Drafting of the local Neighbourhood Plan continues, with many ideas, projects and policies to guide us through the next 2 to 20 years taking final shape, thanks to the efforts of many volunteers, various organisations including local Parish and Village Councils, Tandridge District and Surrey County Council.

Key activities are:

Town Centre and Rose & Young

A plan for Caterham Valley Town Centre, including solutions to the Rose & Young site, while considering other town centre needs such as long term parking, improving retail choice and to keep a balance between retail, business, residential and services. This will assist Tandridge District Council in a CPO action should this be necessary and be part of the vision for the area by CR3.

Stop Press: You can really help us with your views on what kind of Town Centre you want, including action on Rose & Young and the several other significant sites now showing interest in redevelopment. The survey is being launched today through this newsletter. Do please take part and tell neighbours and colleagues. If we can get a strong consensus view of what the town needs it will strengthen the case we can make for what you want.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/caterhamtowndesign

The Bourne

The Bourne should stay below the surface this year. It is currently a bit less than 20 Metres from the surface at Woldingham Viaduct. However it will all depend on the rainfall over the next couple of months and we are keeping a watch on the levels.

The local economy

What about the economy? As well as looking at housing needs and potential places to meet that demand, we are looking at the economy too and will factor that into the area Neighbourhood Plan. We are working with Tandridge to ensure that our Neighbourhood Plan  and the TDC Local Plan are complementary.

Services we need - Education, Health, Leisure, Transport and Communications

Education and health are very important too, as well as the overall character of the area, transport services, leisure and sport. In addition to the Bourne and pressing for improvements to its flow through the area, we are considering a project for energy from waste. Other  topics include fixed or mobile communications services for the future. Do please take Virgin's link, if you are interested in an extension of their network locally. They have announced plans to extend nationally.

Providing space for the area's future needs

All these needs require space to put them and we have asked for any owners or oganisations with available sites, with priority to any within the existing town boundary, to come forward. We are also looking for what may be needed in the wider area too in the future and if there may be justifiable causes to suggest changes to current boundaries. Today's world with M25, Gatwick, Heathrow, the expansion of London and Channel Tunnel is very different from when present town boundaries were set in the Green Belt around Caterham over 70 years ago, just after WW2.  At that time London's  Airport was at Croydon (Purley Way) and the Caterham Bypass had  been opened just before WW2 in 1936 to help with access to Croydon & London and the south. In space terms during the last 20 years, over 3% of the area has been converted from commercial to residential and we are considering how to recover some of the lost local employment, in a switch to higher growth industries.

Getting the right balance

The priority is for what the town needs for all the purposes listed and not simply to squeeze in more housing everywhere. Tandridge has similarly called for available sites and is doing a review of the same needs across the whole of the District, for its own wider area Local Plan. The Green Belt has served us well and CR3 and Tandridge are very fortunate to be part of the highest percentage (94%) in the whole of Surrey, which in fact increases pressure on the existing areas, so this is why we are looking at the whole picture. The rules that the Government applies changed in the last few years and those who know of NPPF( National Planning Policy Framework), will understand that it obliges everyone to take this wider look, while keeping stringent rules for example over the retention of Green Belt.

An update to the web site coming soon

Our web site continues as www.cr3forum.org.uk .In the next few weeks, as we get ready to enter a six week consultation period, it will be updated to contain all the policies and background data for you to review and comment on.

It will be the same web address, so simply check on us from time to time to see what is going on.

More in articles below

We are close to having a draft of our plans and policies, which will again be available for public review in a 6 week consultation period. Currently we anticipate being ready for that soon after the local elections in May of this year. 

We will publish another newsletter with dates of local events you can take part in after Easter.

