CR3 Forum Steering Group member, Sarah Burningham, chats to a visitor at the Neighbourhood Plan Consultation Event in Whyteleafe.

A Consultation Day was held in St. Luke's Church Hall in Whyteleafe on Wednesday 5th March to give local people the opportunity to learn about the Neighbourhood Plan being put together by members of the CR3 Forum. If implemented, the Neighbourhood Plan will give local residents a lot more say in local planning issues and service provision e.g. schools, health and leisure. With the population predicted to grow by 15% in the next 20 years, local schools and doctors' surgeries will have to be expanded to meet demand. The members of the CR3 Forum have been thoroughly researching the current provision and displayed their findings at yesterday's event.

CR3 Forum Steering Group member, Mark Bristow, said: “We hope to bring to the attention of the community that there is a Neighbourhood Plan and we would all very much like to receive feedback about what they would like to see and not see and help shape the way they live."

Visitors to the event were invited to leave feedback forms with their thoughts and ideas for the future of the CR3 area and were able to speak to representatives of the CR3 Forum who were present.

Chaldon Village Councillor, Ted Howard, explained the pressures that will be put on local amenities as the population expands in the next 20 years. He said: “de Stafford School is already oversubscribed and it does not even have a sixth form. It has 750 places and 850 students are enrolled, with 74% of the students coming from the CR3 area. The Neighbourhood Plan can show that CR3 will have to have another secondary school, with a sixth form, to provide adequate secondary school provision. The population is ageing too. The number of people aged over 80 is projected to go up from three million to six million in the next 20 years which will put increased pressure on the local doctors surgeries. The surgeries in Chaldon Road and Whyteleafe need to be replaced with larger practices and more suitable locations and the Dene Hospital needs to be extended as well. These are all the things that will be included in the Neighbourhood Plan.”

Another Consultation Event is being held in Chaldon on Saturday 12th April. If you would like to become a member of the CR3 Forum and work with the Neighbourhood Plan teams please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. stating that you wish to be a member or phone 01883 577008. For more information go to http://caterhamareaforum.wordpress.com/