- What is the purpose of a Local Plan?
- Why is Epsom & Ewell Borough Council (EEBC) producing a new Local Plan?
- What are the stages of the Local Plan?
- What stage of the Local Plan process is EEBC?
- What happens next?
- What data and information has informed the Local Plan?
- What data does EEBC have to use in calculating its housing need?
- What is the difference between our ‘housing need’ and ‘housing requirement’?
- How much housing is currently been delivered in the borough?
- What is the demand for affordable housing in the borough?
- Can our housing and economic needs be met on just brownfield sites?
- What is the aim of Green Belt policy?
- What are the purposes of the Green Belt?
- Can Green Belt land be developed?
- What infrastructure will be provided to support the Local Plan?
- How can I be kept informed about progress with the Local Plan?
- How will the Local Government Reorganisation affect the Local Plan?
1. What is the purpose of a Local Plan?
The Local Plan is a critical document in shaping the future of the borough. When finalised the Local Plan will determine where new development should go and what areas should be protected. This includes sites for new homes including affordable accommodation, supporting businesses, creating jobs, securing much needed infrastructure improvements, environmental protection and leisure development.
There is far more to the Local Plan than allocating sites for development; it covers a range of matters such as protecting public open spaces and retail areas, increasing biodiversity and increasing the standard of homes and commercial buildings being delivered.
All local planning authorities have to produce a Local Plan which sets out planning policies to help achieve a development strategy for the future. Following adoption, the Local Plan will be used to decide planning applications that come forward in the borough.
2. Why is Epsom & Ewell Borough Council (EEBC) producing a new Local Plan?
We need a Local Plan for the borough that meets the current challenges the borough faces and shapes future development. Every council is legally required to review their Local Plan at least every five years and given the age of our current Local Plan, EEBC need to produce a new one.
Without an up-to-date Plan in place, there is a risk that central government could intervene and prepare a Local Plan for the council that limits local involvement and decision making in the process. The borough would also be at increased risk of unplanned, speculative development due to its current shortfall in housing delivery. Adopting an up-to-date Local Plan will ensure that local people have a greater say on how their communities are developed in the future, and that we are in a stronger position to defend ourselves from unsuitable speculative planning proposals.
3. What are the stages of the Local Plan?
We have kept the process of developing the Local Plan open and transparent. The table below sets out the key stages in plan making and where we are now.
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STAGE 1 |
Gather evidence and early consultation (January 2022 – January 2023)
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STAGE 2 |
Six-week public consultation on a Draft Local Plan, known as “Regulation 18” (February – March 2023)
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STAGE 3 |
Review consultation feedback and gather further evidence to develop the Local Plan
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STAGE 4 |
Six-week public consultation on a proposed submission Local Plan, known as “Regulation 19” (December 2024 - February 2025)
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STAGE 5 |
Submission of Local Plan to the government for examination (March 2025)
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STAGE 6 |
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STAGE 7 |
Adoption of the Local Plan. (Estimated to commence Spring 2026)
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4. What stage of the Local Plan process is EEBC?
We are now at Stage 6 of the plan development process.
On the 10 March 2025, we submitted our Local Plan for Examination to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. The Independent Examination process is controlled by the Planning Inspectorate.
The Government appointed a Planning Inspector to examinate the Local Plan on the 1 April 2025.
Further information on the Examination will be published on our Examination webpage: Local Plan Examination | Epsom and Ewell Borough Council.
Information on the two public consultation stages that occurred prior to submission can be viewed on our previous Local Plan consultation page: Previous Local Plan consultations | Epsom and Ewell Borough Council.
5. What happens next?
The Examination Hearings on Stage 1 Legal Compliance and Duty to Cooperate and Stage 2 Soundness were held between 28 August and 9 October. During the Hearings the Inspector probed into key issues relating to the Local Plan and its preparation.
Following the Hearings the Inspector wrote to the Council asking for two discrete pieces of work to be undertaken and asking for the council to advise how long they require to undertake this work. The Council has responded requesting three months and the submission of the additional information on or before 22 January 2026.
We anticipate that following the receipt of this additional information, the Inspector will advise the Council how she wishes to proceed with the Examination.
Our examination page will be kept up to date throughout the Examination process. .
6. What data and information has been used to inform the Local Plan?
To support our Local Plan (2022-2040) we have published a full suite of evidence base, including additional evidence base documents on flooding, land availability, open space, green belt and the Epsom Town Centre Masterplan.
The Local Plan evidence base can be accessed here:
Evidence base | Epsom and Ewell Borough Council (epsom-ewell.gov.uk)
7. What data does EEBC have to use in calculating its housing need?
Because the local plan was prepared and approved for publication prior to the NPPF and NPPG updates on the 12 December, our Local Plan is based upon the standard method that applied prior to the changes (569 dwellings per annum) and not the higher figures generated by the revised standard method.