Anticipated content :

• Details of Consultation process/dates for the draft plan 
• Results from research and feedback to groups
• Regular topics of: Green Belt, Brownfield sites, Character and Heritage, Jobs, Schools, Youth, Elderly, Health, Transport, Parking, Shopping, Town Centres, Leisure, Community, Utilities & overall Infrastructure.
• The Town Design Statement - Any review materials from the workshops.
• Opportunity to comment on any issues and the emerging evidence

Workshops for CR3 Forum members continue to be held on various topics and will include the ones mentioned in the opening remarks over Rose & Young and the Valley Town Centre particularly, which are planned to take place in March. Please do take the new survey link here to assist 

We are also reviewing all sites that are submitted as potentially available for various purposes. In particular we are looking for sites, opportunities and justifications  for:

• A business park and flexible spaces within existing areas.
• Housing overall, including affordable homes.
• Education: a 6th form at de Stafford and/or a University Technical College (UTC) locally?
• Recycling site
• Burial site
• Anaerobic Digester (Energy from waste)
• Long term car parking in the Valley Centre
• Expansion of medical/hospital facilities
• Better transport links East, West and South
• High speed digital communication hubs, wayleaves and local area capability.

​Overall vision and aims. Ensuring the Neighbourhood Plan is the right balance of the emerging rules and guidance, while meeting our local needs.

Further workshops will be held as needed

If you want to participate either at a public session or within any of the groups, please come along or contact us at info@cr3forum.org.uk

Target date of Autumn 2015 for a Local Referendum on the resulting plan.

(Click logo for web site)

Tandridge District Council obtained funding to assist develop the case for a CPO if required from Coast to Capital, our Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) thanks to new funding via Govt. Work on the background needed is underway.

The CR3 forum similarly obtained some small scale funding assistance to help bring forward a CPO and proposals that the community would support, via Locality a National Group supporting places like ours doing Neighbourhood Plans and other community projects.

This led to agreement to work together via these funded initiatives. The Locality based one is assisting 10 different projects nationally (CADO - Community Assets in Difficult Ownership). 

CR3 delegates will attend a session in Hastings of the towns involved in CADO in March.

The R&Y initiatives will consider the overall needs of the Town Centre too, and a Town Design Statement, is the agreed outline summary of what will be produced. Its aim will be to help set directions for the  future within the Valley Town Centre in particular.

A group of 20 to 30 volunteers and people drawn from local organisations, councillors and officers is being identified. If you would like to take part and can attend up to three 3hr workshops to identify the overall scope and some detail, over two Saturday mornings and one evening in March please contact us.( 7th, 11th & 28th)

Picture by Austen Beischer, runner up in the CR3Forum photo competition. Hidden treasures and local eyesores.

Quadrant House listed for Residential Conversion. Latest threat to Town Centre mixed use, for retail, business & residential.

As we close for press planning application details emerged for the residential conversion of Quadrant House to 53 flats with just 45 car parking spaces ( Ref TA/2015/173/NC). We will be considering the potential impact at the Town Design workshops - see Rose & Young article above. More news once that process completes during March. In the meantime do please let us know any views and lodge responses individually at Tandridge's Planning portal site, which we will also monitor -

http://planning.tandridge.gov.uk/eaccess/Applicationsearch.asp

quoting the number 2015/173

As mentioned in the headlines, an important new survey is live now on Valley Town Centre matters. Click here to take part 

Ted Howard (Chair Chaldon Village Council and member of CR3 Forum Steering Group) gave an interesting talk recently on overall Education and Health services and the anticipated future needs. Ted explained that the area supports about 10-15% more people than actually live here. This is through people registering from outside CR3 for doctors, schools and so on. It is a factor we anticipate will continue and will also help us justify better facilities locally.

The same is true with travel, with more than 30% of travellers choosing to use stations here, while living outside CR3. This adds to the stress on parking. Of course some of them also shop or add value to our local economy in various ways.

Roads are another example, where we are an important part of a bigger picture.

There are planned upgrades to train services on both the Caterham Line and the East Grinstead one. In particular the potential to link to the South Coast (Brighton) via Upper Warlingham, is in Network Rail's plans as well as Crossrail plans affecting the Caterham line.

So far as air transport is concerned, the future decision over an additional runway at Heathrow or Gatwick will have a potential impact. That decision should be known by the time we have our own referendum and we will factor in anything that is relevant.

With employment we have seen that almost 150 acres of land has been converted in the last 20 years, from commercial sites to residential, providing homes for about 3,000 people, with another 1,500 or so in the pipeline, on sites approved but not yet built. This will take our local CR3 Population towards 30,000. The overall land supply within CR3 is about 4,000 acres.

