Anyone interested in renting one of these new homes should contact Mole Valley District Council’s Housing team and get on their housing register.
The Poland Trust
A charity created through the generosity of Sidney Michael Poland
The Poland Trust is a registered charity and a member of the Almshouse Association. The primary aim of the charity is to help people with a connection to Brockham, Betchworth, Buckland or Leigh who are in need, hardship or distress. In addition to Poland House in Kiln Lane and the nearby Poland Woods, the Trust has a fund to help individuals and organisations in the community such as BERT, the Strood Green store, Brockham Village Hall and Brockham Bowls Club.
Sidney Michael Poland lived at The Manor, at the western end of Kiln Lane, in the early part of the last century. He was an extremely generous benefactor to the residents of Brockham, particularly the children. When he died in 1936 he left significant funds and property for the benefit of the people of the village, which became available on the death of his sister Rosina in the early 1950’s leading to the creation of The Poland Trust.
The Manor was demolished and much of the land fronting on to Kiln Lane was sold, leaving land at the eastern end as the site for the new Poland House which was built in 1958, with two later wings, Pedell and Betchworth.
When the charity was formed, those members of the community in greatest need, tended to be older residents who were struggling to find appropriate homes for their retirement. In recent years, it has become apparent that those in greatest need are often younger and for various reasons, they are unlikely to ever be able to live in Brockham or Betchworth because of the very high property prices.
The Poland Trust and Brockham Big Field
The Poland Trust was created and built Poland House in the 1950s, well before any sport was played on the Big Field. However, the charity has always supported sport and local sports clubs. We are delighted that Brockham Bowls Club is on our land and we have made grants to rugby, cricket and football projects in the past. As Chair of Poland Trust, and representing one of the largest groups of neighbours around the Big Field, I am one of the Community representatives on Brockham Big Field Community Sports Ltd and I have tried to feed community concerns into this company over many years.
We have seen an early iteration of the Rugby and Netball Club proposal and were shocked at the scale and intensity of development that was proposed. We understand that a modified proposal will be presented at a meeting on the evening of Wednesday 13th May but we have not seen any details of this proposal.
However, we do have a number of concerns that we raise below.
1. The Rugby Club has accepted that it is hitting capacity constraints at the moment especially at weekends. There is not sufficient parking (which can be a particular problem for the neighbours of the Big Field on winter weekends), there are not sufficient training pitches and there are issues with changing room capacity, especially with the success of the women’s rugby teams. We would support appropriate development to address these capacity issues. However, we cannot understand how netball could possibly be considered for the Big Field as it is also played on winter weekends and would only exacerbate these capacity issues. We would not support any proposal that includes netball or any other winter sport though we would look favourably at bringing summer sports such as volleyball to the Big Field which are played outside of the rugby and football calendars.
2. The Big Field was given to the National Trust primarily for recreational purposes but the first objective was to safeguard the view from Boxhill. Indeed, one of the greatest benefits of the Big Field to the community is the openness and the stunning views to Boxhill and beyond and the ability to walk across the Big Field – a form of recreation for many, many, people. We believe that this must be protected at all costs. Any new 4G pitches would need high fencing or hedges which would make access much more difficult and would require more floodlighting. Also, as expensive new assets, they would need to be used much more intensively meaning more traffic, more noise and more use of these floodlights. This would have a very negative impact on the openness and accessibility of the site and spoil the views from and to Boxhill.
3. The land was donated to the National Trust primarily for recreational purposes and with two thirds of it already used for sport and general recreation, it is absolutely delivering what it is meant to do. There have been many discussions, instigated by the Rugby Club, about using the farmer’s field at the top of the site. However, the top field is currently a beautiful and natural asset. The National Trust is focussed on improving the natural environment, protecting wildlife and planting trees and we believe that any proposals for this top field should be based on these principles. However, it would definitely be possible to link this to more recreational activities such as jogging and dog walking. It might also be possible to use small amounts of this land for an additional grass training pitch or for additional parking but this would have to be done in such a way that the environmental impact would be minimal.
4. We are deeply concerned about the timetable for community consultation. Telling the village on a Saturday that there is an important meeting the following Wednesday is just not acceptable, especially when there is another important village meeting on the same night that has been scheduled for weeks. Public consultations as part of any planning application require a minimum of three weeks notice. We know that a lot of people in the village who share our concerns will not be able to attend. This meeting will not properly reflect or represent the true feelings of the community.
We understand that facilities need to adapt especially when hitting capacity constraints. However, we consider that this proposal is simply too big and too rushed. The village is already suffering from increasing traffic, noise and light pollution from the Big Field. These proposals, and particularly the addition of netball and 4G pitches will only make this worse.
Martin Smith
Chair
The Poland Trust
10th May 2026
Poland House
Poland House was built in the late 1950s to provide accommodation for people with a connection to Brockham. Originally six units, it was later expanded to ten units with the construction of the Peddell and Betchworth blocks. The building are set in extensive grounds running ing down to the River Mole and provide a beautiful, safe and relaxing space for our residents.
Poland Meadow
After more than a decade of searching for a suitable site, we have now been able to build Poland Meadow. With land generously gifted to The Poland Trust by a local family, 12 homes have been constructed and 12 individuals and families are now living in these homes. We ask for a contribution equivalent to 60% of market rents and priority is given to those people in greatest need. All residents have to have a strong connection to the parishes of Brockham and Betchworth.
The scheme also includes the sale of 5 plots to local families to build their own homes. Future sales of these houses will be capped at a discount to open market values and priority will be given to local buyers. The proceeds from the sale of these plots helped fund the overall project.
The Poland Trust has worked in partnership with Mole Valley District Council to deliver this project. MVDC’s housing team will be responsible for selecting tenants in greatest need using criteria agreed with The Poland Trust. MVDC has also provided a significant grant to help fund the overall scheme.
This is a unique concept to create affordable housing to meet local needs enabling local people to remain in Brockham and Betchworth.
Anthony West House
Anthony West House in Wheelers Lane, Brockham was converted into affordable housing and managed by Brockham Housing Trust. It includes homes in the former Vicarage building as well as new homes built around a courtyard at the rear of the property. There are 14 homes in total in perfect secluded location with easy access to all the amenities of Brockham.
The Poland Trust was approached by Brockham Housing Trust and we agreed to transfer the ownership of these homes to The Poland Trust.
