AT THE DUNSFOLD INQUIRY,
AND, AT THE ALFOLD INQUIRY, IN THE CORNER MARKED ‘D’ FOR DUNCE, – WE HAVE – Chris Britton from – Protect Our Little Corner ( POLC).
By his own admission, Mr Robin Shepherd, PoW & the Parishes’ town planning expert, was in the novel position of being a poacher turned game-keeper on behalf of his client on day three of the Dunsfold Airfield inquiry. He usually acts for the developer rather than Outraged of Awfold – ooops, sorry, we meant Alfold!
Very early on Mr Shepherd also admitted to being a man lacking in vision – well, not in those precise words – obviously – after all, no town planner wants to admit he lacks vision! But he quite clearly said that he failed to grasp Waverley Borough Council’s change of direction!
What’s not to grasp? It’s hardly rocket science: Waverley has to build more houses and short of building on green fields and Green Belt near you, dear reader, it’s all out of options if it doesn’t support house building at Dunsfold Park, the biggest brownfield site in its borough!
But, apparently, Mr Shepherd simply couldn’t understand why the Council hadn’t looked at building on the Green Belt!!!
Come again?!?!
That’s right, folks, you read it hear first: Mr Shepherd – on behalf of his flock (sorry! we mean his clients, PoW & the Parishes) was suggesting that Waverley should be seriously looking at building on the borough’s precious Green Belt before it builds on a brownfield site immediately adjacent to a main A-road!
In a parallel universe PoW & the Parishes would be chaining themselves to the posts and rails that fence in their green fields before they’d allow a developer within five miles of the aforementioned green fields and Green Belt.
In fact, what are we talking about? Five miles up the road – as the crow flies – in Cranleigh, Councillor Kevin Deanus, on behalf of Waverley Borough and whose parish council is one of the parishes being represented by Mr Shepherd), is doing just that. He’s not at the Dunsfold Park Inquiry – where he’d dearly like to be – because he’s too busy defending an appeal by Thakeham Homes who want to build 425 houses on Alfold’s precious green fields!!!
And… Protect Our Little Corner’s Chris Britton was there to oppose that green field site too!
Oh the irony of it!
Because they don’t want a housing estate within five miles of their In / Out drives PoW & the Parishes are trying to hoodwink Inspector Philip Major into believing they’re ready, willing and able to accept development on their villages’ green fields as a sensible, viable alternative to building on a brown field site.
Only problem is, the inconvenient truth is they’re not! And, even more inconveniently, one of their number is objecting to just such a development only a hop, skip and a jump away in a neighbouring village!
No wonder Liz – The Biz – Sims’ head shot up faster than a Meerkat’s when she heard that one!
YOU COULD NOT MAKE IT UP. Seriously you couldn’t!
Tsk Tsk WW – “Shall I Compare Thee…….” No Better still shall we compare A ROADS — It is unfair to say the A281 is a major A Road – Shall we compare the A281 with the A3 or the A31 TRUNK ROADS ??? It is plain silly and you know it! Dunsfold may be the largest Brownfield site,,, But it is in the middle of No Where… With no usefull Public Transport system (NO TRAINS) and if all the new residents want to Punt their way down the Wey and Arun – Well good luck to them. I am sure you are aware that with the A281 being a Single Carriage road, if a Bus or truck breaks down it is not uncommon for the tailbacks in either direction to reach over a mile…. So let us please try to compare Like for like. And I will not repeat my previous comment about GREEN BELT land and what it was designed for as you are well aware we have little to none in the East – Why? Because we do not need a barrier between Urban Conurbations – Because we Don’t have any nearby!
Fear not Denise. Attend a few public inquiries and you will hear for yourself that the Green Belt in Waverley is under attack. Plans to give it the chop in Chiddingfold, Witley, Milford, Godalming and around Farnham. As for the A281 Springbok and Thakenham Homes have all the answers to Alfold – and Dunsfold’s public transport issues and, according to our insiders at SCC and WBC, they have signed up an agreement with Surrey County Council this week to let the buses roll!
PS Last comment I promise – But I do watch the online committee meetings but alas I Work and cannot afford to attend inquiries during week days – I know I am on hols now – But everyone deserves a couple of weeks off – Give us a break!
Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could live and work in the same Park.. walk your kids to Primary School, cycle home for lunch. Just Idyllic. I can’t wait to move in from Godalming!
“The existing business park would remain and be expanded, adding over 30,000 sqm to the existing employment space. This will help to meet the increased demand for high-quality employment space highlighted in Waverley’s Employment Land Review 2014.
The business park, Waverley’s largest employment site, is home to over 100 businesses, employing around 700 people across a range of sectors.”
“The existing business park would remain and be expanded, adding over 30,000 sqm to the existing employment space. This will help to meet the increased demand for high-quality employment space highlighted in Waverley’s Employment Land Review 2014.
The business park, Waverley’s largest employment site, is home to over 100 businesses, employing around 700 people across a range of sectors.”
Nasty! Just like the ongoing building up along the A24 from Horsham to Crawley. You sound just like an ad that the McAllisters of Dunsfold Park could have put out.
Having actually spoken to real people that work in various businesses and education establishments there, they say that they don’t actually want it to be developed but are not supposed to say so.
Perhaps you should stay in Godalming if you enjoy living in a built up area, or better still why not move to Farncombe where you will have Losely Fields and then Broadwater schools on your doorstep.
