We must stop a dangerous precedent that will let unscrupulous developers build in the Green Belt, without planning permission.  This is very serious. 

BBC News: Petition launched after firm told to demolish hotel wing

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-68240216

(By the way, any donations made on this page go to Change.Org to run this site and not to the campaign to save the Green Belt.)

A billionaire, Tory donor Surinder Arora has built extensively, in the Green Belt, without planning permission.  What matters is how we deal with this.  If Runnymede Borough Council continues to support Arora then his proposal to offset the harm by demolishing a smaller, derelict building over a kilometre away will open the door to others.  The whole Green Belt will be vulnerable.  Any developer who builds without planning permission could offer to knock down something miles away in exchange.

Residents were shocked to discover a massive breach of planning permission by the Arora Group and forced the Council to investigate.  The Fairmont Windsor Park hotel is at least 5,000m2 larger than permitted, with an extra wing and two extensions.  Surinder Arora bought residential Green Belt land next to the hotel, cut down trees with preservation orders and built five, luxury treehouses for guests close to a badger sett.  We’ve seen a dead badger, out in the open.  When residents exposed this unlawful construction, he told a planning committee it would never happen again, but he also built two car parks, a road, five tennis courts, outdoor gym and a children’s’ playground for hotel guests without planning permission.

Residents of Englefield Green are distraught after watching, helplessly, as acre after acre of Green Belt has been built on without planning permission and seeing Runnymede Council support Surinder Arora time and time again.

Action needed

The chief executive of Runnymede Borough Council, Andrew Pritchard, must make the Arora Group withdraw the retrospective planning applications for the oversized hotel and the luxury treehouses because they appear to be deceitful, seem to massively understate the scale of unlawful building and could set dangerous new planning precedents. 

Once honest planning applications have been re-submitted, the Council must not support the novel idea of demolishing a building over a kilometre away from the unlawful construction to offset the oversized hotel.

We want to see planning laws used against the Arora Group the same way they have against other residents. 

We want to see the unlawful tree houses, car parks and tennis courts removed, trees replanted and habitat restored.  

Support

This is urgent. The planning committee is due to meet in the next few weeks.  

Please sign the petition and go to our website greenbeltwatch.org.uk where you can donate for legal action. 

Sadly, we don’t believe a petition will be enough by itself; we need to take legal action against Runnymede Council as they spent eight years agreeing to everything the Arora Group did, whether or not it had planning permission.  That included dumping demolition spoil contaminated with concrete and plastics across many acres of Green Belt countryside. 

Donations to Change.org on this site do not come to us.  To donate to The Green Belt Watch go to our website, greenbeltwatch.org.uk  Every donation helps.  Without money we can’t pay the solicitors and the Arora Group will win. Follow us on Facebook at The Green Belt Watch for regular updates.  

Thank you for your support