The Tandridge District Council's Planning Policy Committee met on 18 September 2025, and agreed to take the Surrey Hills National Landscape Management Plan 2025-2030 to the full council for adoption. The committee also noted the progress being made towards preparing a new Local Plan, and discussed budget monitoring, key performance indicators and the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Working Group.

Surrey Hills National Landscape Management Plan 2025-2030

The committee agreed to take the Surrey Hills Management Plan 2025-2030 to the full council for adoption. The plan is a statutory requirement under Section 89 Part IV of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (the CRoW Act ), as the Surrey Hills are partly within the council's administrative boundary. The Surrey Hills Board prepared the plan on behalf of the council and five other constituent authorities.

The proposed management plan takes into account the latest national policy and guidance, and seeks to reflect changing circumstances. It accommodates the proposed extension to Surrey Hills National Landscape and aligns with relevant elements of council policy. If adopted, it will become a material consideration in decision making.

The plan is subdivided into five sections:

• Introduction to National Landscapes
• The Surrey Hills National Landscape
• The 75-year Vision for the Surrey Hills
• The Policy Framework for 2025 2030
• The Delivery Strategy

Part five includes policies for:

• Arts and cultural heritage
• Biodiversity and water resources
• Economy, tourism and community development
• Farming
• Planning
• Recreation, health and wellbeing
• Transport
• Woodlands, Hedgerows and Veteran Trees.

The committee considered three options:

1. Agree in principle to adopt the Surrey Hills National Landscape Management Plan 2025-30.
2. Recommend changes to the management plan prior to adoption.
3. Do not adopt the management plan.

The recommendation to agree to adopt the plan was made because it will enable the council to fulfil its duties under the CRoW Act in the most cost-effective manner, and will ensure a common and coordinated approach to management is taken by all authorities with an interest in the Surrey Hills National Landscape.

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Funding

The committee discussed the recommendations of the CIL Working Group meeting held on 3 September 2025 regarding the allocation of CIL funds to various projects. The CIL is a charge which can be levied by local authorities on new development in their area. The money generated is used to fund a wide range of infrastructure needed as a result of the development.¹

The CIL Working Group considered 13 applications and recommended that the following CIL allocations be ratified by the Planning Policy Committee:

• Bletchingley Parish Council - refurbishing and enhancing Grange Meadow MUGA - £98,200
• Tandridge District Council - replacement of the skatepark at Jenners Field in Lingfield - £190,000 (95% of the requested amount)
• Tandridge District Council - construction of a new MUGA at Mid Street Recreation Ground - £60,000
• Outwood Cricket Club - renovation of the Outwood Cricket Club Pavilion - £30,000
• Tatsfield Parish Council - replacement of the pavilion at Furze Corner Playing Field - £450,000 (50%) subject to Surrey County Council's Your Fund Surrey (YFS) match funding, or ringfenced for the applicant to submit a new application for a standalone project in the spring 2026 CIL bidding round if the YFS bid is unsuccessful
• Grange Meadow CIC Ltd - improvement of the football pitches and renovation of the pavilion at Grange Meadow - £76,500
• Management Committee of the White Hart Barn - roof repair and solar panel installation at the White Hart Barn - £82,050
• Howard Partnership Trust - refurbishment of the existing MUGA and rebuilding of tennis/netball courts at Oxted School - £100,000 (86%)
• Holland Sports & Social Association - ground renovation, including new drainage system, at Holland Sports & Social Club - £167,888.70
• Caterham Valley Parish Council - refurbishment of the Timber Hill Playground - £60,000
• Whyteleafe Village Council and Tandridge District Council - refurbishment of the Whyteleafe Recreation Playground - £150,000
• Craigmyle Glebe Limited - safety improvements and refurbishment of Woldingham Children's Playground - £35,000

The CIL Working Group recommended that the application from Hill Property Enterprise Limited for a power upgrade to Godstone Road in Caterham be rejected.

The CIL Working Group also recommended that £500k for the Hurst Green Community Centre project be ringfenced for either:

• in the case of a successful bid from Surrey County Council's Your Fund Surrey, recommended approval by the Planning Policy Committee of the CIL application in full, or
• in the case of an unsuccessful bid from Surrey County Council's Your Fund Surrey, consideration would be given to a new CIL application for funding for a standalone project for the Hurst Green Community Centre up to the value of £500k.

Local Plan Update

The committee noted the Local Plan Update - September 2025. Work continues on progressing the evidence base for the new local plan. This includes progressing forward with the Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment and related site analysis, finalisation of the methodologies for the Settlement Hierarchy Study and Green Belt Assessment, Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Level 1 and preparing procurement for a range of other key studies. These workstreams will continue to be moved forward during the rest of 2025 to inform the preparation of the first engagement stage. This will include the start of initial engagement and communications work.

Budget Monitoring

The committee noted the Quarter 1 2025/26 Budget Monitoring - Planning Policy Committee. At Quarter 1 / Month 3 (June) 2025/26, a £589k underspend for the committee is forecast. This favourable variance predominantly relates to predicted planning applications income.

The report noted that the maximum funding available for all Planning Policy matters in 2025/26, including the Local Plan and the Neighbourhood Plan, is £1,556k. This consists of £990k in the Local Plan reserve, and £29k in the Neighbourhood Plan reserve at the end of 2024/25 and £537k 2025/26 in year budget.

For 2025/26, a Capital Budget for Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) schemes of up to £4,124k is available to the committee. At Quarter 1 / Month 3 (June) 25/26, slippage of £3,135k is expected due to delays experienced by projects linked with match funding.

Key Performance Indicators and Risk Register

The committee noted the Quarter 1 2025/26 Key Performance Indicators and Risk Register - Planning Policy Committee. The KPI outturns were in line with Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's (MHCLG) required performance levels for planning applications and demonstrated the continued improvement in the delivery of the planning service.

The report also included the Planning Departmental Risk Register, which identified several risks, including:

• Ensuring the programme for the Local Plan is achievable and realistic
• Five-year housing land supply
• Ensuring the planning team has capacity by recruiting permanent staff and appropriate IT systems to carry out planning functions for the council
• Planning appeals and associated legal costs may exceed the committee's budget to deal with such matters (£300k)
• The planning guarantee requires planning fees to be refunded to applicants where no decision is made in a specified time.