This is a distinctive scheme pursued in conjunction with Surrey County Council, the owners of a redundant piece of land bought to build a new school. The school was built 7 years ago with remaining land unused.

We approached the County Council and proposed this scheme which is also good for Elmbridge Borough and generates welcome cash for the County Council. Our masterplan is for a dense, relatively high-rise settlement on the banks of the River Mole and adjacent to the Sandown Park racecourse. We will create a marina and a group of bars and restaurants around the marina with apartments above. It is within walking distance of Esher railway station. It will become a significant cultural destination as well as home for several thousand people.

Elmbridge Borough Council has been slow to develop a Local Plan and will probably continue to be slow. We have agreed to share the gains equally with the Council which means that our returns are not generous but this borough has the second highest house prices of all Districts outside London.

The Borough Council’s housing allocation has risen from 225 a year to 774 since policy was last amended locally and the August 2020 White Paper gives the Council a challenge to find locations for 15,480 homes in a predominantly greenbelt District. When Councillors agree to address this, our scheme is actually not controversial in that it uses otherwise inaccessible land to deliver 10% of their housing requirement and a boost to the Esher economy in addition to nearly £80 million in County coffers.

From an investment perspective, this offers relatively modest but low risk return.