On Tuesday 26th February between 5pm-9pm epilepsy care company, Independence Homes Ltd.are hosting an event at the Soper Hall in Harestone Valley Road to showcase their planning proposals for the site of the old Marie Curie Hospice. 'Harestone House', one of the last Victorian houses in Harestone Valley built in 1879 and designated by Tandridge as a Building of Character under its Heritage Policy has now been demolished. Independence Homes Ltd, the developers, lost their appeal on the refusal by Tandridge District Council to approve their plans for redevelopment when the Inspector upheld that decision in December. In his decision the Inspector reiterated the preferred option of retaining and converting the existing building. If this was not possible then the House should be replaced by 'a similar striking building which should be of sympathetic design and similar scale and height'.

Mike Smith, member of the Harestone Valley Residents' Group said: "At no stage have Independence Homes produced a viability statement on the costs of conversion and it seems that Independence Homes have from the very start always intended the demolition of Harestone House. If they really wanted to consult properly and constructively, it seems unnecessary to have taken this pre-emptive action. It seems very likely that this consultation on 26th February is just window dressing to sell their already pre-conceived plans."

Anna Richardson of Independence Homes said:  "We have taken on board the Inspector's findings on our earlier proposals and the comments received from local residents that they were not adequately consulted previously and are now seeking to engage more fully with our neighbours and interested parties. The open public exhibition will give local people the opportunity to review our revised plans and discuss them with us.

"We have used the time since the appeal to achieve a number of improvements to the proposals, most notably redesigning the layout to reflect the need to protect the important and extensive tree cover on the site.We have brought on board specialist landscape consultants to ensure that our new proposals are environmentally-led. The plans themselves include a number of other important changes and we would encourage any interested person to attend.

"I can confirm that the main building has been marked 'Demolition in progress' for a number of weeks now. Following metal thefts and subsequent flooding, the main building had become dangerous. The completion of the internal preparatory works - removal of asbestos, disconnection of services and such like - has enabled the contractors to move on to the external structure of the building, which they did on Saturday. The advantage to both ourselves and our neighbours is that, once a suitable planning consent is secured, the building work itself can then start (and end) promptly."

Members of the public will have the opportunity to express their opinion on the planning proposals for the site to representatives of Independence Homes at the event at the Soper Hall on 26th February.