Merstham recreation ground refurbishment

Planning application approved - May 2023

A planning application for the refurbishment of Merstham Rec was presented at Planning Committee on the 25 April 2023 with permission granted on 30 May 2023, following a decision by the Secretary of the State to not call in our application.

We will now start the tendering process to appoint a contractor to complete the works.

The below gives more detail on the consultation and engagement that took place, which has helped to shape the final scheme.

You can read more about the improvements that will be delivered on the Merstham Rec - a park for everyone page in this section.

Planning application 

A planning application for the refurbishment of Merstham Rec was submitted by the Council in April 2022, giving statutory consultees (organisations we must consult) and the community the opportunity to comment on the plans before being considered by the Committee. It received a total of 117 public comments (with 5 objections and 106 supporting the application), in addition to stakeholder representations.

The planning application can be viewed on the planning application search, using reference 22/00685/F.

Updated proposals - December 2021

Consultation and engagement with residents, local groups, organisations and sports clubs since September 2020, such as through surveys and discussion groups, has really helped us to understand what you like and don’t like about Merstham Rec and what you would like to see in the future, as well as enabling us to get feedback on our emerging plans.

We shared the latest round of designs with the community in December 2021, ahead of submitting a detailed planning application for the scheme. We sent a newsletter to Merstham residents to update them on the proposals, which you can view below.

• See the December proposals

If you have any comments on the plans, or need any additional information, please email Merstham Rec@reigate-banstead.gov.uk

There is a further opportunity to comment on the planning application through the formal planning process.

Emerging plans consultation - summer 2021

We shared our emerging plans over the summer and invited feedback through a short survey, which closed on 17 September. For residents not online, we displayed the proposals in the park and went along to the Merstham FC summer funday. 

• Take a look at the proposals

We have looked at your feedback, which has helped us to develop our plans further and inform the development of our proposals.

Initial ideas consultation and results - autumn 2020

We ran a consultation last autumn (2020) on our initial designs for the Rec and to find out what’s important for local people. We received over 700 responses – a big thank you to everyone who took part! You can read the results below.

Through surveys, we asked local people about how they use the Rec at the moment, what they liked and disliked about it, and about their preferences and ideas for what should be included in the design. We also had discussions with local organisations, sports groups and clubs to assess what sports facilities could be delivered at the Rec.

• Read a report of the consultation results.

To help to start people thinking, last autumn we prepared some initial designs for how Merstham Rec might look.

• Draft aerial plan of Merstham Recreation Ground layout
• Concept design of the playground and pavilion
• Concept design of the sports court and outdoor gym

Since then, we have been running a regular focus group with residents to help us and our landscape architects to develop the plans further, as well as continuing to engage with local groups and organisations.