Huge Surrey homes plan for former green belt land 'completely inappropriate' despite £4.5m pledge for area

Plans for over 450 new homes on former green belt land in West Byfleet will be unveiled this week.

The designs for the houses will be shown at a public exhubition, despite local concerns over infrastructure pressures including surface water flooding.

The proposals by Barratt David Wilson Homes for 461 houses and 15 traveller pitches near West Hall, in Parvis Road, will be presented at an exhibition on Saturday, February 24, where residents can view designs and question developers about impacts.

The developers say the project would bring more than £4.5 million into Woking Borough Council’s pockets, although opponents have ‘immense concern” on the impact the sudden influx of housing would have on local infrastructure.

Councillor Josh Brown (CON; Byfleet and West Byfleet) said the plans were ‘completely inappropriate’ and he hoped residents will have their say. He said in a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It is so important for all those across Byfleet and West Byfleet and the surrounding areas to attend the public exhibition and get their voices heard loud and clear.

Standing water on former green belt land where developers hope to build hundreds of homes (Image Cllr Josh Brown)

“Like many residents, I share the immense concern and worry about the prospect of this development, particularly on its impact on our local infrastructure, which was one of the main reasons why I voted against the removal of this site from the green belt back in 2021. It’s clear to me that a proposal…is completely inappropriate.”

He claimed that the area had a ‘shocking’ amount of water flooding – which the developers deny is an issue. He said: “There remains many questions and concerns about how this development will mitigate against increased pressures on healthcare, educational and transport infrastructure. I visited the site just last week, and the amount of surface water flooding was just shocking.”

Woking Borough Council stripped the site of its green belt protected status as part of a review to identify how it would meet housing targets. As part of the plans, developers want to include 230 affordable homes, a new children’s play area and what it describes as “the enhancement of the historic apple orchard”.

A spokesperson for the company said: “A transport assessment will also be completed to identify any necessary requirements that are needed. We expect to contribute over £4.5 million to local community infrastructure through S106 and Community Infrastructure Levy payments.

“The Environment Agency has confirmed that the site is not on a flood plain and is an area of low risk from surface water flooding. We are hosting a drop-in public consultation on Saturday February 24 from 10:30am at St John’s Church to share our proposed plans and to hear feedback from the local community.”