ONE OF the most important functions of the KRA is in monitoring the many planning applications submitted each month for Kingswood. Some are major undertakings, like the development of the Legal and General site as a retirement village, or the station development. Others are much smaller, but all have the potential to impact on the lives of Kingswood residents.
The KRA has two dedicated planning officers, Zaid Sethi and Keith Denyer, who examine every general application that is made to the local planning authority, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council. Major developments like Legal and General are monitored and commented on by a separate team, Valerie Evans and David Floyd.
The council invites the KRA directly to make observations on planning applications where appropriate, taking into account wider strategic planning and development guidelines for the borough as a whole. The planning officers work with the network of KRA road representatives and individual residents in assessing the impact of each planning application and will give a formal response, where necessary, to the local planning authority, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council.
Document: Planning March 2025 (PDF, 150KB)
You can search for planning applications on a particular property by going to the council website www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk and clicking on the ‘Planning’ link.
Kingswood Station Planning
In May 2017, a planning application (16/01777/F) for 18 residential houses in Kingswood Station Yard was approved and following numerous detail approvals, work started in March 2018.
Document: 2013-02-05-Kingswood-Station-Planning-Brief
AS WELL as reviewing and commenting on individual planning applications, the KRA also takes a strategic overview of both local and national planning policy which could have a major impact on our village environment.
Several key documents explain both national and local government strategic planning policies which determine the evolving character of the village, including areas of Kingswood designated as forming a Residential Area of Special Character (RASC) and, within that, a smaller but equally crucial Conservation Area (CA).
The key documents which inform the planning decisions Reigate and Banstead Borough Council take, are detailed below.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which sets out the government’s planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied. This document was issued in 2012 and last updated in 2019. It can be found at
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework
Of special interest in respect of Kingswood is Chapter 16 of this document, Conserving and enhancing the historic environment, which considers the implications of the designation of a Conservation Area when making local planning decisions.
The Core Strategy
More locally, the Core Strategy, adopted by RBBC in 2014 and reviewed in 2019 sets out the level of growth to take place across the borough up to 2027, broadly where this growth should be and how it can be delivered. This document can be found at:
https://www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk/info/20088/planning_policy/1101/development_plan_2020/2
The Development Management Plan (DMP)
The Development Management Plan (DMP) drawn up by RBBC and formally adopted in September 2019, sets out the detailed policies for managing development in the borough in line with the NPPF and the local Core Strategy. This can be found at:
https://www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk/info/20088/planning_policy/1101/development_plan_2020/3
Of particular interest for Kingswood, the DMP sets out on page 27 the nine criteria applicable to the granting of planning permission in a RASC.
Planning for the Future
Finally, we have had the government’s controversial planning White Paper, Planning for the Future, to which the KRA gave its own detailed response in October 2020. This response can be viewed here:
Document: KRA Planning White Paper Response 29102020 (PDF, 422KB)
As well as the KRA’s two planning officers who monitor and act upon individual applications, the association has recently instigated a planning policy team to try to develop clearer and legally enforceable regulations covering the granting of planning approvals in the area, particularly around the RASC/CA of Kingswood. The aim is to better protect these precious designations while at the same time recognising the need for reasonable but sympathetic modern development.
Response to Local Character & Distinctiveness Guide
The Kingswood Residents’ Association has responded to the RBBC’s Local Character and Distinctiveness Guide – Supplementary Planning Document Draft Consultation.
Document: KRA response to RBBC’s Local Character & Distinctiveness Guide (PDF, 188KB)
Kings Barn Planning Inspectorate Decisions
In March 2021, the KRA posted a response to the Planning Inspectorate about their role regarding Kings Barn.
Document: Kings Barn Planning Inspectorate Decisions (PDF, 291KB)