As a place, with M25/M23, Gatwick, Heathrow, Channel Tunnel, the growth of London to the North, it is very different than the last time a truly "Local" plan was created. We are trying to consider all the different needs and pressures and it will be for you to vote at a referendum later this year on whether we have created a good future plan for the area.

Help us get a share of £3 billion and give yourself a choice of broadband provider.

Virgin Media announced a national upgrade to their cable network and seek expressions of interest from people and businesses. Access to cable gives you choice of provider for broadband, phone and entertainment. Just click on the link below and input your postcode. Do it now even if you don't want it, every entry will help the community get access to good data services. It could even increase the saleability of your house.

Link here to register interest by post code area with Virgin

If you are generally interested in better fibre connected service via BT, or all mobile services please let us know too. There is an email contact at the end of the newsletter.  We are considering how to ensure we are one of the best connected places in the South East.

In 1938 the local Caterham & Warlingham Urban District Council, published a town plan. It considered options for the future for housing, business, schools, health and so on. Gywneth Fookes our well known local historian, was able to track it down!

Researchers visited the Surrey Records Centre to get access and copies of the original 1936 Caterham Bypass plans and the 1938 Town Plan. These are helpful in reviewing what was considered back then at a time when Caterham had expanded quickly with the proximity of Croydon ( London ) airport on the Purley Way. The bypass took the A22 traffic flows out of the Town Centre and various expansions of the town took place towards the bypass.

Last winter's exceptionally high rainfall triggered the worst Bourne flows for many years. The problem was compounded by a combination of ground water levels, storm water flows and some contamination via sewers.

This year ground water levels appear likely to remain underground after a reasonably dry December. Monitoring of ground water levels is much improved. Currently it is between 15 and 20 Metres from the surface at Woldingham Viaduct, according to new monitoring equipment installed by the Dept of Environment, who have agreed to provide us information.

Works are proposed by Surrey CC and Croydon, which subject to funding will see inceased capacity for the underground culverts from Wapses Lodge, up through Whyteleafe , then Kenley to Purley.

** Pictures as above

While there will be a need to consider and propose figures for housing looking forwards and where that might be accommodated, we are equally determined to consider employment needs where the area has lost jobs and spaces over the last 20 years.

As has been stated before we value the character of our area highly and its green belt and so that is really important too.

Tandridge is also reviewing similar needs and our work should help ensure that an equitable distribution of what becomes the target for Tandridge, is applied locally.

Geoff Duck

Chair CR3 Forum Steering Group

As Chair of the CR3 Forum and Caterham Hill Parish Council I am keen to ensure that the detailed and thorough work of the Forum and its Groups is well connected to Tandridge District Council's  Local Plan for the wider area. The two pieces of work have to be complementary and help create a framework for our area together for the future, if the Inspector is to deem our Neighbourhood Plan fit for purpose.

By the same token, the TDC Local Plan will be seriously undermined if it fails to take proper account of ours.

To help align the various different groups, various meetings are being held between all those involved.

For example I am delighted that a Tandridge District Council  sub committee called the  Caterham Working Group, recently met with CR3 representatives and other local groups. The sub committee meets occasionally as local matters arise which need our part of the district to act together and consider issues and proposals.

Partnership working will determine the success of our work, and while we may see some of our projects take longer to ensure the proper alignment with TDC, the outcome, which subject to a referendum will have legal status, will be well worthwhile.

We seem to have good help from TDC officers these days, so I see them as a useful resource. Rest assured though, our aim is to produce a Neighbourhood Plan that is right for CR3. Only then could the set of Local Plans be right for Tandridge.

Chris Botten

Creating our local plan is a wonderful opportunity for us to have a say in how the area should look and provide for people, jobs and services over the next 20 years. Let’s not lose the opportunity and it is open to everyone to take part!

Eric Pickles, Brandon Lewis and others are continuing to demonstrate that community led plans have more weight in planning matters than before and that not only housing but a "Sustainable Economy", is a necessary part of that.

Thank you for registering for information and do please tell others to join in. For those on Facebook or Twitter social media, there are links in the page banner above for you to pass this on to your networks.

Volunteers always welcome to join in, whether to help on particular topics, lend a hand when we have an event, or need to distribute leaflets, do some research, contribute articles, tell us about local issues and so on.

For general information contact us as above or email: info@cr3forum.uk.org