Our regular readers will know that we’re a somewhat cynical bunch but even we drew in a sharp breath and narrowly avoided choking on our cornflakes this morning when we read the headline on the Cranleigh edition of the Surrey Advertiser. In fact, we’re told, our Alfold correspondent’s wife spat her Fairtrade Machu Picchu (that’s coffee to the rest of us!) all over that newspaper’s front page!
We are updating and reissuing this blog. Read one Farnham fellow’s comments below.
Opposition grows to Dunsfold town screamed the banner. The article itself goes on to trumpet the negative views of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, The National Trust and Surrey Hills AONB (well they would all object, wouldn’t they? It’s their raison d’tre!). Wonder if they will be as vocal when Waverley Council puts in its application to build an industrial estate Green Belt?
The Letters page, trumpets no less than three correspondents complaining about the prospect of Dunsfold Park New “Town” (4,500) dramatically smaller than Cranleigh “Village” with 15,000 residents!
Q: Is it more than a coincidence WW asks itself that the Surrey Advertiser, owned by Trinity Mirror Group, busted a gut to became a mouthpiece for Protect Our Waverley campaign today of all days?
(NB: Regular readers will know that the POW Campaign is a disingenuous bunch of Anti-Dunsfold Park campaigners who are a reincarnation of the Stop Dunsfold Park New Town NIMBYs who think a name change, which implies they are concerned about the entire borough rather than their own little corner of it, will make them more acceptable to the not-so-gullible residents of Farnham and the rest of the borough,, which is where POW and its supporters would really like to dump all the housing the borough needs).
A: It is now a well advertised fact that Jeremy Hunt MP – but who might be forgiven for trying to keep a low profile in case his presence is rumbled by the Royal Surrey’s Junior Doctors – will be attending the South West Surrey Conservative Association’s AGM tonight at 7pm in the Winn Hall at Dunsfold.
Incredibly convenient for POW and its supporters that the Surrey Advertiser should be trumpeting myriad objections to Dunsfold Park today? Gives them the perfect opportunity to put their local MP (and former proud campaigner against housing at Dunsfold Park) on the spot about this particular political hot potato. Perhaps everyone should go along!
Even more convenient for POW that the wife of Rupert Howell (Group Development Director at Trinity Mirror, is the owner and publisher of the Surrey Advertiser) another well known supporter of the former Stop Dunsfold Park New Town campaign. Is it possible, says our Alfold Correspondent, that Mr Howell might have had something to do with the scheduling of today’s banner headline on the Cranleigh edition of the Surrey Advertiser? At the very least it has to be said the timing couldn’t be more helpful to POW.
We are also informed that Mr Howell owns a delightful house immediately adjacent to Dunsfold Aerodrome – a fact his estate agent conveniently leaves off the sales particulars! The house has been on the market for several years now and it is thought that Mr Howell’s inability to off-load his period pile has as much to do with its proximity to the former Aerodrome and home of Top Gear as to its top heavy price tag – despite the price being slashed to a measly £6.75 million.
Poor Mr Howell is between the devil and the deep blue sea. On the one hand his ‘attractive small estate, incorporating a beautifully appointed country house with two secondary cottages, extensive outbuilding/ stabling/pasture / woodland’ is blighted by being slap bang next door to an aerodrome and noisy car-testing track. However, the alternative is no more palatable, because his estate agent’s blurb boasts about the property occupying ‘a rural position about 1 mile from the centre of the Village etc…
WW presumes that Mr Howell wouldn’t want to have to add to the idyllic picture that bucolic description gives rise to by going on to say, ‘immediately adjacent to the bustling Dunsfold Park New Town!’
Well, we did warned you at the outset, we at Waverley Web really are a cynical lot!
PS read our blog earlier to-day which refers to even more development proposed in Cranleigh! Just a quick calculation – 344 already approved. In the pipeline, another 1,483 plus plans by Waverley to build on the Green Belt! All of which will need road access onto the A281. Makes Dunsfold look like small fry?
Comment received by WW this evening from a Farnham resident with a wry sense of humour!
It’s said that this week’s Local Plan Briefing meeting (for Councillors) was told that Farnham is to get 3,000 new homes, at least 1,800 of them on greenfield sites. They’re having a laugh, lost touch with reality a long time ago.
But who will have the last laugh ? We’ve already seen the back of two Chief Executives and four ‘Portfolio Holders for East Street’ (two underground). How many more will sip from the poisoned chalice, I wonder ?
Just in case you were all going to dress up as nurses and jump on Jeremy tonight, Mr Hunt’s appearance at St Georges Church in Badshot Lea, Farnham in the morning (Saturday) to preach about Man-Made Colostomy Change has been cancelled, apparently he gets harassed by doctors wherever he goes. Aunty Virginia was so much cooler.
Anyone wanna buy a nurses uniform (large size) ?,
It’s said that this week’s Local Plan Briefing meeting (for Councillors) was told that Farnham is to get 3,000 new homes, at least 1,800 of them on greenfield sites. They’re having a laugh, lost touch with reality a long time ago.
But who will have the last laugh ? We’ve already seen the back of two Chief Executives and four ‘Portfolio Holders for East Street’ (two underground). How many more will sip from the poisoned chalice, I wonder ?
Just in case you were all going to dress up as nurses and jump on Jeremy tomorrow, Mr Hunt’s appearance at St Georges Church in Badshot Lea, Farnham in the morning (Saturday) to preach about Man-Made Colostomy Change has been cancelled, apparently he gets harassed by doctors wherever he goes. Aunty Virginia was so much cooler.
Anyone wanna buy a nurses uniform (large size) ?,