A CAMPAIGN group is urging the government not to allow a piece of public common to be fenced off.
The Open Spaces Society has objected to an application by Walton Heath Golf Club to de-register part of Beecham's Field, off Dorking Road, to turn it into a formal practice ground, replacing the lost common land with a plot on the other side of the M25.
The replacement land is larger, has good views and is of "superior quality" according the club.
But Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the society, said: "The land to be given in exchange is inferior to that to be taken. It is some distance from the common and exiled from it by the M25 motorway, a major barrier.
"In order to reach the exchange land from the common, people have to travel some distance, across the motorway by a bridge which has to be shared between walkers, horse-riders, cyclists and wheelchairs. This is potentially dangerous and certainly inconvenient.
"The existing common is close to the one car park there. It is flat and open. The exchange land is largely wooded and on a steep slope; it is pleasant but of very different character. It is certainly less suitable for walkers and riders of all levels of fitness and ability."
Last week club secretary Stuart Christie told this paper: "The exchange land is a superior piece of land and it is unquestionably larger by 20 per cent.
"It is further away, but on balance I do believe it is a fair proposal."
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will need to agree the deal.
Comments must be submitted by tomorrow (Friday). Write to The Planning Inspectorate, Room 4/05, Kite Wing, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol, BS1 6PN, or e-mail commonlandcasework@pins.gsi.gov.uk
