This is an archive page showing the update from Summer 2023.  The details on this page no longer reflect the proposal from Pines and Needles.

The planning application for this site has just been submitted, and we wanted to update local people about several issues.

We are aware that local residents are concerned about HGV and van traffic to the site, and we want to reassure people about this.

We are very keen not to cause disturbance, and want to find the best means of making this operation work. We are aware of the school, and we are looking at how to reduce impact on local residents, including restricting hours of operation.

For most of the year, traffic to and from the site will be very minimal, but we clearly have a four to six week period where traffic increases.

For this period, there will be up to 6 HGVs on site a day, taking the route along Grafton Road, so that they can go straight over the junction from Cromwell Road. When we brought the temporary office units onto the site, they came along this route. HGVs leaving the site will go back via Worcester Park Road.

All vans will go down Worcester Park Road.

We have two entrances for vehicles to the site, one for HGVs and one for vans. The site entrances and doors mean no vehicles will need to wait on Riverhill Lane. The site entrances are very carefully planned to allow HGVs to wait before entering the site properly.

In the image below, HGVs come onto the site, but are not allowed through Gate A until ready.

All vehicles can enter and exit the site in forward gear.

Vans go through Gate B.

Entrance plan

We have the ability to control when HGVs and vans arrive at the site, so that they are not waiting. We have a plan in place to hold HGVs away from the site until the site is ready. In extreme cases, the holding area outside Gate A can take two HGVs.

The full traffic plan can be seen below.


Click to open the traffic plan as a PDF popup

The bridge is sufficiently strong to take HGV vehicles to the site. A structural survey of the bridge was undertaken in 2020.


Click to open the bridge report as a PDF popup

The sheds (for each retail operation) are taken from the site and brought back on trucks – not HGVs. They can and will travel along Worcester Park Road.

 

What are you doing to promote biodiversity on the site? We pay rent to our landlord for the entire site, but much of the site is left as wild, including wildflowers to promote biodiversity.

You can see the landscape report by clicking here.
Local people would like to restore the riverbank pathway, giving access to the Hogsmill, can you help? We have included a path along the Hogsmill outside the bund on our landscape drawing, and we will be happy to help implement it. We've scheduled the work for early 2024, and we think it will be a significant improvement for the local community
Will there be any noise from tree cutting? Trees are cut in Scotland, not on site. At the end of the season, we chip remainder trees for biomass fuel – this will happen during acceptable daytime hours. We sometimes use chainsaws, but they tend to be electric.
Why have you asked for retrospective planning? There is good reason to think the use of the site is lawful already, given the historic use as a garden centre, the existing hardstanding etc. Much of the operation on the site will be the growing of saplings from seed, which is an agricultural and forestry use. In addition, the operational needs of the business, and the lack of available suitable sites, meant that Pines and Needles had to move in at this time, to ensure it can be ready for Christmas 2023.
Will any precedent be created from a planning consent on this site? Our planning application is for "Use of the site for a nursery for the propagation and growing of saplings and the associated storage and distribution of Christmas trees and the installation of a single storey modular office, storage containers, poly tunnels, and hard and soft landscaping". We believe this use will fall into Sui Generis - in which case any future proposal would need to be of a very similar nature to avoid the requirement for a new planning permission.
Is there an opportunity for local employment with Pines and Needles? There are many roles on the site during the four to six week period before Christmas, and others during the remainder of the year. We also employ people on our retail sites – the closest is at the YMCA Hawker Centre, but others are Bushy Park, Richmond Park and Wimbledon Park. You can see more on our main website at https://www.pinesandneedles.com/
Do you keep fuel on the site? We are very aware of fire hazards, and the limited fuel we have on site will be kept at the top of the site. We operate in the Royal Parks, where there are very strict regulations for fuel, and these will be adhered to on this site as well.
What is the employment practices of Pines and Needles? Everyone who works for Pines and Needles does so under a proper and legal contract and is paid at least the minimum wage.
Will you be selling Christmas trees from the site? The site is not for retail to the general public.
What are you doing about sewage and pollution on the site? Measures are being taken to connect the site to the sewage network.
What’s the working hours on the site? For the four week period during Christmas, we are likely to limit it to a six day week.
Who is responsible for pruning the overgrown trees on both sides of the road into Riverhill Lane? We believe this is Epsom and Ewell Council.
Can I contact anyone on site? We are a good neighbour. If local residents have any concerns, they can speak to David Murrell (operations director), who is often on site.