Settlements
Runnymede is made up of various places of different size and character, serving different purposes, but with common patterns of growth and development.
The focus on ‘settlements’ has become more pronounced with the publication of the draft NPPF (2025), which introduces a presumption in favour of sustainable development within settlements; and restricts the types of development that are considered acceptable outside settlements. We are currently updating our settlement hierarchy baseline information to reflect this new policy framework.
Places and Communities
Our existing evidence base (to be updated) identifies a number of settled areas and communities across the borough:
- Englefield Green
- Egham
- Virginia Water
- Thorpe
- Longcross
- Lyne
- Chertsey
- Ottershaw
- Addlestone & Row Town
- Woodham & New Haw
Our Design Supplementary Planning Document describes five different character types which are featured in the above built-up areas:
- Urban Centre (including Chertsey Revitalisation Area)
- Formal Suburban (town, landscape and riverside), including 21stcentury development and local centres and notable shopping parades
- Dispersed
- Commercial
- Institutions within the Green Belt
The most populated places are Runnymede’s three main town centres and their suburbs: Addlestone, Chertsey and Egham. These areas have been the focus for regeneration and retail development in the 2030 Local Plan’s spatial strategy: the Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) demonstrates that Addlestone has accommodated the most housing growth since 1 April 2015; followed by Chertsey.
Our existing evidence base (to be updated) considers New Haw and Woodham and Virginia Water to be ‘key service centres’, and Englefield Green and Ottershaw as ‘local service centres’. The smaller settled area of Thorpe then follows, along with the washed over settled area of Lyne.
Longcross is also intended as a focus for major residential-led development with a view to creating a new ‘garden village’ to the west of the Borough. Development at the north part of the site was completed in 2021/22, with an outline planning application for the south site awaiting completion of a legal agreement before permission can be granted.
What does this mean for the Local Plan?
Defining different settlement areas across Runnymede provides the basis for a ‘place-based’ approach to the future development of the area, and we are updating our evidence base to better understand our settlement hierarchy. The new Local Plan can focus on the development needs and constraints of each settlement area; and tailor the approach and choices available for these individual areas. The settlement areas are also useful to inform the focus of future Neighbourhood Plans.
Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) figures show that different areas have experienced differing levels of growth since the adoption of the 2030 Local Plan. The vision for the new Local Plan will set out how these areas are envisioned to change over time to achieve sustainable development in the next 15-year period, to meet the development needs of the Runnymede area.
Sources of further baseline information:
Detailed baseline information on Runnymede’s existing settlement areas, settlement hierarchy, and levels of growth is provided in the following evidence (however, this evidence is currently being updated):
Sustainable Places Stage 1 – Defining Settlement Areas (2022)
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