New council homes on former army barracks in Caterham given the go-ahead despite parking concerns

The site at The Grove and Hawarden Road, including the former barracks, will see 16 new homes built.

Members of Tandridge District Council planning committee green-lit the scheme on June 5, arguing that the benefits of social housing significantly outweigh the draw-backs of the design.

Councillors and residents alike supported the plan for social housing but were frustrated that the design was not better.

The proposal includes demolishing existing buildings and replacing them with 16 new homes, each with a back garden.

There will also be a total of 35 car parking spaces.

Marilyn Payne MBE slammed the scheme at the meeting, arguing the plans are “akin to inner city development rather than on the edge of the green belt”.

She said the homes were too cramped together in the plot.

“The proposal in the current form will result in a poor legacy for the borough and cannot be put right retrospective,” Ms Payne said.

She added the small, north-facing gardens would not be big enough for children to play in and would not get any sunshine.

Cllr Jeremy Pursehouse said at the meeting there are 44 families living in B&Bs on the urgent need list, adding they “won’t care about the size of the back garden, they want to be out of there”.

He said: “If we can get 16 of those 44 families into those new houses, I think we’ve done a good day’s work.”

The chairman of the Housing Committee explained there are 460 households, not people, on the urgent priority housing list (A and B).

He said: “We’ve got to take every opportunity we can to build affordable and social housing.”

Nearly 20 letters of objection were submitted.

Residents attacked the scheme for absorbing car parking spaces on Hawarden Road, saying around 10 off-street parking spaces would be lost.

Cllr Liz Lockwood rebutted the concerns, saying “on-street parking is a luxury, but it’s not a right”.

Surrey Highways policy dictates that every home should have at least one parking space, which fits the plans.

Raising “serious concerns” over the scheme, councillors said the scheme was completely out of step with the area.

Tight spacing, a shortfall in parking spaces, and minimal landscaping were highlighted as key issues.

Cllr Ankita Sharma said the council “needs to ensure these are homes for people to thrive in”.

Tandridge Council bought the land from the Ministry of Defence in 2023.

Planning documents say the proposed new builds will look “contemporary and minimal” to reflect the residential area and the previous army barracks.

All the affordable homes created in this development would be kept by the council and rented to families on its housing list.

The proposed development could provide up to 10 three-bedroom homes, six two-bedroom houses, and a wheelchair accessible one-bedroom home, all available for 70 per cent of market rent.