A community campaign has been launched to oppose plans for a 507-home development on part of Sunbury Golf Course in Shepperton, Surrey, with organisers urging residents to submit formal objections.
A planning application has been submitted by Cater Properties, and proposes the homes, a 75-bed care home and a medical centre on the eastern side of the course.
In a 127-page planning statement submitted alongside the outline application, planning consultancy DHA, acting for Cater Properties, argues the site qualifies as ‘grey belt’ land – meaning it does not strongly contribute to the purposes of the green belt – and that Spelthorne’s housing delivery record creates a ‘demonstrable unmet need’ that justifies building on it.
Rather than proposing the closure of Sunbury Golf Course outright, the application would reconfigure the remaining site into a 12-hole course alongside the existing driving range. A golf needs assessment commissioned by the applicant concludes that, even after this loss, sufficient golf provision would remain within a 20-minute drive-time catchment (34 courses across 28 venues) to meet current and forecast demand to 2034.
The statement puts the scheme’s construction investment at approximately £130.6 million, supporting an estimated 273 direct and 332 indirect jobs annually during construction, alongside the care home and medical centre it says would address gaps in local health and social care provision. It also commits to a minimum 10 percent biodiversity net gain and sustainable drainage measures.
Campaigners, however, have compiled a detailed guide encouraging objections to Spelthorne Borough Council ahead of the consultation deadline on October 7.
According to the campaign group, the site presents a series of significant planning concerns. They point out that the land was previously used as a landfill and they raise concerns over flood risk, wildlife – including rare bat species and several nationally protected bird species said to use the site – traffic capacity at nearby junctions and infrastructure limits.
Central to the campaign’s case is the status of the course itself. Organisers describe Sunbury as “not a dying facility”, citing 644 members and 71,716 rounds played in 2025, along with a waiting list for junior membership. They note it is the only 18-hole course in the borough open to the public, and say the council’s own leisure team has acknowledged that losing it would run counter to the borough’s leisure strategy.
Leave a Reply