With delicious irony, in a recent story in the Sorry Advertiser a headline read HOMES NEEDED BUT WHAT ABOUT THE ROADS? alongside a photograph of The Wintershall Estate actors who brought Guildford High Street to a juddering halt as they performed The Passion Plays on Tunsgate over the Easter weekend.
Relegated to page 13 – unlucky for some! – was the Sorry Ad’s Round-up of reactions to Dunsfold news. Bob Lies, chairman of Protect our little corner of Waverley, opined: ‘While more housing is needed it should be put in the right place and Dunsfold clearly is not the right place with its totally inadequate infrastructure.’
WHAT is that man on? The only thing that is clear about this whole sorry saga is that Bob Lies and his campaigning cohorts consider the largest brownfield site in the borough, with direct access onto an A-road – moreover an A-road that doesn’t even appear in the top 10 busiest A-roads in the county! – ‘clearly is not the right place’. The man and his minions are barking! The only people that deem Dunsfold Park ‘not the right place’ are some, and it is only SOME, residents of Alfold and Dunsfold, who don’t want their rural idyl polluted by people who, once the new village is built, will – in the words of Dunsfold Park’s QC, ‘Live more sustainably than they themselves do.’ What a nincompoop. We’ve said it before but it’s worth repeating, Mr Lies would do well to take a leaf out of the late Sir Denis Thatcher’s book:
BETTER TO REMAIN SILENT AND BE THOUGHT A FOOL THAN TO SPEAK OUT AND REMOVE ALL DOUBT!
While Mr Lies was saying, ‘We now trust the local authority and the site owner to work closely and constructively with the local community to ensure the adverse impacts of the development are minimised ‘ his legal beavers were preparing to challenge the Local Plan. ...’ To the best of our knowledge Dunsfold Park has spent the past 15-odd years trying to work with the local community, and at every turn, they have been snubbed and vilified by Mr Lies and his predecessors, Stop Dunsfold Park New Town.
In the Bramley Babes Update, published on the same day as the Sorry Ad, it said:‘Despite all of our best efforts, this is not the decision we were hoping for. Should have added: we’re not giving up…yet!
We know from our Bramley correspondent that year after year tickets for Top Gear were requested and generously donated by Dunsfold Park to the village fete and Bramley and other Infants School, helping to boost their coffers! What price a little gratitude?
Meanwhile, MP Moaning Milton, who made no secret of her opposition to Dunsfold Park and, in cahoots with fellow MP Jeremy S-Hunt, are guilty of wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds council tax payers money making Waverley Borough Council jump through hoops in its bid to meet the housing quotas dictated by their Conservative Government, now has the nerve to pontificate:
‘Now that the Planning Inspector has approved the building at Dunsfold, it is absolutely essential that every possible step is taken to fund and provide the supporting infrastructure we need. This will be critical during the construction period. I will, therefore, pursue every possible mitigating measure to help local residents in Alfold and Cranleigh.’
What a pity Moaning Milton didn’t give some thought to the millions of pounds that could have been spent on local infrastructure if the Dunsfold Developer hadn’t had to fight, tooth-and-nail, her dirty little behind-the-scenes shenanigans. We wouldn’t go knocking at the Dunsfold Developer’s door if we were you, Moaning Milton! You’re the last person likely to persuade the DD to support any initiative you’re spearheading. From what we’ve heard from some of the Dunsfold businesses.
You won’t be invited to break ground, you’ve spent far too much time breaking wind!
Meanwhile, there’s a little light relief on the Sorry Ad’s Letters Page:
• H Alexander of the Residents Greenbelt Group, claims that ‘buy-to-let landlords have effectively bought every property built since 1985′ and that ‘Solving the housing crisis will not be achieved by destroying the countryside but by sensible policies such as reversing buy-to-let so as to bring those 5 million properties into occupier-ownership.’ Watch out Jeremy S-Hunt – AKA Peter Rachman of Southampton – Comrade Alexander has your buy-to-let portfolio in his sights!
• Meanwhile, Paul Woodhams, of Merrow, is ‘appalled at the decision to allow 1,800 homes to be built on Dunsfold Park. No thought has been given to the problems of the extra traffic along the A281.’ Durrrhhh! Where have you been, Mr Woodhams? One of the reasons the application was consented is due to the proposed mitigation measures improving the traffic problems on the A281. The learned gentleman goes on to say that he ‘suppose[s] our local Members of Parliament will be silent on these plans ...’ If only! Again, where have you been? Moaning Milton has been banging on about nothing but for years!!!
