Month: December 2015

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…

Once upon a time, a public spirited man lived in Cranleigh. The sort of man, who was a true benefactor, who gave something to the community, without wanting something back in return.

Gordon Harvey and his wife, had lived deep in the ancient woods at Knowle House, which is now the Knowle Park Nursing Home. In 1970, Gordon donated a piece of land in Knowle Lane, in memory of his late wife Beryl, to Cranleigh Parish Council to be held for the community and for no other purpose other than allotments or agriculture.

Called The Beryl Harvey Conservation Area, the land has been used as a quiet space where people can enjoy the countryside and allotments. The field covers 3.5 acres and in 1987 the Council designated the southern end of the Beryl Harvey Field (around two acres) as a Conservation Area. The remaining 1.5 acres is laid to allotments.

The Conservation Area has been managed by Cranleigh and District Conservation Volunteers (CDCV) since 1987 as a wildlife area, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Co-operative Society Ltd. The group has installed bat and bird boxes and used natural materials to form woodland habitats for insects, small animals and birds.

Immediately prior to the May elections, along comes Brian ‘Big Bad Wolf’ Ellis, and in his final moments as Chairman of the Parish Council, he tries to push through measures that would begin the process of… yup, you guessed it… building homes on it! Cllr Ellis knows full well, that there are dozens of areas in and around Cranleigh, that are blighted by proposed development, so why add another?

Thankfully, he was stopped in his tracks by Councillors, including the recently kicked out Lib Dems, Ken & Ruth Reed, and a few others including Mary Foryszewski. He claimed “that as there were no living relatives of the family, no-one would mind if it was developed“.

What? Land in memory of a villager with the specific covenant for ‘community use’ and ‘no other purpose’ other than allotments and agriculture. 

Suddenly, out of the woods comes none other, than Mr Harvey’s son Kenneth, who brought down the chopper, to chop off Ellis’s ambitions. Mr Harvey Jnr warned the council that it was clear from the land’s covenant that, “my father’s wish was that the land should not be used for other people’s profit. The family don’t want the land to be sold for future profit even though they sympathies with people needing more homes.

Shame on you Cllr Ellis for claiming that very few residents use the Beryl Harvey field, and in your words which , “enables the land to be sold and money reinvested in other areas or the recreation ground“.

The matter will be debated tomorrow Thursday 17th December at  the Village Hall. Go on Cranleigh – turn up in your droves and flush that wolf out!

The moral of the tale? Be careful who you gift land to… The plot thickens… WW’s followers are  investigating further. so watch this space!

From the Agenda of Cranleigh Parish Council – here’s the recommendation:

So how did that happen?

 

The Hallowed Halls of Waverley may be quieter than usual for the Full Council Meeting on tonight.  Despite having some pretty important issues to discuss – WW believes Farnham councillors may be missing.

The Annual Farnham Carol Concert will be held on the same evening and most have decided that the festive spirit is more important than imbibing the spirits on offer in the Worshipful Mayor’s Parlour.

They certainly don’t want to hear what Cllr Carole Cockburn has to say on the Spatial Strategy Report of the Daft Local Plan. After all, you told them straight that it was heading for a third failure. You go enjoy yourself and have a   good sing song instead.

Cllr ‘Taffy’ Edwards may not be too welcome either. He has told the Planners/Executive/CEO etc to pull their fingers out and work seven days a week to get the Local Plan up and running, before the Government step in. Don’t worry Taffy, WBC has good old Jeremy in the background fighting  off Special Measures for you all.

If we leave our future in the hands of the Executive, maybe we can all sleep easily in our beds this Christmas as all is calm, all is bright?

It would appear some Waverley residents are not having  much luck in bringing our elected representatives to account or even wishing them yule tidings of great joy.

As many of us know, asking questions becomes ever more difficult in the Council Chamberpot – or anywhere else for that matter. Once upon a time, when people mattered more than politicians you could speak for four minutes, even longer – now its down to two minutes, and it has to be a Question, no statements.  Ye Gods is this Waverley or Wladivostock? 

There are green traffic lights to warn you when to start, when to get a move on and red to ensure you stop – even if you haven’t quite finished.

Democracy is a wonderful thing to watch, isn’t it? Oh no you probably won’t be able to watch, only listen, as the webcast hasn’t been working for weeks.

Openness – Honesty, Transparency?

A Farnham resident who has fallen foul is Gerry Hyman-the proverbial thorn in Waverley’s side who wants an up-date on progress on Waverley’s Nemesis – the proposed East Street development. He wanted info on the latest dodgy goings on..and wanted to wish them Happy Christmas, into the bargain! He told WW “some councillors are decent honest  folk who are trying to do their best.”

This is the Question that he has been told he is not allowed to ask at the Full Council meeting on Tuesday. So WW will ask it for him…

At the July Council meeting Members were told that the decision to proceed with the removal of the Gostrey Centre from the East Street scheme had already been made by the previous Administration, but in reality that decision is yet to be made, as the removal of the Gostrey Centre as a Required Element and the granting of Landlord Consent for the changes to the scheme should come to Full Council for approval, with the Funding and Viability considerations, before the scheme can progress under an unconditional contract. July Council was also told that variation of the Memorial Hall Deed of Covenant would not be necessary, but as it precludes giving the Gostrey Centre a Lease it’s clear that a Variation of the Deed should be obtained – and as that can be a lengthy process, I’d specifically ask that your update includes details of progress and particularly, whether and when the Executive or Council can expect to be asked to agree that Officers pursue an application for a deed of variation.

You  can read more on the Memorial Hall/Brightwells Gostrey issue by clicking on the post All Things Not so Bright and Beautiful.

He also wanted to Wish  Councillors a Very Happy Christmas, but he has been told he cannot – so we will do it for him.

Happy Christmas Waverley 

P.S Dear Commissar Weasel Wenham ED Waverley BC. You can provide WW with the answer to the question he wasn’t allowed to ask…to  contact@waverleyweb.org – however, we aren’t holding our breath.

 

 

Could the Ewhurst Drummer Boy’s legal boys have frightened Waverley Planners into reconsidering how it deals with major applications in the future?

WW has noticed the following in Waverley’s Executive Committee paperwork – It is setting up a Special Interest Group to look at its Constitution. This little snippet jumped off the page.

Item B may not look significant to the uninitiated, but it does have huge implications for how Waverley considers major schemes.

Ewhurst Landowner, Kenney Jones has a whopping £100m scheme to build an impressive upmarket Polo Club/Hotel/Spa/Polo Stables and more, to rival a handful of others in the South East and provide much needed jobs.

The former Who and Small Faces drummer boy, whose legendary concerts for charitable causes are well known, has crossed swords with WBC, because it refused to allow its Main Planning Committee to consider his scheme. Officers threw it out, claiming they have the mandate to make  decisions as it was not, “a large scale housing scheme.”

The local councillor for Ewhurst, refused to call the application in (only the local member has that right), because the local anti’s- had given her a good drubbing! 

In Cranleigh, the developers have better luck with their local councillors, because they have the Ellis Duo, who do their bidding. Hence why the drummer boy is feeling miffed. He wanted a level playing polo field.

A top property Barrister has taken issue with Waverley Borough Council for ignoring its own rules when dealing with major development schemes – warning them they are vulnerable to both legal challenges and costs because their actions are “unlawful” in the way they have dealt with this “unique development.”

This is one small extract from the letter he sent.