The tiny little UK village set to double in size with 500 new homes | UK | News
A small village in England will double in size due to plans for 500 homes. The area just north of South Godstone in Surrey, which has a population of around 1,500, is in the green belt and measures approximately 35.3 hectares; applicants describe this area as consisting primarily of land used for grazing and grazing. To the south is the Tonbridge railway line. Provisions have been made for shops or community areas, playgrounds and allotments for the “Soluk Park Village” scheme.
Developer Regency and Co. states: application documents: “The area slopes from west to east and there is a shallow valley formation that feeds the ponds in the eastern part of the area. The area is generally well protected from the east and north.” Regarding flooding, they added: “This area is located in Flood Zone 1 (an area of land assessed as having a 1 in 1000 chance of river or sea flooding per year).
“However, the Environment Agency (EA) Planning Flood Map13 shows there is a chance of surface water flooding of more than 3.3% per year in some parts of the site.”
The documents also note potential physical impacts on archaeological remains, including a medieval park, product markings of post-medieval building remains, and a World War II plane crash site whose ruins are protected under the Military Remains Protection Act 1986.
It comes after Housing Minister Steve Reed vowed to “build, baby, build” after taking over following the resignation of Angela Rayner.
The government aims to oversee the delivery of 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament.
Mr Reed said this week: “Buying a home should be a dream, not a nightmare.
“Our reforms will fix the broken system so hard-working people can focus on the next chapter of their lives.”
According to Rightmove, the overall average house price in South Godstone last year was £517,778.
The majority of properties sold were semi-detached properties, selling for an average price of £604,286.
Terraced properties sold for an average of £416,750, while flats sold for £334,500.
Overall, historical sales prices at South Godstone last year were down 3% on the previous year and 4% on the 2022 peak of £540,016.
