Despite Care Ashore‘s best efforts – no Great Crested Newts have been found on the proposed site for 500 new homes on the Springbok Estate in Alfold.
Care Ashore (the Charity supported by the Seamen’s Union – and one of the wealthiest in the country) bought an online test kit (from a company that is no longer trading) for its Ecological Survey. It carried out the necessary Ecological Surveys to justify Thakeham Homes proposed scheme to more than double the size of the village. A decision is now pending.
So far – no newts is good newts! Probably because the survey only included one likely pond – the one used regularly by the highly popular Springbok Model Boating Society and newts don’t like boats!
Developers Thakeham Homes, which is in secret talks with Waverley Borough Council and other developers carried out two surveys on its Environmental Statement.
Villagers were shocked to see the only pond surveyed was the one least likely to have any Newts due to it being a Fishing Pond and host to numerous Model Boat days. We looked into the company, Sure Screen Life Sciences and found its glossy website which sells DIY kits. Investigations at Companies House revealed it had not traded since 2013. How could they have provided the staff to produce as detailed a report if they had no payroll or staff. Who were the two names on the report?
We doesn’t have the answers but it all smells decidedly fishy. Perhaps WBC ought to check it all out?
Villagers believe the Eco surveys and environmental statements were bogus (hence have posted their own with Waverley)
We hear newts have been found in Farnham on proposed development sites. More to follow…
You’re right – the planning application submitted a few months ago for 189 homes at Hale Road, Farnham (WA.2015/1328), on the eastern boundary of Farnham Park, has been held up because they found a Great Crested Newt in a hedge and used the dodgy-home-pregnancy-test method of sampling the nearby pond for newt DNA.