Play areas and allotments handed over to council

Once the two allotment sites are completed, they will be transferred to the council

New play areas, allotments and a community hall are to be handed over to a Surrey council after developers were banned from building or selling new homes.

Builders of the major regeneration plan Westvale Park, in Horley, were given a stop notice in October 2023 by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council.

Work at the site began in 2015 and within seven years 1,130 homes had been built and occupied, but residents have been left without a promised GP surgery, pub or community centre.

At a council meeting on Tuesday, bosses agreed details for the new green spaces and community hall to be transferred to council-ownership, which means residents should soon be able to access them.

The stop notice was served to Crest Nicholson, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and A2Dominion for “failing to deliver important community facilities to support the development and its residents in a timely manner”.

It was lifted in July this year and new timeframes for the delivery of the community facilities have been set out.

Residents at the Horley new builds had been left without a GP surgery, pub or community centre

Since the notice was issued, “demonstrable progress” has been made to deliver the community infrastructure promised, council documents said.

Once the developers have completed the infrastructure, it will be transferred to the council.

This also includes an estimated £7m from the developers to cover the future upkeep of the parks and other community assets.

The council is looking to find an organisation to run the hall, which has not yet been completed.

Documents said it had also been in “active discussions” with a local GP practice to take the first floor space for an outreach practice.

Of the 16 local play areas, 13 of them are complete. The remainder are due to be finished by the end of September.

When the two allotment sites are completed, they will be designated as statutory allotments, which means they cannot be sold.

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