The Planning and Regulatory Committee of Surrey County Council met on Wednesday 24 June 2026 to discuss an application to remove land from the Register of Town and Village Greens and to consider new charging powers for nationally significant infrastructure projects. The committee unanimously refused the application to remove land from the Register of Town and Village Greens, and unanimously approved the introduction of new charging powers.

Application to Remove Land from the Register of Town and Village Greens

The committee considered an application by the Guildford Diocesan Board of Finance to remove land at the junction of Aperdele Road and Kingston Road, Leatherhead, from the Register of Town and Village Greens. The application was made on the basis that a compulsory purchase order (CPO) from 1973, which was subject to a special parliamentary procedure, had legally extinguished the village green status of the land.

Catherine Vallant, the countryside access officer, introduced the report, explaining that the land was part of Village Green VG96, registered in 1969. A CPO was made in 1973 to acquire part of the land for a new infant school. Although a school was built on the site and later transferred to school trustees, the Town and Village Green Register was never amended. The applicant argued that the CPO and the subsequent special parliamentary procedure automatically extinguished the village green rights.

However, the council's legal advice, from leading counsel, was that village green rights are not extinguished automatically and require express provision within the CPO. The 1973 CPO did not contain such a provision, and therefore, the rights were not extinguished and remain in existence. The fact that a school was built on the land was not considered sufficient to permanently extinguish these rights.

During the public speaking session, Jenny Moore, a trustee of the Leatherhead Community Hub, spoke against the application, highlighting the lack of community spaces in North Leatherhead and the importance of retaining open areas. Canon Alex Teer, Diocesan Director of Education for the Diocese of Guildford, argued that the CPO's intention was clear and that a mistake in not explicitly removing the village green status had been made. He stressed the need to pragmatically acknowledge this oversight to allow for the redevelopment of the derelict site, which he stated had planning permission for a residential care home and would provide community benefits.

John Gregory, the council's legal advisor, clarified that while the village green status could restrict development, the committee's decision was solely on whether the rights had been legally extinguished. He noted that other mechanisms might be available to the applicant if the current application was refused, but these were not a matter for the committee.

After considerable discussion, the committee unanimously voted to refuse the application. The reasoning was that it had not been demonstrated that the 1973 CPO had the legal effect of extinguishing the town and village green rights over the land.

Implementation of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) – New Charging Powers

Caroline Smith, Head of Strategic Spatial Planning, presented a report on the implementation of new charging powers for nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs). NSIPs are large-scale developments approved through the Development Consent Order (DCO) process, which are time-consuming for local authorities.

Previously, local authorities could only recover costs for their involvement in NSIPs if the applicant agreed to a Planning Performance Agreement (PPA) or similar mechanism. New regulations, effective from 8 June 2026, now allow host local authorities to charge for their services on a cost-recovery basis.

The committee was asked to approve the introduction of charging for relevant services where Surrey County Council acts as a host authority. The proposed approach is to recover all costs at each stage of the DCO process, with a preference for a PPA but with charges applying regardless. The charges would be based on corporate hourly rates, with the council's input drawing on in-house expertise across various functions, including highways, transport, waste planning, ecology, and legal services.

Councillor Louise Morales expressed her support for the proposal, noting its potential to expedite necessary infrastructure development. The committee unanimously approved the introduction of these charging powers.

The meeting concluded with the announcement of the next meeting date as 22 July 2026.