Frequently Asked Questions
We worked to bring the school site forward for over 12 years. Unfortunately, although we explored every possible route, economic pressures and delivery costs have created a financial challenge we cannot overcome.
We are in touch with the school and we are open to working together and providing support, if we can, as our new application progresses.
We are preparing an outline planning application for a residential-led masterplan including family homes alongside new public green spaces in Effingham.
Our vision is for a thoughtfully designed, landscape-led development that builds on the qualities that make Effingham special, and is inspired by the village’s character, identity and sense of place.
The current masterplan repairs the ancient boundary buffer to the north of the site and will aim to deliver over 5 hectares of open space, including new footpaths and green spaces for the public to enjoy.
We’re undertaking comprehensive surveys to understand which protected and non-protected species live within the site. Our plans will integrate and enhance existing habitats and will improve biodiversity.
We are committed to delivering homes that adapt to climate change. Across Berkeley Group, our homes include high-performing building materials and the right renewable and low carbon technologies for each site, including heat pumps and photovoltaics.
More details on our approach to sustainability for the new homes in Effingham will be available at a later stage.
We’re proposing up to 600 homes. The outline planning application, which we’ll submit in Autumn 2026, will set the maximum number of homes which could come forward on the site. If outline planning permission is granted, then reserved matters applications will be submitted that set out the detailed layouts and actual number of properties (including size and tenure).
We’re proposing 50% affordable housing. The tenure of these homes is yet to be agreed and will be discussed and confirmed with the Local Planning Authority at a later stage.
This detail is yet to be confirmed but we hope to include a mix of housing types and sizes to meet market need and cater for a range of people of all needs and aspirations.
We are undertaking traffic surveys with specialists to understand driving habits locally. This will help inform traffic calming measures if they are required in the future. The scope of traffic surveys has been agreed with Surrey County Council, and surveys of junctions and key highway links within Effingham and on key approach routes were completed recently.
Full details of the assessment will be provided in the planning application.
Assessments are ongoing to understand what may be required. Changes or additions to existing local infrastructure will be considered, discussed and agreed with Guildford Borough Council and will form part of any planning permission.
Demand for school places is predicted by Surrey County Council to decrease locally. We have assessed the level of demand that our proposed development could create on local places and based on our research, there is capacity in local schools to accommodate the maximum number of pupils we’d expect this development to bring.
Even though Effingham does not have its own GP practice, there is also capacity in the area’s existing surgeries, with new patients being accepted in all of them.
Full details of these assessments will be provided in the planning application.
All construction-related impacts will be managed through a Construction Environmental Management Plan which would be approved by the Local Planning Authority before work starts.
Berkeley is a signatory of the Considerate Constructors Scheme. This takes into account things like traffic disruption, noise, pollution and permissible site working hours, as well as welfare of our workers and the local community and care for the environment and wildlife.
Our dedicated community liaison officer will be the main point of contact for any matters or concerns relating to construction on-site for the duration of the construction work.
View our consultation page to see a recording of our latest community webinar, along with a copy of our presentation and our feedback survey.
We’ll be meeting with the community again in Autumn 2026 to share our progress, before our planning application is submitted.
You can also sign up to our mailing list to be kept up to date with future consultation.
We are targeting an application submission in Autumn 2026 and hope to have a planning decision in Spring 2027. Should planning permission be granted, we’ll start work on site in Autumn 2028 and expect construction to take around six years.