Katherine Atkinson, Chair of the Surrey Hills National Landscape Board, has issued a stark warning over plans to build 110 homes on protected land in Haslemere. The development proposal, put forward by Redwood South West Ltd, could send “shock waves throughout nationally protected landscape bodies,” she said.

Atkinson, in an unusual intervention, has called on the Planning Inspectorate to reject the appeal. The proposal, previously dismissed in May for causing “significant harm” to the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), now called National Landscapes, remains highly controversial.

“It would send shock waves through nationally protected landscape bodies and the Surrey public,” she stressed. “Urbanisation is the greatest threat to Surrey Hills, as revealed in consultations for our new Management Plan.”

The Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023 has reinforced the duty to conserve AONB landscapes. Atkinson underscored the original ruling’s finding of “fundamental and serious harm” with no “exceptional circumstances” justifying the development.

Nikki Barton, former Independent Councillor and member of Haslemere South Residents Association, echoed these concerns: “There is a great need for new homes, but these are not 'affordable' and this is not ‘grey belt' – it is prime, protected Surrey Hills countryside. If the developer wins this new appeal, Haslemere's special character will be changed forever.

“It will also be the case that protected countryside elsewhere around the town – and indeed across the nation – will no longer be safe from destruction due to the precedent this would set, contrary to the whole reason for having national policies to protect it.”

The deadline to object to the proposal is December 4. To voice your opinion, visit: Planning Inspectorate website.