Westcott Neighbourhood Plan Examination & Referendum

The Westcott Neighbourhood Plan was submitted for independent examination on 4 February 2026. This examination was conducted by Mr Andrew Mead BSc (Hons) MRTPI MIQ and concluded with the publication of his report on 18 May 2026.

On 2 June 2026, the Council published its Decision Statement. With the consent of the Westcott Village Forum, the Council accepted all of the Examiner’s recommended modifications except one relating to the safeguarding of the Riverbank Surgery and a focused consultation on this issue was undertaken between 9 June and 21 July 2026.

Following the consultation, Mr Derek Stebbing BA (Hons) DipEP MRTPI was appointed to examine the single issue of the Riverbank Surgery. A public hearing was held on 23 September 2026 and can be viewed on the Viewing Live Council Meetings webpage. The Council received the Single Issue Examiner’s Report on 30 October 2026 and published its Decision Statement on 2 November 2026.

The Plan will now proceed to referendum, incorporating accepted modifications from the examinations. The referendum will be held on Thursday 10 December 2026 and more information can be found on the Westcott Neighbourhood Planning Referendum webpage.

The links below provide access to the following documents:

  • Examination Documents – Contains all of the documents produced during the examinations, including relevant correspondence between the Examiner’s, Westcott Village Forum, and the Council.
  • Referendum Documents – Contains all of the documents associated with the referendum.
  • Submission Documents – Contains all of the documentation submitted by the Council, including the Westcott Neighbourhood Plan and representations received by the Council (see Regulation 16 Statement of Consultation).

Updates

The ‘referendum version’ of the Westcott Neighbourhood Plan, which includes accepted modifications arising from the examinations, has been published. The referendum will take place on Thursday 10 December 2026. More information can be found on the Westcott Neighbourhood Planning Referendum webpage.

The Council has published its Decision Statement.

The Council received the Single Issue Examiner’s Report.

A Hearing Statement from Bell Cornwell on behalf of Dr Thomas Guilder has been published.

Hearing Statements from the Westcott Village Forum and Dorking Medical Practice have been published.

The Examiner requested that an Email from Mr Utting on behalf of Rushmon Homes is published.

An Examiner’s Note has been published regarding the single-issue examination confirming that a Hearing will be held.

The Hearing, which is a public hearing, will take place on Wednesday, 23 September 2026 from 2pm in the Council Chamber at Mole Valley District Council, Pippbrook, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1SJ.

The following Examiner’s Note Annexes have also been published:

If any special assistance or particular facilities are required at the Hearing, participants should contact the Council in advance, to enable appropriate arrangements to be made. Please contact the Council by email: planning.policy@molevalley.gov.uk.

The Examiner has agreed to accept a clarification from the NHS Surrey & Sussex Integrated Care Board for his consideration. 

The Examiner has agreed to accept the following two documents for his consideration:

Mr Derek Stebbing BA (Hons) DipEP MRTPI has been appointed to examine this single issue matter of whether to safeguard the Riverbank Surgery.

The focused consultation on the matter of whether to safeguard the Riverbank Surgery has closed. Please refer to the Statement of Consultation to review the consultation responses.

A focused consultation opened on the matter on whether to safeguard the Riverbank Surgery. Please refer to the Consultation Document.

The Council has considered the recommendations of the Examiner’s Report and published its Decision Statement.

The Examiner’s Report is published and the Examiner has found the Westcott Neighbourhood Plan to be sound, subject to some amendments. The examination has concluded. The next stage is for the Council to consider the recommendations of the Examiner’s Report and determine whether the Westcott Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to a referendum incorporating the Examiner’s proposed modifications. The Council will publish its Decision Notice before 18 June.

The Examiner has accepted a late representation and a schedule showing this late representation has been published.

The Council has published the representations schedule for the Examiners focused consultation on legal changes.

The Examiner has sent a letter to representor Mr Subuh (03/AM/WNP).

The Examiner has sent the Council and Westcott Village Forum a letter regarding recent legal changes (03/AM/WNP). Anyone with an interest in the examination may comment on the legal compliance and Basic Conditions changes outlined in this letter, should they wish to. There is no need to resubmit or repeat representations submitted previously in relation to other matters, nor is this an opportunity to raise new matters that do not relate to the legal changes outlined in the letter. Anyone intending to submit a response on these matters has until 5pm Monday 30 March 2026 (a period of two weeks) to submit a response to the Council, by email to: planning.policy@molevalley.gov.uk.

The Council have received confirmation to publish their response to the Examiner’s questions. The Forum’s response to the Examiner’s Questions can be viewed on the Forum’s examination webpage.

Correspondence between the Examiner and the Forum, relating to the publication of the Examiner’s questions, has been published.

The Examiner has sent the Council and Westcott Village Forum a list of questions (02/AM/WNP) to answer.

The Examiner has provided the Council and Westcott Village Forum with their initial determination letter (01/AM/WNP).

The Westcott Neighbourhood Plan was submitted by the Council for independent examination. Mr Andrew Mead BSc (Hons) MRTPI MIQ was appointed by the Council to carry out the independent examination into the Westcott Neighbourhood Plan.
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