Plans for almost 300 homes on Surrey Green Belt land now include new cricket pitch

Proposals to build up to 280 homes on Green Belt land not far from a high street in Surrey have entered the formal planning process.

This week, Reigate & Banstead Borough Council received early-stage planning documents from Devine Homes in regards to plans for a large housing development on land east of Banstead.

The submission requests the council to consider whether an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) would be required prior to the submission of a full planning application.

This marks another milestone for a development which Devine Homes had first revealed through a public consultation earlier this year.

Planning documents detail the current scope of the proposed development which consists of 280 homes, half of which would be affordable, a new GP surgery for the Longcroft Clinic, as well as a new car park and pitches for the nearby Banstead Cricket Club.

This would all be built on Green Belt land to the west of Park Road, on Rose Hill Farm. This site is a two minute drive away from Banstead High Street and backs onto Banstead Cricket Club.

The 19 hectare site has not been allocated for housing in Reigate & Banstead’s current Local Plan. The council is currently consulting the public on a new Local Plan, which would last until 2044.

New Government housing requirements would suggest that the borough needs to build 1,306 homes each year. This is over double the 460 homes-per-year need the council adopted in 2014, which it has typically exceeded.

In fact, over the last decade, Reigate & Banstead has built more homes than any other borough in Surrey with nearly 5,500 homes built between 2011 and 2021.

Despite this, in documents published as part of the Local Plan 2044 consultation, the council acknowledged more homes “will be needed to meet the expected rise in population” over the coming years.

The council’s own estimates from April this year suggest that its housing supply has fallen below five years for the first time in a decade.

A public consultation on the Local Plan 2044 began in September and is due to close on October 26, 2026 and by April next year, this local plan will be subsumed by the larger East Surrey Council Local Plan.

Devine Homes’ plans for Rose Hill Farm would deliver “a well-connected and sustainable extension to Banstead”, the company says. Meeting “local need” for smaller two and three-bedroom affordable homes.

The developer is proposing a new GP surgery alongside the homes. This would see the Longcroft Clinic on Woodmansterne Lane relocated to a larger facility not far south with a dedicated car park.

Banstead Cricket Club would also receive a new car park and pitch as part of the plans. The historic club currently has a pavilion and two pitches, these would remain.

Devine Homes’ early-stage planning documents can be viewed online on Reigate & Banstead’s Planning Portal.