PLANS for a block of flats in one of Caterham's semi-rural roads are dividing local opinion.
Neighbours are split over the five-storey, 12-flat scheme for Stanstead Road – a cut-through between Redhill and Caterham, which has been the subject of residents' safety concerns.
The road was largely tree-lined and fronted by detached houses until about five years ago.
Since then, it has been inundated with a series of developments involving the demolition of long-standing houses to make way for clusters of flats.
The latest proposal centres on the site of a former nursing home, demolished four years ago.
Near-neighbour John Sherwill said the road is narrow and unsuitable for any extra traffic.
He added: "It is close to busy Church Hill, and any additional parking in Stanstead Road would be a safety hazard."
In August, residents compiled a 191-name petition, calling for traffic-calming measures in the road – a plea that Surrey County Council is investigating.
It followed speed checks by police, which revealed 51.9 per cent of vehicles were breaking the 30mph speed limit.
But Jackie Derland, who lives alongside the development site, wrote to Tandridge District Council, saying: "The site next to my property is best described as a tip.
"If you drive through Stanstead Road, you would see a number of new developments that have been approved, so why do you persist in not allowing this one?"
Another Stanstead Road resident, Peter Dixon, welcomed the plan and said the state of the site is detrimental to the road.
He added: "The building would not be more dominant than the demolished building it replaces."
Steven McDicken, of north London-based applicant Matlock Homes, said: "The development will not have an overbearing impact on neighbouring occupiers, nor result in any loss of daylight or sunlight. It is in line with the scale and type of housing in the surrounding area."
He said the company had already held discussions with Surrey County Council's highways department over safety issues on the proposed access road to the flats, and also its junction with Stafford Road.
