Homes and traveller pitch approved on former green belt

Up to 107 homes and a traveller pitch have been approved on former Surrey green belt land despite more than 300 letters of objection.

Reigate and Banstead Borough Council's planning committee signed off on the proposal to demolish four buildings at Oakley Farm, off Bletchingley Road in Merstham between the M23 and M25.

The developers, Taylor Wimpey UK, said there would be a mix of affordable homes and other properties would be for for older people.

Critics, however, said the town was already at breaking point and the increase in housing would bring crumbling infrastructure to its knees and overburden the roads, schools and healthcare, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Conservative councillor Michael Blacker said the local GP surgery was not enough to support the new homes.

"Building all these houses, fine, but we also have to think about all the services and there basically won't be any," he added.

The developer said 23 homes would be for social rental with another 15 to be sold at affordable levels.

It added stables on the site would be restored and used for offices.

In the planning documents seen by the LDRS, the site had been removed from the green belt in 2019 and allocated for housing.

The developer said it would provide details on the layout and sizes of the homes within the next three years.

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