The Diocese of Guildford and Frontier Estates are submitting a planning application to build a residential care home on the former Leatherhead Trinity School site on Aperdele Road in North Leatherhead.
Canon Alex Tear, Diocesan Director of Education for the Diocese of Guildford, said: “We are pleased that we have managed to secure a future for this former Church school site that will benefit the local community. If planning is approved, we will hand over the site to our developer to build a residential care home to serve older people and offer dementia care. The proceeds from the sale will be paid into a protected endowment which can only be used for Church of England education across the Diocese.
“It's really important to us that we make sure that this development benefits the local community. We are aware from discussions with Surrey County Council and Mole Valley District Council, that there will be concern about the loss of the site as one that has previously been used as a community facility. In seeking planning permission we intend to propose to MVDC as the Local Planning Authority measures by contributing financially to the provision of further community facilities off-site."
The former school site was closed in August 2019 by Surrey County Council when it decided to close the Children’s Centre and the site was handed back to the Diocese. Following a charitable valuation to fulfil the requirements of the Charity Commission, the Diocese marketed the site and agreed a contract with Frontier Estates to develop the site for a residential care for the elderly.