There was no stopping Councillor Kevin Deanus – despite pulled faces, deep sighs, and a toxic atmosphere inside Waverley towers last night!

The people of Alfold could be justly proud of their elected representative’s  performance as  he put up some strong arguments against allowing 29 homes to be built after the demolition of a ‘important employment site’ at the popular Wyevale Garden Centre near Alfold’s dangerous  Crossways junction. And.. 39 dwellings at Brookhurst Farm – both of which were REFUSED.

If he had a truncheon in his pocket he would have brought it down on the desk, so angered  was he for the villagers’ jobs that would be lost, the dangers residents would face from increased flooding – from both water and sewage and the urbanisation of a rural enclave that already had over 90 permissions granted.

He painted a grim picture of the ‘overdevelopment’ of the Surrey/Sussex border village that  had only 350 dwellings, and literally ‘no amenities,’ saying doubling its size would do ‘nothing’ for existing,  or new residents. There was only a small need for ‘affordable homes for village people’ to which he received a sharp reminder from planning’s head honcho, that the housing need to be met would be for,  the ‘whole borough NOT ALFOLD! 

Despite a stern warning the from Chairman ‘Simon  I,Wisher(w) wood build all over the borough,’ not to criticise officers – a grim-faced Deanus did just that. And – got away with it! REMEMBER! THERE ARE OLD BOBBY’S AND BOLD BOBBY’S BUT NO OLD BOLD BOBBY’S!

Did  we  hear the chairman refer to Farnham’s Boy as ‘Hyman’ – not even Councillor Hyman any more!!

remember: Manners maketh  man Wisherwood!

Bobby read out a letter from Wyevale, saying although it only ever wanted  to build ten homes on the nursery site, no longer commercially viable, Waverley Borough Council had asked them to build 29 saying it was under-utilised!

He then threw a hand grenade into the deliberations for both applications (29) and another for 39 homes  a few hundred yards down the A281 at Brookhurst Farm, when he reminded officers of letters they had written concerning other Alfold applications where officer ~Peter Cleveland had given a host of reasons why it was unsustainable for Alfold to take any further development! Touché.

Ye Gods – was that another criticism of a council  officer? Didn’t you hear the Chairman who ‘shall be obeyed’ Councillor Deanus?  Oh boy! Are your legs in for a severe smacking!

Rule No 1: DO NOT CRITICISE PLANNING OFFICERS!!

But then he did, and did it again… and if that wasn’t enough he criticised the Environment Agency and Thames Water and intimated that its NO OBJECTION to the Wyevale application, but not to Brockhurst, along with a demand for a Grampian Condition** was inconsistent.

By this time Chairman Isherwood  – had a face like a slapped arse, only to be outdone by his vice-chairman Carole Cockburn who issued her own rebuke when the local Bobby dared to question her face pulling. Whereupon she responded saying she couldn’t help her face! … Well we couldn’t possibly comment! And…

Alford, yes, she and the chairman and everyone else referred to it as Alford,  people,  had better wake up and smell the sewage seeping up into their gardens.

BECAUSE.. whether they like it or not – it is a different world NOW in Waverley as the Government Inspector  ruled last week that, it  has to take many more  homes and some of those would be in …  ALL the villages. Not just some….

ALL the villages CC ? – Does that mean in Chiddingfold? Shamley Green and Wonersh where Councillor Michael Goodridge (or sleepy as he is better known)  is perfectly happy to plaster the countryside with homes, provided they are not on his sacred expensive patch? Perhaps no-one has mentioned the traffic will be passing through his villages!  Bramley’s By-Pass Byham however, wasn’t in the mood to support, anything!

Some councillors obviously didn’t hear, or didn’t want to hear, the local objectors warn that by extending the settlement of Alfold towards Dunsfold Park – where ‘YW’ proposes building 2,500 new homes, and now supported by the Local Plan Inspector, that the two villages could become ONE!

DALFOLD NEW TOWN – HERE WE COME?

Did his colleagues heed the Bobby’s dire warning- and,  we will post separately on the dire warning that came from the Cranleigh Civic Society later, for fear of rocking people in their socks and setting house prices plummeting?

The answer is….   YES.

Here at the Waverley Web we think the picture Bobby  imprinted on the minds of his colleagues, particularly a very concerned Councillor Stephen Mulliner – of the affluent’s effluent seeping up through their patios and covering their gardens –  hit the fan!

They just couldn’t bring themselves to approve anything – except to say they could support  ten dwellings on the garden centre site.

So another valued local amenity bites the dust, putting more people out of work- and everyone will have to go to Wyevale in Horsham, or Notcutts in Cranleigh. Oops aren’t they intending developing that too?

In fact after Liz the Biz reminded everyone that garden centres were not classed as business uses, just retail – they could now all be sacrificed on the developers alters in the years to come. He Ho!! Let’s all plant houses all  over our gardens!

** A Grampian Condition is meant to prevent work starting, or prevent homes being occupied, until off site works are completed on the sewerage network.

However, where these were imposed on developments in Cranleigh, the developers took no notice and the Cranleigh Civic Society was informed of the following:

Both these sites (Cala Homes and Crest Nicholson) had Grampian style conditions.  This was meant to prevent the start of the development until off-site works were completed on the sewerage network, including the sewage treatment works on Elmbridge Road. However, we were recently advised by planning enforcement at Waverley that the Grampian Condition wording is too woolly to enforce and doesn’t specifically mention the words sewage “TREATMENT”,  so no work to the sewage works are apparently included – another nail in the coffin for Cranleigh.