No need to bring town living to the countryside.
Perhaps you should trot down to those business that we at the WW have heard from who say they are separate to expand, those new businesses eager to move in, but who are affected by the uncertainty.
Direct your venom at the real culprits that have brought mayhem down on the Waverley Borough! Not the present administration of WBC, but the previous two administrations who stuck their heads in the sand and hoped that the desperate need for homes would go away. It hasn’t and it won’t and two failed Local Plans could become a Third failed Local Plan if Anne Milton and her mates in Protect their little corner have anything to do with it. Wakey, wakey everyone. Times they are a changing!
Patrick – In a lovely world all 4000 odd people living in the 2600 new homes would All work there and not have to travel on the inadequate roads or get on the non- existant trains – But with the best will in the world it is estimated there will only be approx 12% of those living at DP who will actually work there – which equates to just over 220 New Internal Jobs that will be taken by residents. So where are the rest going to work?
A huge amount of the new Commercial space is for Storage and Distribution which means V Low numbers of Employees and a huge increase in HGVs on all the minor roads in Surrey.
the Primary School Phase 1 is not due to be built until 3 years after start of construction with Phase 2 About 2-3 years after! – I think if you have young children this may be a tad late.
Based on the original planned start date of 2017 – The Medical Centre wasn’t due until 2022 so we are looking at earliest 2023-4
Hate to be the harbinger of bad news – But this is not a good thing for Alfold or surrounding Villages
It is all up there on the WBC Planning site – Do have a good look
Where – we wonder – are all those Alfold people so opposed to development? Are they at the Springbok Inquiry? We have heard from a Springbok employee that nobody is there – except, Waverley Borough Councillor Kevin Deanus who is carrying the Alfold flag, alone! Where is Crystal Tips aka Beverley Weddall the parish clerk or any Alfold councillors – gone AWOL! Or, are they all out shouting down Dunsfold and ignoring their own doorstep?
~Haven’t they anything to say about the Thakeham Thugs plans to more than double the size of their village! Oh! and we understand from leaked information from inside Surrey County Council that it has agreed to a public transport plan, that could solve all Alfold and Dunsfold residents’ public transport issues. As for all those jobs – MP Anne Milton and the POW should perhaps be held to account for losing one of the finest employment opportunities Waverley has ever been offered – and wasting more than £1m.
We also understand from a Waverley officer that Thakeham Homes has slammed in a request for costs to be awarded against the council taxpayers if it wins the Alfold fight!
You are so right. But don’t worry everyone wants to work in London, or anywhere but in the Waverley borough – don’t they?!?
Would Mr Spider on the Wall be a certain Henry Ascoli, I wonder?
Aftern all, the rants are clearly written by a Waverley employee.
Clearly – but of course – we couldn’t possibly comment! WW
Come on ………….. A teaser at least!!!!
Seriously tho’ WW – If you can answer my comments above as to where the new residents will work and play – Then I promise to shut up – But you know as well as I do this is NOT a new Village it will be an isolated settlement in the middle of nowhere and people will have to commute to Farnham/Hindhead/Craneligh/Godalming and Horsham and of course London – This affects all of the Borough – I just still do not understand why you want it all here – It is not about In/Out drives and Nimbys – it is about acknowledging there is B*** r all here in this little village or even the other villages – Cranleigh is hardly a Hot Night spot for young people – Unless you fancy a Latte at 8pm!
Surely it has to be about where the need for housing actually is and not telling people – This is where you will HAVE to live if you want to come to Waverely.
Brownfield is not the be all and end all – It is about where the need is not where you want to PUT PEOPLE – so that we meet a National demand for housing.. Think about it – Because we in the East may get all of this because of lack of representation on the Council – But it will come and bite all of the Borough in the long run – In a very sore place
Sorry WW I am on hols like a lot of people at the mo’ which probably explains the lack of attendance and why these inquiries were sheduled when they were – It is taking time for your repsonses to come through so we are crossing timelines. and I am sorry if I am replying out of sequence – But I am trying before I go to bed with my mug of Horlicks!
My comments above still stand but – I agree I wish there were more employment opportunities in the Borough – Please do take me around Farnham and show me what you have… As I bet there are more there than DP – Let’s be honest DP may be the Single Biggest Employer – But please do the sums and tell me how many firms there are in Farnham, Hindhead, Godalming and Haslemere that employ people and then we can get some real figures… If you can tell me between the larger towns you employ less than the Plus/Minus 900 odd at DP I will eat my bally hat!
Please keep us posted on the Goings on at the meetings as there is B*** All online – Lack of resources I understand..
We will do our best to come up with the figures, but sadly, as has already been mentioned at the Inquiry, WBC didn’t actually carry out a mapping exercise to determine existing or future employment opportunities in the borough. Presumably because it hoped that the Inspector wouldn’t want to take into account that residents may need jobs. Or maybe it just hoped businesses would go elsewhere!
Believe it or not, but there are companies wanting to set up shop in Waverley and at Dunsfold, in particular, rather than sitting in the traffic trying to get to the other side of Guildford, Horsham and Gatwick!
We don’t want to see you,or anyone else over there in the East, forced to eat their bally hats! W We are looking forward to the day when the uncertainty that is blighting everyone’s lives is lifted, once and for all.
Enjoy your hols, and we will do our utmost to keep you, and everyone, informed. No holidays for us, we just hang in there on our web!