Cobham
This site is in the Thames Basin Heaths National Character Area and supplies units to developments across London & South East. We own it freehold and protect it in perpetuity.
Exact location and grid reference shared on enquiry.
- Planning authority
- Elmbridge
- Developments supplied
- 86
- Tenure
- Owned freehold
- Protection
- In perpetuity
About the site
Chatley Farm is south-west of Cobham, close to junction 10 of the M25, with the River Mole running along its northern boundary. Before we bought it the land was pasture and silage grassland with scattered trees, bordered by ditches and hedgerows, with an existing pond and ancient woodland beyond the southern edge. It was chosen because it lies within the River Mole Biodiversity Opportunity Area and works as natural floodplain, so restoration here supports nature recovery across the wider valley rather than in isolation.
The grassland is being enhanced to species-rich neutral grassland, with a target of at least ten plant species per square metre and knapweed, bird’s-foot trefoil, meadow buttercup and common spotted orchid among them. Blackthorn and mixed scrub are being extended into mosaics with glades, rides and clearings. Hedgerows are being gapped up and buffered with grassland, the ditch network and the riparian edge of the Mole enhanced, a traditional orchard planted on former pasture, the pond restored and a second waterbody created. Records within a kilometre include great crested newt, grass snake, common lizard, stag beetle, harvest mouse and several bat species, all expected to benefit. The site also supports a programme to reintroduce greater water-parsnip, locally extinct and in rapid decline nationally.
A second parcel to the north of the farmhouse on Pointers Road is in the north-eastern quarter of the M25 and A3 interchange at Wisley, where the acid heath and woodland of the Thames Basin Heaths meet the River Mole floodplain, with Chatley Wood alongside. Its grassland is being enhanced to species-rich neutral grassland with thirty-seven new field trees, the centre planted as mixed scrub, and the river and a lost ditch restored. Much of it is mapped in the Surrey nature recovery strategy. A small area of lowland fen, an irreplaceable habitat, is protected and kept out of the registered site.
The site is private, with no public access. It is managed under a habitat management and monitoring plan agreed with Elmbridge Borough Council, with grazing and hay cuts timed to the grassland, no fertiliser, and invasive species controlled as they appear. Condition is surveyed by independent ecologists and reported to the council throughout.
Recorded on site
Some of what our team has found at Cobham.
Habitats at Cobham
Availability changes as units are allocated, so tell us what you need and we’ll confirm.
- Ditches
- Linear wet features supporting aquatic plants and invertebrates.
- Neutral grassland
- Species-rich neutral grassland, the workhorse habitat for area-based units.
- Traditional orchard
- Priority habitat combining fruit trees, grassland and deadwood.
- Mixed scrub
- Structurally diverse scrub providing nesting, shelter and forage.
- Individual trees
- Standalone and veteran trees carrying their own unit value.
- Ponds
- Priority-habitat ponds supporting amphibians and aquatic invertebrates.
- Watercourse
- Rivers and streams generating watercourse units.
- Hedgerow
- Species-rich native hedgerow with trees, generating hedgerow units.
Location
Neighbouring areas are in lighter green. The dot shows the general location.
Which developments this site can serve
No multiplier in the home area and a reduced one in adjacent areas.
Home area, no multiplier
- Thames Basin Heaths
Adjacent areas served
- Berkshire and Marlborough Downs
- Chilterns
- Hampshire Downs
- Thames Basin Lowlands
- Thames Valley
Local planning authorities
- Elmbridge
Neighbouring authorities
- Guildford
- Mole Valley
- Kingston upon Thames
- Richmond upon Thames
- Spelthorne
- Runnymede
- Woking
How this site is secured
What your authority will examine
Who owns the land, what binds it, and who is responsible if the habitat fails.
Here
We own the land freehold and a conservation covenant or planning obligation protects it permanently, with condition independently monitored throughout. Secured by a planning obligation with Elmbridge Borough Council under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act, dated 7 November 2024 and extended to the second parcel by supplemental agreement dated 9 September 2026.
Who stands behind the obligation
- The land
- We own the land freehold, with no lease and no third-party landowner.
- The covenant
- A conservation covenant or planning obligation protecting each site in perpetuity, registered against the title.
- Responsible Body
- An independent Responsible Body or the local authority can step in if we ever fail to deliver.
- The endowment
- Long-term management is funded by an endowment set aside at allocation.
- Financial strength
- We have £56.5m of capital for land and habitat, and are rated Very Low Risk with an international credit score of A. That capital lets us buy land and create habitat before your programme needs it, and fund its management for the long term.
Check availability at Cobham
Send us your metric and postcode and within a day we’ll confirm what is available here, any multiplier and the price.