Merstham 35 Homes Deferred, Banstead Care Home Approved

A decision on 35 homes south of Woodlands Close in Merstham has been put off after councillors raised concerns about the private road that would serve them. The same Planning Committee approved a 64-bed dementia care home on Garratts Lane in Banstead.

Both decisions were taken on Wednesday 30 September. The minutes were published on Friday.

The results

Merstham: why the homes were put off

The Woodlands Close land is allocated for housing in the council’s 2019 local plan. Officers had recommended approval. The application seeks outline permission, deciding only the access for now.

That access is the problem. The new homes would be reached through Woodlands Close, an existing cul-de-sac. Two objectors spoke at the meeting, one a director of the Woodlands Close Management Company. According to the minutes, they said:

• Woodlands Close is a private road, managed and paid for by its 20 households
• it is narrow and block paved, with no footpaths and no street lighting
• traffic could be about three times its current level
• the applicant has not shown it has the legal right to use the road this much
• the lead local flood authority still objects to the drainage

The applicant’s agent said the land had always been seen as a second phase of Woodlands Close. The agent said the applicant holds the access rights it needs and disputes the residents’ claim. The transport assessment, the agent said, predicts about 19 vehicles in the morning rush hour. The agent also told the committee that all key consultees, including the flood and highway authorities, have no objection subject to conditions.

The two sides disagree on the flood authority’s position. The minutes record both claims and do not settle it.

The council’s Head of Planning and Regulatory Services told members that access rights are a civil matter, not a planning one. Councillors still raised worries about the road. They noted that the bin lorry already has to reverse into the existing close.

Members also said they needed more time to read an addendum to the agenda that arrived that afternoon. Cllr Harp proposed a deferral and Cllr Walsh seconded it. The committee voted to defer the application to its next meeting.

The officer report sets out what the scheme offers:

• 12 of the 35 homes (35%) would be affordable
• 60% of those would be for affordable or social rent, and 40% shared ownership
• £8,868 towards the School Hill junction with the A23 London Road

Banstead: an 18-bed home becomes a 64-bed one

The Garratts Lane site already holds a care home, with 18 beds. The officer report sets out the change:

The new building would have four floors, including a basement for the kitchen, plant room and staff areas. There would also be an ambulance and minibus drop-off bay and seven cycle spaces. The report cites a needs assessment by Carterwood. It forecasts a need for 60 dedicated dementia bedspaces within the borough by 2029.

Some councillors thought the scheme dense and worried about parking spilling onto nearby roads, the minutes say. One suggested the chimneys should better match the arts and crafts houses nearby. Permission was granted with a note asking the applicant to consider strengthening the chimney detail.

The other two

• Carrington School, Redhill: approved, with a note about construction traffic after members raised safety concerns. The single-storey block has two practical classrooms, a prep room, an office and toilets.
• Firbank, Holly Lane, Banstead: approved. Cllr Michael Blacker, the committee’s vice-chair, declared a pecuniary interest because he had been asked to do paid work on the application. He left the room while it was decided.

What it means for you

• Woodlands Close and Merstham: the 35 homes come back to the committee at its next meeting, on Wednesday 28 October at 7.30pm. That date was brought forward a week at this meeting. The papers will be on the council’s committee site about a week before.
• Garratts Lane neighbours: the conditions on the permission will appear on the decision notice on the planning register under 26/00734/F.
• This was one of the last 15-member committees. From 31 October national rules shrink it to 13 and send more decisions to officers, as we reported.