Letter: Netherlands Wood Should Be Protected

Published on: 21 Aug, 2025
Updated on: 21 Aug, 2025

From John Oliver

Many of your readers will know about Newlands Corner and its importance. However, they might not be so familiar with the fact that, just across the A25, half a mile away along the North Downs Way, is a truly important site called Netherlands Wood.

Netherlands Wood is designated as Ancient Woodland. It is also in the green belt and part of what was called the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), now named the “Surrey Hills National Landscape”).

Although the trees on the site are relatively young, mainly plantation pine trees, the site has been wooded for at least 400 years. Therefore, the soil and its inhabitants, including insects and other invertebrates, bacteria and fungal networks, have a very long association with the land.

It is this association which has earned it the title of “Ancient Woodland”. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), at paragraph 193(c), states that “development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats (such as ancient woodland and ancient or veteran trees) should be refused, unless there are wholly exceptional reasons”.

Without any qualification, the NPPF defines ancient woodland as “irreplaceable habitat”. So, Netherlands Wood is irreplaceable.

Netherlands Wood is also a “Dark Skies” location. This gives it protected status. The Albury Estate, which owns Netherlands Wood, has joined in partnership with Wyld Cabins Ltd and submitted a planning application to Guildford Borough Council (GBC) to place 32 eco-cabins in the woodland.

These luxury cabins, I stress “luxury”, would have picture windows and a terrace with outside kitchen, wood-burning fire pit/stove and hot tub.

There would be low level lights along the paths, security lights flashing on and off at any human/animal movement, lights from the cabins and terraces themselves and car headlights. You can see the application documents on the GBC planning website at reference 25/P/00967.

Does it get any worse? Yes.

The site is a breeding and feeding haven for protected bird species, a number on the Red (ie threatened with extinction) and Amber Lists, protected dormice (also threatened with extinction) and protected bats. There are protected badger setts on or near the application site. And that doesn’t include the effect on unprotected species, including its soil inhabitants which have lived in relative peace for over 400 years.

Even the documents supporting the application recognise that this site is very rare in Surrey – ie largely undisturbed by human activity. It is, therefore, a wonderful place for biodiversity, particularly birds, to live, feed and thrive.

However, introducing the proposed cabins will cause damage and deterioration to the site, during their construction, the laying of tracks and paths, light pollution, noise and disturbance, covering the land to accommodate a car park and amenity buildings, compaction of the soil through the activity around the cabins and over a wider area as people go walking and cycling, dogs fouling the land and scaring off ground or close-to-ground nesting birds. The list goes on.

The main planning consideration is the NPPF [National Planning Policy Framework], which as above, states that planning permission should be refused “unless there are wholly exceptional reasons”. This is normally taken to mean that there are overriding national infrastructure reasons.

Luxury holiday cabins cannot in any way be considered to be a wholly exceptional reason for destroying the tranquil and biodiversity-rich habitat that Netherlands Woods is.

Finally, given that Netherlands Wood is largely comprised of pine trees, and the floor has a generous covering of pine needles, the danger of fire is very real in these climate change days. The proposal introduces wood burning fire pits and stoves, outside cooking and, undoubtedly, some smokers.

Add to that the risk of imported, disposable barbecues, and the dangers multiply.

The applicant has tried to suggest that there is no history of wildfires in the area. Undoubtedly that is the case. However, history does not deal with the problems arising now as a result of climate change. The very recent fire at Blackheath Common, about a mile away, indicates the dangers quite clearly.

If Netherlands Wood catches fire it will, as a result of its pine trees and pine needle ground cover, burn – rapidly. The adjacent Harrowhill Copse will act as a fire conduit which will threaten the internationally-important ancient yews at Merrow Downs and Newlands Corner.

For many reasons, this proposal must be stopped. Please look at the proposal on the GBC website and consider making a representation against it.

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