Cobham Heritage has four Open Meetings during the year. Members and non-members are welcome and encouraged to attend.
During our meetings we update everyone with the work of the Trust and the important local issues, including local planning, heritage and conservation.
We are fortunate to have the regular support of our local councilors who are often in attendance, together with speakers who provide interesting and valuable talks on a range of topics.
We also have a range of books available for purchase and new members can also join at the meeting.
The Open Meeting in March also includes our AGM.
Open meetings normally take place at the Cobham Village Hall, Lushington Drive, Cobham, Surrey, KT11 2LU (click here for map)
The dates for our 2026 Open meetings are as follows:
Cobham Heritage Open Meetings 2026
|
| March |
Wednesday |
18th March 2026 at 8pm |
Annual General Meeting and Open Meeting |
| June |
Wednesday |
17th June 2026 at 8pm |
Open Meeting |
| September |
Wednesday |
23rd September 2026 at 8pm * |
Open Meeting |
| December |
Wednesday |
16th December 2026 at 8pm |
Open Meeting |
* change to previously announced date.
All members and non-members welcome.
Update:
The developer of the Blundel Lane housing development called "The Paddocks" has made changes to their planning application. Stoke D'Abernon Residents Association has a useful article which outlines many of outstanding issues which you may want to comment on before the 2 December 2025 deadline, although comments can be submitted after this date. Click here for more details
An outline planning application has been made for the development of 250 new houses on Blundel Lane – called “The Paddocks” (www.elmbridge.gov.uk/planning #2025/1097).
This application is to confirm the principle of, and access to, this development – Elmbridge Borough Council (EBC) will decide matters like the actual housing number, tenure, mix, size, design... later.
The Trust is so concerned about this development it is commissioning expert reports from both an ecologist and a traffic expert to augment its own knowledge and understanding of planning law and guidance.
This development would have a disproportionate impact on the area. It alone would expand Stoke D’Abernon by 40%. The cumulative effects of all the new houses – 2100 at Wisley New Town, this development, and others in the pipeline - will change our community for the worse and for ever.
The Heritage Trust is therefore adamantly opposed to this development and we ask you to consider objecting to it, if you agree with our concerns, via the EBC’s website or by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The deadline for objections is 27th June 2025. While you may have others, our principal reasons for refusal are set forth below, which you can add in your own words.
- This would be “inappropriate development” on the Green Belt: there are no “very special circumstances” to allow it. It would also severely harm the openness of the neighbouring Green Belt areas.
- This is not Grey Belt land. It is not previously developed land, and it strongly contributes to the purposes of the Green Belt - including the prevention of urban sprawl from the Cobham/Stoke/Oxshott settlement into the rural area. The government’s own Planning Practice Guidance, to help planners determine what may be Grey Belt, makes clear this land is not Grey Belt in any way whatsoever.
- The development would be unsafe: Blundel Lane is a dangerous, narrow, and twisting country lane, onto which this development would send c. 1500 additional vehicles per day. For these they intend to have two access roads with inadequate sight lines – a safety nightmare.
- The Blundel Lane junction with Stoke Road is an accident black-spot – much of the development’s traffic would use this junction and so it would further endanger life. The area has had multiple accidents including fatalities so surely the council cannot contemplate such additional risk.
- The development would be unsustainable. It would be in an isolated location with limited public transport, so residents would be highly reliant on private cars for work, shops, schools, health, leisure… Blundel Lane already experiences unacceptable levels of congestion, which this development will add to. The lack of infrastructure to support this development is palpable and to believe the authorities will provide this if needed is conjecture.
- The prospect of more pedestrians and cyclists on Blundel Lane is unconscionable. There are only limited pavements, and the road is far too narrow. This is particularly an issue at the railway bridge that has blind corners at each end and should anyway be one-way controlled by traffic lights.
- The development would harm the ecology and the rural character of the area, while the scale, bulk and mass of the development would be incongruous, overbearing and visually intrusive, harming the residential amenities for all.
Adrian Wise
Trustee, Planning
