Surrey County Council's Planning and Regulatory Committee met on 28 February 2024 and resolved to refuse planning permission for the redevelopment of the Silvermere Haven Pet Cemetery on Byfleet Road, Cobham. The application was refused on the grounds that the proposed building was too large, representing inappropriate development in the Metropolitan Green Belt.

Silvermere Haven Pet Cemetery

The application before the committee was to demolish the existing buildings at Silvermere Haven Pet Cemetery and replace them with a new, larger building on a different part of the site. The application sought to address a number of issues with the existing site, including: bringing it up to modern environmental standards, particularly in regard to the storage of hazardous clinical waste; improving facilities for staff who currently use temporary buildings; providing a better experience for bereaved pet owners; and expanding the facility to allow for the cremation of horses, for which there is presently no licenced facility in Surrey.

The committee heard arguments from officers, local councillors, residents, and the applicant that the redevelopment of Silvermere Haven constituted a number of very special circumstances that outweighed the harm caused by inappropriate development in the Green Belt.

So in terms of the very special circumstances, they are set out in the report, and it revolves around the fact that this is an existing site. This has been here for a number of years, 40 years, over 40 years, and has existed without significant harm. And so what the proposal is doing is in accordance with policies in the waste plan, it's improving an existing facility to bring it into the future and to keep up with licensing and other permits. - Dawn Horton-Baker, Planning Development Team Leader, Surrey County Council. ¹

The committee accepted that the business was of value to the community, that it would be beneficial to improve the facilities on the site, and that there was a need to provide a facility for the cremation of horses kept as pets in Surrey. However, the committee felt that on balance the very special circumstances did not outweigh the harm caused by building a facility of the size proposed by the applicant, and in particular the impact on the openness of the Green Belt.

The crux of the argument is, to what extent we are making a planning decision that is essentially enabling something to happen that is could be defined as an expansion or a difference and whether that actually constitutes very special circumstances to overcome the inappropriate activity in the green belt. - Councillor Jeffrey Grey, Surrey County Council.

The application was refused on a vote, with 9 councillors voting to refuse the application and 2 voting to grant it.