Public consultation on new homes at the former Moore Place Golf Course, Esher
Charterhouse Strategic Land and Moore Place Holdings are undertaking an initial public consultation on proposals for new homes on the former Moore Place Golf Course in Esher, Elmbridge, which is outlined in red on the map to the right.
Later this year, we will bring forward more detailed proposals and carry out a further public consultation, but now we are seeking feedback from residents on the general principles and objectives of our development.
Below you will find some information about our early thinking as well as details of a planned consultation event.
Come and meet the team
Please join us at our public consultation event. Members of the project team will be there to answer questions, talk through the proposals, and listen to your feedback.
We look forward to seeing you, and there is no need to RSVP or book – just turn up at any point during the hours below.
Date: Thursday 19 June 2025
Time: 2pm-8pm
Location: Esher Theatre
Why build here?
Elmbridge Borough Council has an urgent need to provide new housing. The government’s targets for housebuilding in the borough mean that land must be found for 1,574 new homes every year. Elmbridge needs new affordable housing in particular – it is one of the least affordable areas in the UK, with the average home costing more than 17 times the average salary. In the 2023/24 financial year, Elmbridge delivered just 406 new homes, of which only 50 were affordable homes and none of these were for social rent.
Moore Place Golf Course closed in 2019 as it was no longer financially viable, and the land is currently not in use, with a number of dilapidated structures including the old club house. It would be a highly sustainable location for new homes – just a few minutes’ walk from Esher town centre and public transport routes. The map on the right shows the site’s access to local services and amenities.
The land is surrounded by housing on all sides and is well screened by vegetation. It is also considered to be ‘grey belt’ land rather than ‘green belt’ under the government's recent changes to planning policy.
Our goals and principles
High quality placemaking, with around half the land proposed to be retained as publicly accessible open space
Create a strong relationship to the existing community and preserve landscape character through connected greenspaces
Improve local infrastructure and make it easy for new residents to live healthy and sustainable lives
Deliver a high proportion of affordable homes for local people – 50% of the new homes to be affordable housing
Our proposals
We are at an early stage in drawing up our proposals and for now we would like to consult the public on our general principles of development.
We believe that this former golf course could provide opportunities for:
Up to 275 new homes, including 50% affordable housing to meet local needs
Publicly accessible green space, playgrounds, and parks – making up around 50% of the land
New and enhanced green links connecting existing neighbourhoods, including preserving the public footpath that crosses the site, and new active travel routes
Sustainable transport routes and connections to nearby bus and rail services, alongside a new mobility hub
Appropriate building heights and density, and a high quality design to complement the character of Esher and the nearby listed buildings and conservation area
Environmentally-friendly construction, with low energy and water usage built into new homes from the outset
Green space
Around half the land is proposed to be retained as publicly accessible open space, creating a leafy and green new neighbourhood. This could include:
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Playgrounds and pocket parks
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Retained and improved tree planting on the ridge line running across the highest part of the land
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Rain gardens and ponds, which also help drainage
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Connecting up existing woodland with new planting
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Recreational woodland with public paths
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Biodiversity enhancements
Transport
The site is well connected to local transport networks. Esher station is a short bike ride away and offers regular services to London Waterloo, Woking, Basingstoke, and Alton. It is also within 90 metres of the 715 bus service, which provides services between Kingston and Guildford, while additional bus services are available nearby from Esher High Street.
We believe that the A307 Portsmouth Road would be the right place for cars to access the site, with additional access for pedestrians and cycles only onto Lammas Lane to the north.
Site constraints
We understand that the site has constraints as well as opportunities. These include:
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Existing public rights of way across the site that need to be protected and enhanced
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The need for new tree planting to preserve the privacy of neighbouring residents
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Tree Protection Orders across the site, alongside areas of ecological value and woodland that should be protected
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Oil pipelines that cross the site
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Nearby listed buildings including Moore Place Lodge, Clive House, Hawkshill Place, Hawkshill Cottage, and Claremont Park and Garden
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Esher Conservation Area to the north east of the site
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Topography
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Surface water flood risk
We want to develop this site sensitively within these constraints.
Next steps
June 2025
Initial consultation on general principles of development
Summer 2025
Project team consider feedback and work on more detailed plans
Autumn 2025
Further consultation with residents on proposals
Winter 2025
Submission of outline planning application to Elmbridge Borough Council, and statutory consultation with residents and neighbours
About Charterhouse
Charterhouse Strategic Land is the strategic land promotion arm of Charterhouse Property Group, an established private property investment and development company founded over 30 years ago. At Charterhouse we are committed to identifying land to meet the country's social, economic and environmental development needs and are guided by the principles of contributing to sustainable development. We are committed to delivering new housing and other development including supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner and strive to achieve carefully considered, well designed and high quality schemes.
Have your say
We want to hear your views. You can do this by using the feedback form or contacting us using the phone number or email address below:
To speak to the project team, ask questions, and leave feedback, please come to our drop-in consultation event. There is no need to RSVP or book – just turn up at any point during those hours.
Our next consultation event:
Date: Thursday 19 June 2025
Time: 2pm-8pm
Location: Esher Theatre