Station Details

Whyteleafe

Station NameWhyteleafe
Station CodeWHY
Station OwnerGovia Thameslink Railway (Southern)
Developable Area41.42ha
Development Capacity2,071 homes (at 50dph)
Local Planning AuthorityTandridge
2021 Housing Delivery Test - Homes Required1,672
2021 Housing Delivery Test - Homes Delivered634
2021 Housing Delivery Test - Score38%
2021 Housing Delivery Test - ConsequencePresumption
Green BeltLondon
Green Belt Area11.34ha ( 27.38% of the potential development area)
Network Rail RegionSouth East
Network Rail Sub-RegionSurrey, East and West Sussex
Passengers, 2020 - 202180,418
Passengers, 2019 - 2020297,076
UK Station Passenger Rank (Use)1,057

Development Potential

England's busiest station (apart from those serving airports) had 4,170,558 passenger movements in the period 2019-2020. The station with the least was 68. Whyteleafe station had 297,076 passengers enter or exit it during this period. That's roughly 816 people per day.

For a station with this number of passengers passing through it each year a density of 50 homes per hectare is reasonable, based on its proximity to major population centres and existing infrastructure.

Whyteleafe is located within the South East railway region. The potential area for development around the station (excluding existing buildings, national parks, flood zones, public green space, protected habitats, areas of outstanding natural beauty, world heritage sites and surface water) is approximately 41.42ha.

Assuming an appropriate (but not prevailing) development density of 50 dwellings per hectare, this area has a development capacity of around 2,071 homes.

The station sits within Tandridge planning authority, which in 2021 achieved a Housing Delivery Test Score of 38%, having delivered 634 homes from a target of 1,672. As a result of this score, the authority is subject to a 'presumption in favour of sustainable development', according to the NPPF.

The total capacity of all Tandridge's stations is 19,477 homes. That's 1,165% of its total 2021 Housing Delivery Test requirement.

Taking green belt into account, the capacity of Tandridge's stations is 1,599 homes without building on protected land. That's 96% of its total 2021 Housing Delivery Test requirement.