Our Vision

Young Epilepsy and Audley have submitted a planning application to rejuvenate St Piers Estate in Lingfield. In June 2023, Tandridge District Council’s Planning Committee resolved to grant planning permission for the proposals.

The proposals will generate the necessary funding to secure a sustainable long-term future for Young Epilepsy while creating a new high-quality residential care community for Lingfield and Dormansland in an enhanced countryside setting.

The new plans will see Young Epilepsy’s facilities consolidated into a smaller part of the estate, reducing the footprint of the buildings on site. A new Audley residential care community with 152 specialist properties for older people will also be introduced.

Large parts of the estate will remain undeveloped and land to the east, currently used by Young Epilepsy for agriculture, will be returned to nature.

The plans include the removal and reuse of vacant and underused buildings and the restoration of heritage assets within the St Piers Estate.

The proposals will:

• Secure the long-term future of Young Epilepsy by providing the financial security the organisation needs to continue to deliver its vital and specialist services for children and young people with epilepsy.
• Improve the essential services, education and learning environment for the young people Young Epilepsy serves, helping them to develop and reach their full potential.
• Restore and secure the site's heritage. Three Grade II-listed buildings will be restored as refurbished facilities for staff and students on the Young Epilepsy campus, protecting them for the long term.
• Support the area's largest local employer and create new jobs. Young Epilepsy currently employs 580 people from across Tandridge, and the new Audley residential care community will also create around 23 new jobs for the local area. Audley’s Community Care service also creates the potential for an additional 20 positions, who would work remotely.
• Meet an existing need for high-quality retirement and care accommodation in the area, delivered by an award-winning and trusted provider of retirement living. Audley supports residents to live independently, with care on hand if needed. The community will include new homes and gardens that support wildlife and ecology, alongside a hydrotherapy pool, fitness studio, restaurant and bar.
• Consolidate Young Epilepsy's facilities into a smaller part of the estate, reducing the footprint of buildings on site. The site's landscape will be reimagined in a way that respects and enhances the surrounding countryside, and the mature trees that enclose the estate will mean any development is well screened from neighbouring areas.
• Achieve benefits for the environment, including the opportunity to restore disused land to its natural state, return former agricultural land to publicly accessible countryside, and improve the diversity of plants and wildlife on site by achieving a biodiversity net gain.

Improvements to facilities at St Piers

The proposals will improve the essential services, education and learning environment for the young people Young Epilepsy serves, helping them to develop and reach their full potential. This will see the expansion of facilities at St Piers School and College including:

• Additional outdoor learning facilities
• Three new classrooms
• Refectory, sports and assembly space
• Staff room and terrace
• Design & Technology workshop space
• Multi-skills teaching space