In the opening years of the 21st century, the appearance of Chipstead achieved by development up to the outbreak of World War II has not fundamentally changed. Most of the housing stock still dates from the inter war period, although most of the large Victorian estates have now been divided into individual dwellings and there has been an increasing amount of back garden development.
However, there has been a substantial increase in the population of London and south east England since 1990, primarily through immigration, which has led to changes in Government policy towards higher density housing. There is a discernable relaxation in attitudes towards preserving the Green Belt, which has protected Chipstead for 70 years.
It is probably inevitable that Chipstead will have an increasing battle on its hands to resist the constant pressure from property developers for higher density housing, but we have to be thankful that the essential, rural character of Chipstead has, thus far, been preserved.