Some villagers are calling the scheme – ‘Madness.”
Ye Gods – where better than to stuff another 80 homes – than this tiny village on the Surrey/Sussex border?
A village where MP Anne Milton leads its Flood Forum – where there are few facilities, even the central village pub closed down – where power cuts are an everyday occurrence, and where poo regularly appears in residents’ gardens!
So why not let Catesby Estates build 80 homes on farmland on the Loxwood Road, using an existing access created by Cala Homes for 55 new cheek by jowl properties currently under construction adjacent to Chilton Close?
We wonder if Waverley Planners will agree to an “emergency access” as they have recently agreed at Knowle Park in Cranleigh? Then there could be another By-Pass?
Now developers want to gobble up a bit more valuable farmland – and build behind Chilton Close – a Housing Association development – where vacant properties remain just that – VACANT.
Why? Because transport links are practically non-existent – where a car is a necessity and not a luxury, and where you have to travel to Horsham or Guildford for any meaningful shopping?
No wonder the locals in Alfold are crying foul! They will soon have 1,800 under construction right on their doorsteps at Dunsfold Park – and another 500 proposed in the Local Plan on the same site.
The Wyevale Garden Centre has been earmarked for development ( a recent application refused because it was too large) but it will bounce back shortly. Another with outline approval on the Brockhurst Site on A281 Horsham/Guildford Road and another lodged by Surrey County Council and Waverley Borough Council on the Loxwood Road near the Springbok Entrance opposite the “closed village school.”
Surrey County Council doesn’t need planning permission for anything it does – it just “consults.” and ignores both the local, and Waverley’s views!! In fact DONE DEAL. However, it closed the village school 20 years ago and has, so far, made no provision for more pupils in Cranleigh!
Here’s what some of the locals think.
Sarah McCreath
Chilton Close Alfold
This proposal should be rejected due to the following reasons:
– The transport network supplying the village is already stretched with the A281 being the only single carriageway access to the larger towns and it being already constantly busy. At peak times, access onto the A281 can take some time with constant traffic flow.
– Public transport is not sufficient in the local area to sustain further housing – a trial of a daily, hourly bus ended at the start of the year.
– I am led to believe that a previous assessment of the land classified at least half of it as a flood plain. This latest survey has been carried out following a dry winter and no works have been carried out to amend it’s previous problems – how can this not have been taken into account!?
– The site is not large enough for such a large development – houses would be overlooked as well as themselves and existing developments (some of which are yet to be completed!).
– There would not be sufficient open spaces. Current park facilities have not been updated in some time and talk of other play areaâ€TMs being created following development 20 years ago, have not taken place – this would worsen the need.
– Emergency service provision for the area is not sufficient and further housing would not solve this. With Cranleigh Ambulance Station now only a response post and the fire service requiring a retained force coming from another village – all responses have some distance to travel – more housing would only worsen this.
– There is thought to be a bat colony in adjacent woodland which is likely to be affected by this development.
– There are very few local amenities e.g. no school, no Dr’s, only a small lightly stocked local shop. All the children from the village have to travel at least 3 miles for school. County boundaries being so close also limits school choices greatly. The local GP surgery is in the next village – such a great increase in housing would put further pressure on these.
– There is still no mobile phone signal in much of the area and although Fibre Broadband is available to the actual exchange, speeds are still extremely slow to some properties. Whilst I appreciate providers may be more inclined in the future to update this, this doesnâ€TMt justify the impact on existing residents using these services in the meantime hoping for them to be improved eventually.
This village has the general facilities and amenities to support it being just that †̃a villageâ€TM. With developments such as this wishing to add another 20% of houses to it, the facilities are not designed to support them and this, together with other upcoming developments in surrounding areas, in my opinion, needs to be addressed well before adding more.
Another resident.
WW expect residents will hope their Cllr Kevin Deanus will have his say, although he is no longer a member, only a substitute, on the Joint Planning Committee at ‘Your Waverley.’
Yet again our small village is being targeted – Although looking at the various Planning applications for this site – they were always going to go for the two phases. The first 55 snuck in before LPP1 and now they want to get the next 80 in before Lpp2 and the Alfold Neighbourhood Plan. Apparently this plot is an Amber Site – so was always under consideration in the call for sites but not by any means ideal.
Alfold PC have got to get on with the Neighbourhood Plan – as until they do we will continue to be driven by developers and Not by what the village needs.
Still formulating my Objection to this one. Tricky when on Holibobs with limited Internet – But will get there!!