: 01483 755855 

www.woking.gov.uk 



f Regional Planning Guidance for the 

South East (RPG9)(2001) available 

from: 

Government Office for the 

South East 

Bridge House 

1 Walnut Tree Close 

Guildford GU1 4GA 

Tel: 01483 882255 

www.go-se.gov.uk 

f Regional Transport Strategy 2004) 

available from: 

The South East England 

Regional Assembly 

Berkeley House 

Cross Lanes 

Guildford GU1 1UN 

Tel: 01483 555200 

www.southeast-ra.gov.uk 

f Regional Economic Strategy 

2002–2012 available from: 

South East England 

Development Agency 

SEEDA Headquarters 

Cross Lanes 

Guildford GU1 1YA 

Tel: 01483 484200 

www.seeda.co.uk 

Other organisations 

Countryside Agency – the statutory 

body working to conserve and enhance 

the countryside, to promote social 

equity and economic opportunity for 

the people who live there and to help 

everyone, wherever they live, to enjoy 

this national asset. 

The Countryside Agency 

Dacre House 

19 Dacre Street 

London SW1H 0DH 

Tel: 020 7340 2900 

www.countryside.gov.uk 

English Nature – Government agency 

that champions the conservation of 

wildlife and natural features throughout 

England. 

English Nature 

Sussex and Surrey Team 

(Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, 

West Sussex & Surrey) 

Phoenix House 

32-33 North Street 

Lewes 

East Sussex BN7 2PH 

Tel: 01273 476595 

www.english-nature.org.uk 

English Heritage – the Government's 

lead agency for the historic 

environment in England, responsible for 

protecting the best of this country's 

unique legacy of historic buildings, 

landscapes and archaeological sites 

for the benefit of this and future 

generations. 

English Heritage 

South East Region 

Eastgate Court 

195-205 High Street 

Guildford, GU1 3EH 

Tel: 01483 252000 

www.english-heritage.org.uk 

Highways Agency – manages, 

maintains, and improves the network of 

trunk roads and motorways in England 

on behalf of the Secretary of State for 

Transport. 

Highways Agency 

Federated House 

London Road 

Dorking RH4 1SZ 

Tel: 08459 556575 

www.highways.gov.uk 

128 



Environment Agency – Government 

agency set up to deliver a wide range 

of environmental regulatory and 

management duties concerned with 

water, air and land contamination. 

Environment Agency 

Swift House 

Frimley Business Park 

Camberley GU16 5SQ 

Tel: 01276 454300 

www.environment-agency.gov.uk 

Surrey Economic Partnership – 

comprises Surrey County Council and 

other organisations from the public, 

private and voluntary sectors involved 

in economic development within 


Surrey Economic Partnership 

Surrey Technology Centre 

Ockham Road 

Surrey Research Park 

Guildford GU2 7YG 

Tel: 01483 685230 

www.surreyeconomic 

partnership.org 

Sport England – leads the 

development of sport in England by 

influencing and serving the public, 

private and voluntary sectors. 

Sport England 

3rd Floor Victoria House 

Bloomsbury Square 

London WC1B 4SE 

Tel: 08458 508508 

www.sportengland.org 


Surrey County Council | County Hall | Kingston Upon Thames | KT1 2DY 

www.surreycc.gov.uk 

ISBN 1 899706 77 1 

© Surrey County Council 

March 2005 

Printed on recycled paper and board | Production managed by The Communications Team 

04/05/3K/The Em Space/CS0536

SURREY STRUCTURE PLAN 2004 - Surrey County Council

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