Residents frustrated by lack of facilities

Residents of a Surrey housing development have been left "frustrated and disappointed" by a lack of community facilities near their new homes.

Plans for 1,500 new homes in Westvale Park, near Horley, were approved in December 2014, including £40m of infrastructure and service improvements for the town.

But 10 years on residents say they are still waiting for infrastructure including a GP surgery, community hall and a road to connect the development’s two halves.

A spokesperson for the consortium responsible for the new homes said they understood residents' concerns and were committed to completing all outstanding works.

The consortium, housebuilders Crest Nicholson, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and A2Dominion, was told by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council to stop construction in October.

A council spokesperson said this was because the developers had failed "to deliver important community facilities to support the development and its residents in a timely manner".

The consortium and the council have since agreed revised timeframes for facilities including new playgrounds, allotments, open space and a neighbourhood hall, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A council spokesperson also said an agreement completed in July includes a series of bonds, totalling about £12m, which the council would use to deliver the facilities if the developer does not.

They added: "Since the issuing of the stop notice the council has been working with the developers to make good progress in the delivery of the community facilities."

Claire Minter, secretary of the Westvale Residents’ Association, said: "A lot of residents are very angry.

"Most of the houses on the development have been built but infrastructure that most people were promised hasn’t."

She claimed a school that had been built was oversubscribed, with people going elsewhere, and plans for a GP surgery may have been reduced back to a medical facility in the community hall.

Ms Minter added: "It’s just that the consortium has been so slow to deliver what is needed."

A spokesperson for the Westvale Park consortium of housebuilders said a £16m programme of works had been agreed with the borough council and with Surrey County Council.

They said "considerable progress" was being made with play areas and landscaped open space, with all further infrastructure expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

They added: "We will be writing to residents to apologise for the delays and to share a more detailed programme of works and progress updates."

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