A planning application for a glamping site in Leatherhead has been deemed invalid because it does not contain an environment impact assessment.

The Surrey Wildlife Trust had submitted a planning application to Mole Valley district council for a glamping site in the Phoenix Fields area of Norbury Park, receiving over 200 consultation responses.

The glamping field would be surrounded by woodland on all sides and have a shepherd’s hut, 30 tent pitches, six camping huts, a car park for 50 cars, composting toilet and shower facilities and two refuse collection points.

The 531 hectares park managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust is a habitat for dormice, roe deer, badgers, woodpeckers and foxes, home to a number of yew trees believed to be nearly 3,000 years old.

In a response to the application, Clive Smith, Surrey Hills Areas of Outstanding National Beauty planning adviser, wrote: "The proposal would be a commercial operation that would deny those seeking to enjoy the atmosphere of real peace, tranquillity and its natural unspoilt beauty which is a rare combination left in the Surrey Hills.

"It is a publicly owned open space for the wider community to enjoy. If such facilities as proposed at all in relation to a beauty spot they should be located on suitable sites on the edge of such protected landscapes, not in the middle."

A spokesperson for the Surrey Wildlife Trust said: "Surrey Wildlife Trust completed a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal for the proposed glamping site at Norbury Park, but this did not form part of the planning application.

"The Trust is in correspondence with Mole Valley Planning Office concerning any requirements they might have for further environmental information."

The environment impact assessment is a legislative requirement under Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations 2015.

The aim of the environment impact assessment is to ensure that local councils have all the knowledge they need about the likely effects of a project on the environment when deciding whether to grant planning permission.

Cllr Duncan Irvine said: " If and when Surrey Wildlife Trust come back with a renewed application which goes through to the planning committee, then we will be able to consider it at that stage on its merits and against existing planning policy."