Over £40 million infrastructure investment has been secured for Horley through the granting of planning permission for a major new neighbourhood of 1,510 homes, on land at Meath Green in the north west of the town.

The contributions have been secured through a legal agreement between Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, Surrey County Council and the developers - Crest Nicholson, A2Dominion, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon.

The planning permission for the North West Sector neighbourhood includes: • 1,510 homes, 25% of which will be affordable, for local people • a site for a new primary school • a neighbourhood centre with shops and a community hall and sites for a pub/restaurant, a place of worship, a medical centre and employment space • public open space as part of the Riverside Green Chain • play facilities and two allotment sites • two new access roads linking the development to the A23 and A217, together with associated junction improvements • a high quality bus service linking the development to Horley town centre and beyond • Improved pedestrian and cycle routes linking the new neighbourhood to town centre, local schools and the wider cycle network Over £10m will be provided directly by the developers as part of their development, to provide infrastructure such as new access roads, the laying out of open space and a site for a new primary school.

The developers will also pay £30m to the Borough and County Councils to enable significant investment in highways, public transport, education, leisure and recreation and community infrastructure and service improvements.

The contributions will pay for future investment, as well as contributing to the costs of infrastructure that the Borough and County Councils have already provided as part of the Horley Master Plan, including the building of the Horley Leisure Centre, youth centre and a primary school, improvements to Horley Station, a new transport interchange and local highway schemes.

Cllr Tony Schofield, Executive Member for Planning and Development, said: “This marks a major milestone in delivering the new homes and the infrastructure improvements we have planned for the town, as part of the Horley Master Plan. The development also secures a significant contribution towards the borough’s five year housing supply, enabling new homes to be built in a planned manner with the appropriate infrastructure needed to support the development.

“It is a priority for us that this will be a high quality and sustainable new neighbourhood that will become part of Horley, providing both homes and facilities for local people. The Borough Council will work with the developers, the County Council and local people to ensure that the infrastructure is provided in a coordinated and timely way and to ensure Horley residents feel the benefit from these improvements.”

Surrey County Council leader David Hodge said: “Making Surrey a better place to live and work is what we’re all about and this joint project promises to deliver real benefits for people in Horley by helping families thrive, creating opportunities for young people and promoting economic growth. It’s great that this project is going ahead to give local people an exciting mix of new homes, community facilities and shops to transform their neighbourhood.”

Outline planning permission was granted in December 2014, following completion of the legal agreement. The developers will now submit planning applications for the detail of the scheme, including its layout, scale, appearance and landscaping.

Preliminary works are planned to start in the spring with the construction of a temporary access road, followed by a new western access road from the A217. The residential development will then be built in four phases, taking approximately ten years to complete.