Surrey Hills AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) is undertaking a Boundary Review and looking at extending its boundaries to include areas of Limpsfield (amongst others) within the designated area. ⠀

The Surrey Hills AONB was only the second landscape to be designated in England in 1958, and the boundary has not been reviewed since its original designation. In 2011 Natural England’s Board commissioned a study carried out by consultants Alison Farmer Associates to review the evidence for a boundary review.

Limpsfield is on the furthest Eastern edge of the current Surrey Hills AONB area and while some of Limpsfield is in the Surrey Hills AONB already – Limpsfield Chart Woods, Titsey and the south facing slopes of the North Downs from Park Road up to Woldingham, some areas, such as Limpsfield Common, Limpsfield Chart Common, Tenchleys/Trevereux, Pains Hill and Itchingwood are not.

The LPC Planning Committee submitted the following areas for inclusion within the revised boundary:

  • West Heath
  • Limpsfield Common
  • Scearn Bank
  • Caxton
  • Swaynesland
  • Tenchleys

Our opinion is (as submitted to the AONB Review) that the whole of this area (LNP Character LCA04 – Wooded Greensand Hills) should be in the Surrey Hills AONB.

The AECOM Limpsfield Heritage and Character Assessment Report, September 2016 (produced for the Neighbourhood Plan) was also submitted to support the submissions.

The Review Board received over 2000 submissions which are currently being reviewed.

For more information, go to: https://www.surrey-hills-aonb-boundary-review.org/review

For our previous article on the background of the review, click here.