Dear Neighbour
You may remember the various episodes we have reported on over the last year or so regarding the Old Nursery site on Fordbridge Road. Click the following links to see them again:
The developer, Heronslea, were due to hold a public consultation last August, but it was cancelled at the last moment. We have not heard of any plans to hold another one, although Heronslea have now submitted a formal application to Spelthorne Council.
This is Green Belt land – pure and simple. Heronslea’s consultants have used every alternative description they can think of to disguise this simple fact, but a fact it remains.
There are buildings on the site which are in a very poor state of repair. But that does not mean the land is not Green Belt. The entire Kempton Park estate is designated Green Belt, for example, but that has all sorts of buildings on it, including an extremely large grandstand.
The point is that it is not the presence or absence of buildings, or their state of repair, which defines whether land is Green Belt or not. There are various commercial uses to which Green Belt is permitted to be put. In the case of Kempton Park, it is the recreational activity of horse-racing. All buildings necessary for carrying out that activity are potentially allowed to be constructed. In the case of the Old Nursery site, the permitted business was agricultural, specifically horticultural. Buildings necessary for carrying out that permitted horticultural business were potentially allowable.
What is not allowable for either Kempton Park or the Old Nursery site, or any other piece of Green Belt, is residential development.
It is very important that residents’ views are taken into account, especially as the developer does not appear to have any plans to consult us publicly.
Please write to the Planning Office at Spelthorne Council, quoting reference 15/01423/FUL , or – much easier – send in your views online through the following link:
Comment on the Old Nursery application
Kind regards
Keep Kempton Green
Keep Kempton Green 