• Disgusted of Woodland Avenue demands to know, ‘What makes it OK now when it hasn’t been viable before?’ Does anyone bother to read the paperwork? The Planning Inspector and the Secretary of State in their respective report and decision letter were at great pains to explain what makes it OK now when it hasn’t been viable before! Get with the programme Mr Baldock! Try reading the report then you won’t make a fool of yourself asking daft questions that everyone else knows the answer to, even if they don’t care to admit it because it’s such a very inconvenient truth that Dunsfold Park will make the A281 less congested if and when it’s built than the road would be if it isn’t built!
Seriously, folks, no one minds you having your say – after all, it was still a free country last time we looked – just! – but if you’re going to pontificate, at least take the time to do your homework, read the paperwork and try to get your heads around the facts rather than the drivel that has been propagated by the likes of Bob Lies – the clue’s in his sobriquet!
I sometimes wonder if there is a Jeckle & Hyde element to WW … Why you are so damning of ANYONE that disagrees with you and the rest of Farnham about how wonderful 2600 new homes at DP is going to make to Waverley.
For Goodness sake drive on the A281…….. Those traffic improvments will NOT make it a better or Bigger Road…. You can fanny around with Traffic lights in Bramley and Elmbridge Road and improve the various junctions (the only one I can see doing anything really usefull is at Shalford – but not happening until 501 Homes Occupied! – So just get a bally grip! this is a SINGLE CARRIAGE road and cannot be compared to the A3 or A31 or any of the the other MAJOR A roads – which is probably why it isn’t even recognised as being on the Sh1t Pile of A roads!
Of course the Inspector and the rest of the London Twits have no idea what it is like here – they may have done the odd journey but like most London residents they have a Rail Infrastructure that we DON’T – and I believe the Inspector was made to do a second run by car as he FORGOT it was School hols when he did the first one???
Would you in Farnham be willing to invest a HUGE amount of money to provide the East of the Borough with a Train Line???? I doubt it – and equally I think it is highly unlikely it would be in the least bit affordable anyway – So get off your High Horse!
I think most of us here have accepted that we have to have this… But doesn’t mean we won’t fight to ensure that every single little bit that has been promised is delivered and more – Because at the moment – I think you in the WEST screwed us here in Alfold/Dunsfold and Cranleigh – Because you could… You are the Biggest Twon in the Borough with the Biggest vote and you used it to ensure you wouldn’t have this in YOUR backyard..So don’t keep going on about Nimbyism. I accept that DP is the largest Brownfield site in the Borough – I don’t accept that it has any of the infrascructure needed to sustain it beyond being an Industiral Park. – An if you go on about the new Shops, Medical centres Pre-school – I will just re-post what I posted before to show how LITTLE is Proposed, I still have all the stats.
Because you have the Green Belt (Urban Sprawl) and we don’t. – don’t patronise us here for trying to protect our villages – it is NOT Nimbyism – alot of us have to travel BY CAR to work and we support the local economy by doing so and so will the new residents – if you have to travel 2 hours by car to get to London – because Guildford is Chocca then that is what you will have to do and how viable is that?
It currently takes me 1 1/2hrs to get to Clapham by car (out of school hols) and that is on a good run. (Bad run if there is a major accident can take that to 3-5hrs) Three years ago I could do it in 1 – 1.25hrs (Max) so this is not Dunsfold doing this – it is the accumulation of developments in Horsham, Loxwood and Cranleigh and that is just the tip of the Iceberg.
Please stop dissing us here and saying it is all NIMBYISM – It isn’t – I wont even have to look at it apart from when on the A281 going to Guildford – and I relish the thought of not having all the HGV’s thundering passed our house at 5am in the morning from Compasses Gate – But that WOULD be Nimbyism wouldn’t it??? So please try to be a bit more balanced in your views and if you cannot – then call yourself the FARNHAM-WEB – Because we do not feel included any more
Best as ever
Denise
Denise
There is no point confronting WW. This is written straight from Jim McAlisters desk. The vitriol, anger and desperation is so evident that even WW’s cloud of smugness can’t disguise it.
WW – sorry confused – this has just come into my in-box and doesn’t relate in the least to what I wrote yesterday?????
