Nestled in the Surrey Heath district, underneath nearby Bagshot and northwest of Woking sits the village of Lightwater, in Surrey. For most of its history, Lightwater was a sparsely populated rural locale - with first reference to the village occurring in the 1700s. Even by the 1900s there was only a handful of households and developments in the Lightwater area. With the advent of the railway and the development of other nearby towns and cities; Lightwater developed also and is now a desirable location for re-locators and commuters with ample detached suburban housing and grander country homes!

Although Lightwater was largely unpopulated for most of its history, there is evidence to suggest that Lightwater had been at one time a Roman settlement during the first conquest of Rome in 43 AD, although this evidence is sparse. Lightwater gets its name from the proliferation of ponds and pools that flank the village; particularly to the north with the Windle Brook. Much of what contemporarily makes up Lightwater’s built environment is relatively new housing developments helmed by the Surrey Heath Borough Council. Owing to its close proximity to major transport links and hubs; Lightwater was chosen for development because of its sparsely populated village fabric. Now, the village has a significant population which rivals the much more famous Bagshot nearby!

Although residential, the area is known for its wealth of leisure activities and the country park. The Lightwater Country Park, a 59 hectare greenspace, is filled with heathland, fishing spots, woodland and meadowland!

Lightwater, over the mid-to-late twentieth century received significant housing and infrastructural development. Owing to this, combined with the flood-risks posed by the nearby streams and tributaries, the spatial strategy of the Surrey Heath Borough Council has not designated the Lightwater area as a main source of new housing development across the borough’s landscape. The council has also designated that 40 new dwellings will be constructed across the Lightwater locale, combined with the allocations of existing housing estates to be re-developed!