The redevelopment of the former Rose & Young site in Caterham has been a long standing objective of the Council and is one of the sites in the Caterham Masterplan. The privately owned site had remained unoccupied for many years and the run down appearance of the land and building was affecting the appearance and vitality of the town centre. Steps were taken by the Council to acquire the land through a compulsory purchase order and pursue a scheme to provide a hotel, restaurant and retail unit for which planning permission was granted in 2016.
Planning permission for an alternative scheme was also granted in 2016 (amended scheme approved in 2018). This permission is for a mix of 48 flats and a supermarket on the ground floor and is the scheme which will be delivered following the site’s acquisition by the Clarion Housing Group (CHG), a company committed to providing affordable housing. Work has now started on site and the flats (a mix of 1, 2 and 3 beds) will be available to buy on a shared ownership basis. Lidl will operate the supermarket, for which there will also be parking available.
More details on shared ownership housing and other schemes aimed at helping people to get on the housing ladder in Tandridge is available through the Help to Buy website.
It had been anticipated that the scheme would be complete in late 2020, however during 2019 one of the companies involved in the development went into administration and work temporarily ceased on site. Clarion Housing, recently obtained planning approval for a variation to the original scheme (December 2020). The amendment has resulted in a slight increase in the height of the building, to accommodate increased floor to ceiling heights to allow for additional fire protection measures. Clarion hope to have a new contractor in place shortly with a view to making a start on site in summer 2021