Surrey council area

Selling Land in Epsom and Ewell

Epsom and Ewell is the smallest borough in Surrey, and it built only a third of the homes it needed. Its replacement for the 2007 Core Strategy is close to the finish, and the inspector has asked for more land, including four Green Belt sites.

Free review of your land in Epsom and Ewell

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Epsom and Ewell at a Glance

The council's 2024 flood risk assessment gives the borough an area of 3,407 hectares and a population of 80,900 at the 2021 Census, and its Green Belt topic paper calls it the smallest borough in Surrey with the highest density. Epsom town centre and Ewell village sit at its heart, with Stoneleigh and Worcester Park towards the London boundary. The same flood assessment describes chalk in the south east of the borough and clay, silt, sand and gravel to the north west, and notes that most of the open land is Metropolitan Green Belt because the borough sits on the urban fringe of Greater London.

Joint lowest delivery in Surrey. In the Housing Delivery Test 2025 the council delivered 33% of its requirement, level with Spelthorne.
42% Green Belt. That is the council's own figure, given when it described the borough as "just 13 square miles".
A 2007 Core Strategy. It remains the borough's strategic plan while a replacement is examined.
A new plan at examination. The Epsom and Ewell Local Plan 2022 to 2040 was submitted on 10 March 2025 and has reached the main modifications stage.
East Surrey from April 2027. The borough will be part of the new East Surrey Council.

Because the borough is so tightly drawn, almost every piece of land of any size is either already built on or in the Green Belt. That makes the new plan, and the inspector's changes to it, more important here than almost anywhere else in the county.

Epsom and Ewell in Figures

The government's latest figures for the council, and where its local plan stands.

Housing Delivery Test 2025
33%
Below 75%: treated as having evidenced unmet housing need under national policy S5.
Homes built against homes needed
567
of 1,718 needed, April 2022 to March 2025
Most recent strategic plan adopted
July 2007
More than five years old, so its housing figures are usually replaced by the government's standard method.
New plan progress
Submitted for examination
As at March 2025.

Sources: Housing Delivery Test: 2025 measurement, MHCLG, published 17 August 2026; Local plans: monitoring progress, Planning Inspectorate, August 2026. Local plans move quickly, so always check the council's own website for the latest position.

The Local Plan to 2040 and the Inspector's Changes

The council's Local Plan FAQs explain that the plan uses the older standard method figure of 569 homes a year, because it was approved for publication before the national framework changed on 12 December 2024. Its Green Belt topic paper turns that into 10,242 homes over the plan period and says only 32% of that need can be met on urban sites. In its response to the government's 2024 consultation, the council said the proposed new method would raise the figure from 570 to 817 homes a year.

On that evidence the submitted plan released some Green Belt. The topic paper describes Horton Farm for about 1,250 homes, 10 gypsy and traveller pitches and a public park of about 7 hectares, and Hook Road Arena as a new sports hub with about 100 homes on the eastern part, alongside land at West Park. It calls the release "just 3.36% of the borough's greenfield Green Belt". Hearings ran between 28 August and 10 October 2025, followed by requests for more evidence, a further consultation that opened on 11 May 2026 and an additional hearing on 2 July 2026.

What the Inspector Has Proposed

The inspector's recommended main modifications, reported in September 2026, would add 16 allocations, 12 in the urban area and four in the Green Belt. The Green Belt additions are Priest Hill for at least 275 homes with some commercial and community space, Downs Farm north of College Road for at least 530 homes with an employment hub and a specialist school, a care home of at least 70 bedrooms at Cuddington Glade, and at least 45 homes on land off Cuddington Glade. Identified supply would rise from 4,914 to 6,052 homes and the minimum requirement from 4,700 to 6,012, stepped at around 152 homes a year to 2025/26 and 386 a year from 2026/27. On specified Green Belt sites, affordable housing would rise from the submitted 40% to at least 50%.

Why Priest Hill Was Out in 2024 and in Now

Anyone reading the council's December 2024 Green Belt topic paper will find Land at Priest Hill assessed for 250 to 350 homes and rejected, with the council concluding that it did "not exhibit Exceptional Circumstances" for moving the Green Belt boundary. The inspector now proposes it. The two positions are not a contradiction so much as a change of judge. The council was deciding which sites it needed to reach its own figure, while the inspector has to be satisfied the plan is sound, and a requirement of 6,012 homes against assessed need of 10,242 leaves little room to set aside a site that can deliver. For a landowner the lesson is plain: a council's rejection at the drafting stage is not the final word.

The changes were due before the council's Licensing and Planning Policy Committee on 22 September 2026, with a six-week public consultation to follow before the inspector issues a final report. Until the plan is adopted, the 2007 Core Strategy, the council's other adopted policies and national policy decide applications.