Can we reassure you, or anyone else for that matter that we are not McAllister’s puppets! If we were, then we would not all be sitting around here covering the borough of Waverley’s huge mountain of serious issues, we would no doubt be sunning ourselves somewhere warm with a G and T! So dream on!
As for vitriol, anger and desperation! Hardly desperate our support for development on the largest brownfield site in the borough of Waverley doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone, least of all Denise who has valiantly fought her corner – as do we! Even she will agree that Dunsfold saved Alfold from the proposed Springbok development that would have tripled the size of that village and swallowed up many acres of countryside.
We have said from the outset – we had no wish to see green fields swallowed up by housing – come to Farnham, go to Cranleigh or Ewhurst and watch the HGV’s thundering through the towns and villages, visit the new developments being built on floodplains.
If and when Dunsfold gets it wrong, or doesn’t deliver what it said on the tin – then we will be shouting along with the rest of you.
Dear WW
I am still confused and don’t know why this is coming in now when I replied to your message Yesterday?? Regardless – I have never said you were McAllisters Puppets – I know you want an invite to Tea – But that doesn’t mean you are a patsy!
I DO NOT think Dunsfold saved us from Springbok – I think the Thakeham Homes Development wasn’t worthy of the paper it was written on – It was ill thought out and played on the sympathy the village DID feel for the Sea Farers – what they didn’t like was the huge lack of concideration given to the Village and that 425 homes was almost the size of the existing Village and they wouldn’t sign s106 agreements to provide minimal infrastructure to the Village.. So I have no regrets there.and if you take the time to read my concerns on the WBC website you will know why I was so angry – Do read as I dont have time to go through them again but there were pages from Defunct EA Companies and Bat and Wildlife studies that were frankly laughable. Ie testing for Great Crested Newts in Boating Ponds as opposed to those closest to the countryside… I won’t go on as I have already done this…
Your inability to differentiate between what is good for the Whole Borough is what annoys me – I know this is the Biggest PDL – But it doesn’t make it the place where young families want to live – does it?? – I know if I was in my 20’s 30’s I would want to live where there was at least some sort of social Life and community, public transpor, schools etc t and you know as well as I do with the best will in the world this is not going to happen for many years for the New Residents here in Alfold/Dunsfold – I love this village but I am not convinced it is the Social Hub that Young people are looking for at the moment. That is not to say many young people who live here don’t love it.. I just knew when I was young I couldn’t wait to get away from the constraints of a small village and my Parents!! And I think if we can we should fly the nest – I know it isn’t always an affordable option – But there are places a damn sight cheaper than Surrey – We did it because we couldn’t afford to live in our parents Villages – You move out – You Grow and then if you can you return -If you want to – It is LIFE!
So do your comments simply apply to Dunsfold? Or do they apply to the rest of the Eastern parts of the borough, where over 2,000 new homes are either consented or are planned? What infrastructure is being provided by all those other developers over there? Not much we hear the residents cry!
We took a trip down your way last week, have you witnessed the state of Wildwood Lane, or Alfold Road, all due to HGV’s?
No development has taken place at Dunsfold…yet – so how can it be responsible for the extra journey times that you mention? We also travelled to Horsham where developments are proceeding apace – then travelled in a steady stream of traffic along the A281. Has anyone queried why St Catherines School in Bramley has been allowed to grow like Topsy year on year? We understand from our followers that during the holidays the tailback at Bramley is non-existent. Come to Farnham and see what the traffic is like over here, sample our air quality, and you could choke on the fumes in the town.
We deal with all kinds of issues that affect the whole borough and try very hard not to be Farnham centric. We sympathise with your concerns over development at Dunsfold. Have you accepted the offer of tea with the Flying Scotsman yet? We have never been invited!
WW – As I said above ……………
“…Three years ago I could do it in 1 – 1.25hrs (Max) so this is not Dunsfold doing this – it is the accumulation of developments in Horsham, Loxwood and Cranleigh and that is just the tip of the Iceberg….”
So No it is NOT Dunsfold, although there may be a few more Cranleigh Freight than there used to be – It is other developments built in that time and many more to come in the future along side what will come from Dunsfold. It is the lack of joined up thinking that gets my goat.
And your follower is right as mentioned before that when the School hols are on – the traffic is far better – UNLESS … there is a broken-down lorry or bus on the 281 or you simply get stuck behind a cyclist.. In my experience most of the drivers are conciderate of cyclists and do not overtake unless there is a decent chance of getting passed without getting too close, but that is the down-side of a Single-carriage rather bendy road.
