A planned medieval market town
Haslemere was laid out as a planned town in the twelfth century and received a market charter in 1221, and its High Street still keeps a run of sixteenth and seventeenth-century buildings, among them Tudor House and Fern Cottage, alongside later Georgian frontages. A conservation area covering the historic town centre was first designated in 1974.
From Parliamentary borough to Arts and Crafts town
The town sent its own members to Parliament until the Great Reform Act abolished the seat in 1832, and later became a noted centre for the Arts and Crafts movement in the closing years of the Victorian era, drawing artists and craftspeople to the area. The arrival of the railway in 1859 brought a further wave of building around the older core.
Council
Waverley Borough Council covers Haslemere, the same authority responsible for planning and building control at Cranleigh, though the two towns sit on opposite sides of a large and varied borough.
Frequently asked questions
How old is Haslemere as a town?+
It was laid out as a planned market town in the twelfth century and had its own market charter by 1221, making its core considerably older than the Victorian buildings that now line much of the High Street.
Does Haslemere share a council with Cranleigh?+
Yes, both fall within Waverley Borough Council, though Haslemere sits towards the opposite, western edge of the borough.
Nearby areas
Services
Useful local links
- Waverley Borough Council – Do I need planning permission? — The planning authority covering Cranleigh and most of the surrounding villages, including Ewhurst, Alfold, Dunsfold, Bramley and Wonersh.
- Guildford Borough Council – Do I need planning permission? — The planning authority covering Guildford, Shere, Peaslake and Chilworth, a separate borough from Waverley.
- Mole Valley District Council – Do I need Planning Permission? — The planning authority covering Ockley, Walliswood, Okewood Hill and part of Holmbury St Mary, a separate district from Waverley.
- GOV.UK – Planning permission: when you need it — Government guidance on when planning permission is required in England and Wales.
- GOV.UK – Party Wall etc. Act 1996 guidance — Government guidance on notifying neighbours and resolving disputes over shared or boundary walls, relevant to attached garage conversions.
- Planning Portal – Garage conversion — National guidance on when planning permission is needed for a garage conversion in England.
- Planning Portal – Outbuildings — National guidance on permitted development rules for garden buildings and outbuildings, including height and coverage limits.
- Surrey Hills National Landscape — The designated landscape covering many of the villages around Cranleigh, including Ewhurst, Peaslake, Hascombe and Shere.