What a 33% Result Means in a Small Borough

A score this low means the borough is treated as having evidenced unmet housing need. The unmet need route in policy S5 does not apply to Green Belt land, and there is very little countryside here that is not Green Belt, so the score does its work in other ways:

Inside the built-up area. Policy S4 supports development inside settlements unless the harm substantially outweighs the benefits. Large gardens, backland, garages and older commercial buildings in Epsom, Ewell and Stoneleigh are all candidates. The council lists an Epsom Town Centre Masterplan in the plan's evidence, which owners of older town centre premises should read.
Grey belt on the edges. Parcels on the edge of the built-up area that play little part in the Green Belt's purposes can be grey belt. The inspector's decision to add four Green Belt sites shows how much weight the need for homes now carries in this borough.
Previously developed land. The council's Hospital Cluster conservation area takes in Horton, Long Grove, The Manor, St Ebba's and West Park, and the topic paper describes West Park as a former hospital site redeveloped as a largely residential area where some clinical uses remain. Buildings and hardstanding with a lawful use have their own routes under Green Belt policy.

On any Green Belt parcel here the Golden Rules add a higher affordable housing share and new or improved public green space, and the proposed modifications show the inspector expects at least 50% affordable homes on the Green Belt sites being added. That is the benchmark we cost in from our first review. Our grey belt guide explains the tests.

Commons, Conservation Areas and the Hogsmill

Feature	How it affects nearby land
Epsom Common	A Site of Special Scientific Interest. In its topic paper the council lists SSSIs among the constraints that would effectively preclude development, and flagged proximity to the SSSI as a possible concern for sites next to the Common.
The Hogsmill River	The council's flood assessment names it the main river through the borough, with its source in Ewell village, and treats it as the main source of river flooding. Horton Stream, Green Lanes Stream and Ewell Court Stream are smaller watercourses. See our flood risk guide.
Surface water	The same assessment names parts of Epsom Town Centre, Ewell Town Centre, Stoneleigh and Worcester Park as at notably higher risk, so drainage design matters on urban plots as much as on fields.
21 conservation areas	They include Epsom Town Centre, Ewell Village, Stamford Green, Woodcote, Church Street and the Hospital Cluster, and they shape the height, layout and materials of schemes nearby.
Chalk in the south east	The flood assessment notes that chalk is highly permeable and carries groundwater, which affects how surface water can be handled on higher ground.

Biodiversity net gain applies here too, and on small, well-vegetated plots the ecology survey can matter as much as the layout. We cover the ecology work and any off-site units a scheme needs. Our guide to biodiversity net gain explains the rules.

The Land We Look for in Epsom and Ewell

Land of an acre or more on the edge of Epsom, Ewell, Stoneleigh or Worcester Park.
Parcels of Green Belt already enclosed by roads, housing or institutional buildings.
Former institutional, commercial or equestrian sites with lawful buildings or hardstanding.
Land within a short walk of a railway station with a frequent service.
Large gardens and backland plots inside the built-up area where several homes could fit.

Many of the opportunities in this borough are small by county standards, and that is not a problem for us. Our page on paddocks and small sites explains how we approach them. If your land is part of a site the inspector has proposed to add, we can explain what the modifications mean for it and what happens next.

Questions From Landowners in Epsom and Ewell

My land is next to one of the proposed new Green Belt sites. Does that help?

It can. Once a neighbouring site is allocated, the Green Belt boundary and the character of the edge change, which can alter how your own land performs. It is not automatic, and we look at the relationship on the ground.

The plan is nearly finished. Is it too late to put my land forward?

For this plan, the list of sites is now largely set by the inspector. The new East Surrey Council will prepare its own plan in time, and some sites come forward sooner through applications under national policy, particularly previously developed land and grey belt.

Will adopting the new plan make it harder to get permission on unallocated land?

An adopted plan with a supply of sites carries more weight, so applications on unallocated land need a stronger case. Until then, the borough's low delivery result and old Core Strategy both feature in decisions.

My land is in the Hospital Cluster conservation area. Does that rule it out?

No. A conservation area governs how a scheme looks and sits among the historic buildings rather than whether homes are allowed, and parts of the former hospital estates have already been turned into housing. The design evidence simply has to be stronger, and we pay for it.

I own a large garden in Ewell. Is that the kind of land you consider?

Sometimes, where several homes could fit and there is a safe access. Inside the built-up area, national policy is supportive, and our review will tell you whether the site is big enough to be worth the planning work.

Tell Us About Your Land in Epsom and Ewell

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Sources

We update this page when new Housing Delivery Test results or local plan milestones are published. Planning positions change quickly, so always check the council's own website before relying on it.