To the dismay of residents in areas in the west of the borough threatened by housing developments on Green Belt land within the 5 kilometre buffer zone of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area [TBHSPA], an appeal to overturn the rejection of a planning application [13/P/01453] by Guildford Borough Council planning committee, to convert the 34.5 hectares of Russell Place Farm into Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace [SANG], was upheld by the planning inspector.

The amount of land involved can now be proposed to offset the building of over 1,800 new dwellings within a 5 kilometre radius of Russell Place Farm. This SANG fills a gap in the blanket coverage of the borough by land designated as SANG.

An article in local newspaper, the Surrey Advertiser, outlines the inspector's reasoning behind his decision.