Along with the latest Brooklands College plans for 350 homes, there are already multiple ‘office to residential’ development proposals, totalling over 680 homes;
– Abbey House on the Brooklands roundabout – 106 (note the Planning Application 2022/1272 is open for comments until this Friday 22nd July)
– JTI office building, Members Hill (see below) – 205
– Locke King Road/Brooklands Road sites – 350 (image above)
– Hawker Building, The Heights – 21 for existing conversion but could be increased
In total this will be over 1030 new homes, all proposed to be built over the next 3 or so years.
To get some perspective on the situation needs an understanding of the current level of housing and population size;
– the population of Weybridge is about 25,000
– the number of homes in Weybridge is about 9900
– the average number of people per home in Elmbridge is 2.38 and in Weybridge is 2.53
Assuming all the proposed developments go ahead, and the new homes are built, it means around 2500 more people living in Weybridge.
This would be an increase of 10% in just a few years.
This level of increase in numbers in such a short time would be totally unprecedented!
Also, this does not include the many other smaller developments which will also come along.
The latest Elmbridge Council Local Plan target number for new homes in Weybridge is 1195, but this is to be over 15 years!
So overall these developments could deliver nearly all of the target in about 3 years….
A major concern is that if all this happens early in the 15-year Local Plan, it could mean Weybridge being given a significant increase on the existing target figure of 1195.
Many residents are already asking how the existing infrastructure will cope?
– We already need more NHS GPs and dentists
– Can the existing schools provide enough places?
– The road situation gets progressively worse; will the traffic grind to a halt for much of the day?
What do you think? Are there other implications?
If you have thoughts and suggestions and would like to share with the Society please email us at feedback@weybridgesociety.org.uk