Hello there,

After a hard-fought battle to stop the opening up of our Green Belt to development, I am pleased to announce that the Lib Dems have backed down following our lengthy campaign to protect the Green Belt.
 
In 2016, the Lib Dem-led Elmbridge Borough Council put forward a plan that included building on our Green Belt - even when 85% of residents were against this.

In a major win for constituents the Council's Draft Local Plan, published this week, shows they have finally conceded to the demands of myself, local Conservative Councillors and residents. The plans to allow new houses to be built on Green Belt land have been scrapped.

For years, I have made clear that developers cannot be allowed to build on our Green Belt. 
 
Without a Local Plan in place Esher and Walton is vulnerable to developers building the wrong houses in the wrong places. I am pleased that this new draft plan now follows the proposals put forward by Conservative Cllr Tim Oliver in 2018.  

The Draft Local Plan will be considered at Elmbridge Borough Council's next cabinet meeting on 16 March and then at full council on 22 March. After this there will be a period of public consultation and a full review by a planning inspector. I hope that this is the start of much-needed, robust protection for our green spaces, but I will continue to fight for this until it is fully secure.

There is still a long road ahead and I will be posting regular updates about this on my website. Please visit dominicraab.com or follow me on Facebook to stay up to date with this and other issues.

Yours sincerely,