A BLUEPRINT which dictates where homes can be built in the Reigate and Banstead borough over the next 13 years has finally been approved by the borough council.
The Core Strategy – which earmarks possible development land up to 2027 – was adopted at a full council meeting last Thursday, to the sound of applause from councillors in the room.
The plan has taken more than two years to come to fruition, after both a Government planning minister and the Prime Minister joined the debate on whether parts of the borough's green belt should be included in the list of possible development sites.
To the dismay of some, two "sustainable urban extensions" into the green belt capable of housing up to 700 homes each – one to the east of Redhill and Merstham and another to the south and south-west of Reigate – have been included in the plan.
On finally adopting the strategy last week – still including these references – councillors approved a caveat which promises "green belt sites will only be released for development if the council is unable to demonstrate a five-year supply of housing sites from other sources". The plan will also be reviewed within the next five years.
Reigate MP Crispin Blunt and the council have repeatedly clashed over the green belt references.
The MP has previously accused the council of being "weak" by including the green belt in its development plans.
But after the announcement, Mr Blunt and the leader of Reigate and Banstead Council Councillor Victor Broad issued a joint statement which said: "We welcome the adoption of the Core Strategy and congratulate the officers who have worked hard and long to produce the final document.
"In his report on the Core Strategy, Planning Inspector Martin Pike verified that there is an immediate five-year supply of land available through the council's 'urban areas first' approach.
"This means that there is enough land away from green fields in the green belt to satisfy the borough's housing need for the next five years."
Councillors have pledged to monitor the borough's housing needs and begin a review of the Core Strategy within five years.
Mr Blunt and Cllr Broad also assured residents that green belt sites would not be considered for development if other land was available, and said they do not forsee the problem arising before the review in five years time.
The council's decision means all planning applications will be now be assessed against the Core Strategy, alongside saved policies in the Borough Local Plan 2005.
In a statement published after the meeting Green Party councillor Sarah Finch said she had decided to vote for the plan because to alter or change it any further would cause further delays, leaving the council and the green belt vulnerable to "planning by appeal".
