Up to 500 new homes proposed on golf course

A 500-home development could be coming to a Surrey golf course, despite it falling within the green belt.

Cater Properties Limited is seeking planning permission for the project, which is proposed for a 21-hectare plot at Sunbury Golf Club in Shepperton, according to the the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

If approved, Cater Properties said the site would be repurposed into a "residential-led neighbourhood".

In planning documents, the developer said the scheme represented a "sustainable, deliverable and well-connected opportunity" which could make "a meaningful contribution towards housing delivery and wider community infrastructure provision".

The broader proposals submitted to Spelthorne Borough Council also include a new medical centre, a 75-bed care home and a road network lined with trees.

However, the site falls within the green belt, which would usually place tight restrictions on development to stem the expansion of towns and cities into the countryside.

The developers have argued that the scheme can go ahead as they believe the site qualifies as "grey belt" land, a term introduced to planning law in 2024 which allows for development restrictions to be loosened if a plot does not adequately contribute to green belt purposes.

"The material considerations in favour include the national grey belt policy, the site's accessibility and, most importantly, the scale of market and affordable housing delivery," planning documents read.

Spelthorne Borough Council officers will review the outline application, with 1 January currently listed as the determination deadline.

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