At last, the CPRE has come up fighting for a town in Waverley.
This development in the countryside in an Area of Great Landscape Value and in an Area on Outstanding Natural Beauty will not go ahead if the locals in Haslemere have anything to do with it.
Developers Redwood (South West) Limited has had the land off Scotland Lane in its mind’s eye for some years – chopping down trees – putting up wire fencing trapping local wildlife – deer in particular – and enraging local people.
It had been envisaged that Redwood would wait until Waverley’s Local Plan Part 2 was published before getting off the starting blocks, but the Governments new White Paper to build 300,000 homes per year including many more in Waverley has emboldened them. So the newly named Scotland Park is under starter’s orders.
On the application form, it would appear there are 35 homes in the first phase of development – it is hard to determine how many in total are proposed on the site?
The company consulted with the Town of Haslemere on 180! No doubt the final figure will be softly, softly catchee monkey?
Here’s what the Campaign for The Preservation had to say about the proposed development. The very same outfit that objected to the new garden village at Dunsfold Park. The largest brownfield site in the borough of Waverley. Objections that were finally ruled-out by the High Court causing huge delays in construction on the former aerodrome site!
Surrey CPRE director Andy Smith said: “This is a prime example of ‘green wash’ whereby developers pretend that their schemes are environmentally sustainable when in reality they are anything but.”
Anthony Isaacs, CPRE Waverley District chairman added: “The developers of Red Court claim in their literature that the proposals to build 180 houses on green fields designated as an area of great landscape value and/or within the Surrey Hills AONB ‘conform and align absolutely’ with CPRE policies on access to National Parks and AONBs.
“Most emphatically we do not share that view.”
http://planning360.waverley.gov.uk/planning/planning-documents?SDescription=WA/2020/1213
Where were all these protestors when the plan for Sturt Farm was proposed? I had no support from any of these caring people when I strenuously along with residents of Sickle Mill and Sturt Road opposed the building of 130+ homes on AONB and AGLV designated land. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that it was hidden from view and not seen to affect certain interested parties including the CPRE and Surrey Hills AONB!
Perhaps the reason why there is so much “noise” about the Red Court proposal is because the two “independent” councillors live immediately adjacent to the land in question and are doing their upmost to stop it. Sturt Farm wasn’t on their radar for some reason……….
Sturt Farm was another mistake in the catalogue of errors made by Waverley under its previous administration. An administration that left itself wide open to the desecration of areas of AONB and AGLV like Sturt Farm by preventing development on the largest brownfield site in the borough from being developed.
For years – successive Tory administrations fought the development now consented on Dunsfold airfield. Two Tory MP’s Jeremy Hunt and Anne Milton persuaded the Secretary of State to call the application in even after it was finally consented by ‘Your Waverley.’ The decades of mistakes and delays perpetrated by the Tories have brought about the situation the borough is now in. As beautiful countryside in Haslemere and beyond goes under concrete ask yourself why Mr Edwards – former Cllr Edwards? Because the mistakes of the past are now falling heavily upon the present – and possibly the future residents of our borough. Local Plan Part 1 delayed for decades – and then judicially reviewed after Tory councillors claimed Dunsfold would be developed over their dead bodies!
As if that is not enough- read our recent posts – the projections of housing numbers in Waverley. If your mate Boris the Bulldozer and ‘Bob The Builder’ Jenrick get their way. It will be a case of the last green fields standing.
The last administration did fully support the development of Dunsfold Park and worked tirelessly to develop our biggest brownfield site. This however does not excuse the total lack of interest or support of those that failed and in some cases actively supported the Sturt Farm debacle and are now shouting from the rooftops about a site near them!
What rubbish! Waverley Borough Council refused any development at Dunsfold Park and a Public Inquiry was held – perhaps before your time!! But surely you read your council papers. The Tories delayed any development for years – at least a decade!
Your mate Robert Knowless was vehemently against development on the largest brownfield site in the borough and led the group to oppose it. Then when it was stuck for housing numbers, decided to introduce it into the Local Plan Version 3 – by which time the two Tory MP’s Anne Milton and Jeremy Hunt put a stop to it for over a year by asking the Secretary of state to call the application in! – Then finally agreed to it going ahead. By which time the eastern villages were facing a deluge of planning applications – a plan hatched by Tory councillors to flood the place with housing.
We realise you are accusing the Scotland Park protestors of being NIMBY’s. Perhaps this is a result of the Sturt Farm site development. Perhaps seeing is believing and they will no longer sit back and watch their town’s character from being destroyed.
The application is for 50 homes – 15 of those will be affordable. The proposal will retain 40% of the space as green open spaces, including a playground, all of which will become accessible to the public if the proposal goes ahead. The proposal also follows an established line of development on Scotland Lane and is not AONB. The developer has chosen to retain a green belt adjacent to Scotland Lane which is very welcome and there will also be a wild meadow. Haslemere Town Council will benefit by a hefty sum by way of the Community Infrastructure Levy which will enable them to facilitate infrastructure improvements.
yesterday, June 28th the Bull Dozers moved into sturt farm land…this is as far as i am concerned “criminal”..we have thousands of empty unoccupied houses/homes in Surrey which can be brought back to use if people got up off their arses! The developers are running the show simply to bank role; our local wildlife is suffering before your very eyes! Shame on those at the waverely planning department for granting permission for this eyesore to come, 132 houses and more to come up the street hedgehog lane if the boy gets his way at the supreme court. Haslemere is finished! Cram in the housing estates on green fields, sturt farm a legally environmentally protected site, an AOMB and an Area of Great Landscape Value. the bulldozer today 29th is moving that land that has been there since prehistoric times, i hope you people who voted to get rid of this lovely land in haslemere never sleep again because of what you have done! shame on you! The developers get the money, I do not understand why Waverely Council help them along the way?? Is there something I do not know??