I do know what Dunsfold is having to contribute, but at 1800 New homes (as was) and now 2600 It SHOULD pay proportionally more than a development of say 200 new homes. The fact that WBC/SCC are incapable of securing more Contributions from other developers is another issue and one I felt was raised rather well at the JPC of 9th April where it appeared that SCC were unable to provide “Projects” for Education etc.. which lead to the s106 contributions dropping by over £300,000.00.
I do feel for Farnham and the Air Quality issues they face and I hope that when it is investigated properly some Heads will roll and something will be done for Farnham residents. I however wouldn’t hold my breath (excuse the pun – none intended)
Finally NO I turned down the kind offer of Tea at Dunsfold – Much as I am partial to the odd “Jammy-Dodger”
We do agree with much of what you say and recognise your very real concerns for the future. However, having carried out a little research of past planning committee resolutions, we find that St Catherines School was asked more than a decade ago by WBC to provide it with a Strategic Plan of its future expansion. Did it do that? We can find no evidence of that being provided, but trawling through Waverley’s confusing website is not easy. However, St Cats expansion has continued unabated, regardless of the traffic problems it causes. Pity Protect Our Waverley has not had something to say about that, Cranleigh and Ewhurst’s expansion and the increased traffic that will result. All it appears to be concerned with is the non-existent Dunsfold Park development’s future traffic that will bring about rat runs.
Sometimes the nonsense that we hear from POW makes us fume over here – why isn’t that group doing what it says on the tin… Protecting “Our” Waverley? Welcome to Farnham.
Alas – I think we agreed a couple of years ago that we would start to see divisions in the Borough and I am afraid that is very much what has happened and it will be to the detriment of all of us.
There is only one Farnham Councillor that I have any time for and that is Cllr Jerry Hyman and long may he continue to fight for all of Waverley. I also have a lot of time for our own Kevin Deanus who makes a huge effort on a local level to help those of us in the East whilst also standing up for those residents in other parts of the Borough…
Same Kevin Deanus who refuses to accept the largest brownfield site in the borough and has most likely sacrificed any possibility of Alfold village receiving any future help from the Flying Scot? Former Alfold councillors Mary Foryszewski and another, whose name we do not know, both fought to work with DP with the aim of finding mutual benefits that could be achieved for the village of Alfold, and which may offset villagers’ concerns.
But didn’t we hear that Awful Parish Council has now put out the begging bowl for a substantial sum of money? The words – ‘get lost,’ come to mind!
I do hope that DP don’t think along the same lines as you do… We had every right to disagree with the application and I am afraid there was LITTLE consultation with the Villages on this – the only damning document that is cited is the rubbish one that gave overwhelming support for DP in the 3 out of 4 options given because so may residents in the WEST were determined not to have development in their backyard and thought DP was the ideal location to dump it all – Please do not try to pretend it was otherwise. Even the Inspector who first looked at the application acknowledged this fact.
In fact I seem to remember reading a Godalming resident suggesting 3400 Homes should be put at DP to save their Green Fields.
Please don’t call our Parish Council Awful – Even in jest – it is rude and quite disrespectful and does you no credit. – The fact that WBC agreed that DP would pay ZERO towards any CIL contribution – I feel requires greater scutiny even if it cannot go back to the first 1800 homes – it sure as hell should for the remaining 800 Homes – Why should they be allowed to only have to adhere to s106 (you know what I think of them!) when all future developers will be subject to CIL? – You cannot tell me there wasn’t something Dodgy going on behind closed doors there can you?? Maybe you know more than we parochial Villagers are aware of.
I do know what the Current s106 contribution is – and I believe it has gone down from the original amount that was proposed – but that will no doubt have something to do with the fact that WBC haven’t ticked the right boxes… but to say they shouldn’t have to pay CIL on the next 800 is just wrong…. – at least with CIL there is a guarenteed commitment of funds. As well as a contribution to the Parishes in which this site is located.
So No we should not go to DP with a Begging Bowl – we have to accept what has been agreed on the 1800 homes as approved by the SoS Inspector – But if the only thing that is driving this is WBC’s inability to come up with a Local Plan that didn’t rely so heavily on ONE SITE for the bulk of development for Waverley – then maybe we will ALL be queing up with our “Bowls” in the years to come…..and I don’t just mean Alfold and Dunsfold. DP has WBC by the “Short n Curlies” now – so just watch this space!!!!