Football academy, children’s nursery and cycling hub approved in Dorking
As part of the Pixham Lane masterplan.
A football academy, a 130-place children’s nursery, and a cycling hub, have all been approved in Dorking as part of the Pixham Lane masterplan.
The site had been seen as an opportunity for a new Dorking Wanderers FC stadium but that was kicked into the long grass when it became clear the club’s future was at Meadowbank.
Now, developers Stonegate Homes have been granted planning permission by Mole Valley councillors for three new community buildings as part of a grander vision for the site that could also feature a senior living home for about 200 people and 300 new homes.
The largest of the buildings approved last week is a 414 square metre nursery, which will be built over two floors, and have space for up to 130 children across four classrooms.
A new youth academy will be used by Dorking Wanderers Football Club and features classrooms for up to 40 students at any time.
The final building will become a cycling hub after the plans sailed through the Wednesday, September 6 meeting with only minor objections from councillors.
The council said it expected the hub to be a hit with cyclists as “a place to meet and relax, as well as a place to repair and purchase cycling equipment and accessories”.
Speaking at the meeting was Councillor Simon Budd who questioned the need for a nursery after two had closed within the past year, suggesting a lack of demand and that “we would be much better building and SEN school rather than a nursery school”.
The site is surrounded by Dorking railway station as well as a train line running north to London and south to Horsham.
Cllr Rosemary Hobbs said: “If anyone has visited this site and walked in from Lincoln Road, they’ll know this is a particularly unpleasant looking, very messy looking, area of Dorking.
“It will greatly enhance the appearance of that part of the town and I think it is a good use of the land.
“The nursery will presumably get some business from the number of residents in the properties on the site.”
Mole Valley Borough Council is currently preparing its new long-term planning bible, the Local Plan, which sets out the types and levels of permitted development in the area.
The council said it has been submitted to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and is currently under examination by an Inspector.
The draft earmarks the site for 276 dwellings at least three Gypsy and traveller pitches.