8. What is the difference between our ‘housing need’ and ‘housing requirement’?
The ‘housing need’ for our borough is calculated using the government’s Standard Method.
The ‘housing requirement’ is set out in the Local Plan. It takes account of the housing need figure and considers whether there are any constraints or other factors that may mean that we should plan for a different number of new homes. The ‘housing requirement’ could be either higher or lower than the ‘housing need’ figure, depending on the local context, but a lower figure (as proposed in the Local Plan submitted for examination) has been tested extensively during the independent planning inspector’s examination of the Local Plan.
9. How much housing is currently been delivered in the borough?
The Council’s Authority Monitoring Report (AMR) identifies historic housing delivery in the borough and in the most recent monitoring year (2024/25) a total of 112 new homes were delivered of which 2 were affordable homes.
10. What is the demand for affordable housing in the borough?
The Council’s housing needs register is a waiting list for households in the borough who are in need of low-cost rented accommodation. As of September 2025, there are approximately 1,350 households on the register.. This shortage of housing has implications for local residents who cannot afford to buy or rent appropriate housing and means that the council is currently spending over £2m each year on emergency accommodation. Without additional affordable homes being delivered in the borough, this will continue to increase in the future.
11. Can our housing and economic needs be met on just brownfield sites?
There is insufficient land available through brownfield sites to meet the borough’s identified needs for housing and economic needs.
Brownfield land (also known as previously developed land) is land which is or was occupied by a permanent structure. The majority of the land within the built-up areas of the borough could be considered to be previously developed, but there is also some previously developed land in the Green Belt. Not all brownfield sites in the borough are owned by the council.
Brownfield sites have an important role to play in meeting our development needs. However, there is not enough land available from brownfield and urban sites to meet the borough’s housing and economic needs.
12. What is the aim of Green Belt policy?
The fundamental aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open; the essential characteristics of Green Belts are their openness and their permanence (National Planning Policy Framework). It is important to note that Green Belt is not an environmental designation. However, within the borough’s Green Belt there is some land that is designated for its biodiversity / ecological value, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) e.g. Epsom Common or Sites of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI) e.g. Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve and Horton Country Park.
13. What are the purposes of the Green Belt?
The five key purposes of the Green Belt are set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF):
a) to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas;
b) to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another;
c) to assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment;
d) to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns; and
e) to assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.
14. Can Green Belt land be developed?
The NPPF makes clear that it is at the discretion of Local Authorities as to whether Green Belt boundary is amended through the Local Plan process. Any changes need to demonstrate exceptional circumstances, and before concluding that exceptional circumstances exist, local authorities will need to demonstrate that the Local Plan:
- makes as much use as possible of suitable brownfield sites and underutilised land
- optimises the density of development in the urban area
- has been informed by discussions with neighbouring authorities about whether they could accommodate some of the identified need for development – these conversations with neighbouring authorities will continue to take place as the plan develops.
This flexibility remains within the NPPF to reflect that Green Belt authorities all have their own unique characteristics, challenges and requirements, and that Local Plans must still address competing and conflicting demands for land.
The Submission Local Plan contains land that is proposed to be removed from the Green Belt to meet development needs as the Council considers that exceptional circumstances can be demonstrated.
15. What infrastructure will be provided to support the Local Plan?
EEBC consulted a wide range of organisations on the Draft Local Plan that are responsible for infrastructure provision in the borough, including highways, education, health and water supply and disposal. We have continued to engage with infrastructure providers in developing the Local Plan (2022-2040) to ensure that proposals are supported by suitable infrastructure.
We have published an updated Infrastructure Delivery Plan which can be located on our evidence base webpage: Infrastructure & social | Epsom and Ewell Borough Council (epsom-ewell.gov.uk).
16. How can I be kept informed about progress with the Local Plan?
We submitted our Local Plan for independent examination on the 10 March 2025. Further information about the Examination will be published on our Examination webpage: Local Plan Examination | Epsom and Ewell Borough Council
We will also be keeping our webpages up-to-date, and updating this FAQ document, as necessary.
17. How will the Local Government Reorganisation affect the Local Plan?
The Government published a white paper in December 2024 in relation to local government reorganisation which will have implications for how local government is structured in the future. The Government has confirmed that Surrey will move to a two-unitary council model following its review of local government arrangements. Epsom and Ewell will become part of the East Surrey Unitary Authority. Further information on LGR in Surrey can be found here: Surrey Local Government Reorganisation Hub – Surrey LGR Hub
It is important to note that adopted local plans in boroughs and districts will continue to apply until the new East Surrey planning authority has adopted a Local Plan for its administrative area, which we anticipate will take several years.