Consultation and how to get involved

Our consultation process

Consulting with residents is a key part of how we prepare our planning policies and is required by  national policy. The way we consult on planning policy is set out in the adopted Statement of Community Involvement (2020). 

Residents who want to give their thoughts on the Local Plan or upcoming Neighbourhood Plans will need to register their details online. You can also register by e-mailing localplan@tandridge.gov.uk, or by writing to Planning Policy, Council Offices, 8 Station Road East, Oxted RH8 0BT.

Once registered, residents will be able to:

  • Receive notifications and updates of future consultations.
  • Be kept up to date on formal points in the process when they can have their say.
  • Submit views and comments online during active consultations.
  • Opt out of future notifications.

When you register your details, an account will be created and you’ll receive an e-mail confirmation. It’s important you keep this e-mail or make a note of your username and password, as you’ll need it to submit your views in future. When setting up your account, if you don’t receive an e-mail confirmation, please check your spam folders or get in touch. Anyone who has previously commented on our policies preparation or the Local Plan should already have an account or will have had one created for them.

Your name will be published against any comments you make and anonymous comments cannot be accepted.

If you’ve already registered, you can submit your comments on future consultations using the consultation portal  (you can also register for an account on the portal too, a Guide to registering has been prepared to help you).

Any questions relating to consultation or registering for notifications can be directed to the Strategy Team using our contact us form.

We have carried out four stages of consultation on the emerging plan, all consultations were prepared to meet the Regulation 18 and 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Plan) (England) Regulations 2012. 

The initial public consultation on the draft Local Plan: Issues and Approaches (18 December 2015 - 26 February 2016) invited comments on a range of approaches regarding housing, employment, business and leisure needs with the intention of gaining early views on what the plan could include and the ways in which we could address future needs.

Over the course of the Issues and Approaches consultation, 5,202 comments were received, from 3,171 individuals and interested parties. All comments received and how we carried out consultation is set out in the Statement of Consultation (2016).

The Local Plan: Sites Consultation (4 November 2016 - 30 December 2016) gave residents and interested parties an opportunity to comment on sites being assessed as part of the plan.

The Local Plan: Sites Consultation presented a number of sites for comment. Each site has been through landscape, ecology and other assessments to look at whether it could be developed or not.

As a result, sites have been identified which:

  • Could be realistically developed.
  • Cannot be recommended for development.
  • Need more investigation before a decision can be made.

We received 4,706 comments from 1,762 individuals. A Statement of consultation (2017) was prepared and set out the main comments made, our response and any actions we will be taking as we go forward.

The final Regulation 18 consultation on The Local Plan: Garden Villages document (14 August 2017 - 9 October 2017) invited 5,152 comments from 2,820 individuals on the potential location of the garden village development which forms part of the preferred strategy the Council is pursuing in preparing the local plan.  A Statement of Consultation (2018) sets out a summary of main comments from this consultation.

Following the Regulation 18 consultations, we carried out a six week Regulation 19 consultation on Our Local Plan: 2033 (30 July 2018-10 September 2018). The Draft Local Plan Consultation was an opportunity for residents to have their say about the legal compliance and soundness of the draft Local Plan. 1,746 comments were received from 1,663 individuals and interested parties. All comments submitted have been considered and have been summarised in a Regulation 22 Statement of Consultation (2019).

Our Local Plan: 2033 has since been amended and submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on 18 January 2019. Further information on the future progression of the emerging Plan can be viewed on the Local Plan 2033 webpage.