Project Description
Location: Metropolitan Green Belt – Oxted – Surrey
Project: Minerals & waste
DOWSETTMAYHEW were instructed to lead a design team in the preparation and submission of proposals for the residential-led restoration of a working chalk quarry within the Surrey Green Belt and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The site has rights to extract chalk until 2042, together with the importation of infill material. This operation causes concern from the local community primarily on traffic grounds.
Working with landowners, DOWSETTMAYHEW devised a residential-led scheme for surrendering existing lawful uses and restoration of the quarry. The scheme involved complex issues of restoring a working quarry without further importation of material in a way that positively contributed to the character of a highly sensitive site. Integral to the scheme were extensive surveys to analyse existing workings and the proposed scheme on the local area, including traffic, ecology, flood risk, noise and contamination. DOWSETTMAYHEW undertook a series of pre-application meetings and discussions with the Local Planning Authority, local politicians and the local community. This culminated in the preparation and submission of an outline planning application, supported by an extensive Environmental Impact Assessment.