A BARRISTER will represent a residents' pressure group at a public inquiry next week.
The four-day hearing, starting on Tuesday, will look at claims that 500 houses need to be built in the district each year – far more than Tandridge District Council is planning.
Outwood-based Village Developments, which has pressed for the public inquiry, contends that Tandridge needs many more homes.
The company claims the council's Core Strategy – currently under review – only allows for 125 extra dwellings in the district annually, which it insists is far too low.
But Oxted and Limpsfield Residents' Group supports the council's plan and says Village Developments' proposal would put too much strain on the area's infrastructure.
The group carried out a public appeal to fund a barrister to represent them at the inquiry.
In its newsletter it said: "This inquiry could open the way for thousands more homes to be built in the Tandridge district, threatening the local green belt and putting pressure on local infrastructure."
The inquiry, chaired by an independent inspector, starts at 10am at the council's offices in Station Road East, Oxted.