After months of lobbying the Cranleigh Civic Society (CCS) has prompted Surrey County Council to withdraw its planning appeal APP/R3650/W/20/3253295 to build 91 homes on two former school sites in Parsonage Road.
The agent acting for SCC has advised that this is because the county council has decided not to progress the overall multi-million-pound project to re-provide new schools on an alternative site on playing fields at Glebelands School. It had intended to provide around 540 places for primary school children and 68 nursery school places. However, the CCS prompted a campaign to oppose the siting of the schools.
New Schools for the eastern villages coming soon?
No doubt that volte-face means the long-awaited 3G pitch gets kicked into touch too? A row broke out when Berkeley Homes’ 106 monies towards the pitch were earmarked for a fee-paying school. Berkley’s did a U-turn when Cranleigh’s sporting organisations kicked off, saying the money was intended for community sports facilities.
Here’s the link to Waverley planners refusal of 91 new homes which resulted in the appeal.
Now, instead of going ahead with plans to relocate Cranleigh Infants, Cranleigh Primary School/nursery school, and the Cranleigh C of E Middle School county education chiefs will go back to the drawing board. Work has already begun on repairing the roof and toilet block on one school site where…
raindrops have been falling on the heads of pupils for years!
CCS says it is looking forward to working with the county council and the school to find the funds to carry out further urgent repairs as soon as possible.
So, at last, thanks to the campaigning of the CCS – led by the husband and wife partnership of Susan and Trevor Dale, the controversial plans which also included 91 new homes on the former school sites – one in Parsonage Road and another off Dewlands Lane and Church Lane have been dumped.
Its spokesman told the Waverley Web:
‘ We take this as a success and hope you do too – thank you to all who spoke up against losing fields, gaining more housing and being appalled at the design of the school entrance. Glebelands school playing fields are back in use for sport! The school’s playing field, which were due to be built on, has now been reinstated as a U11 football pitch and is being used by the Cranleigh Community.
The local’s objected to the relocation due to the restricted access and traffic congestion in an inappropriate location. It was agreed that the present site, on the same road, is the best location for the school and should be retained.
Glebelands’ Governors have written to Liz Mills (SCC Education) to determine the future strategy for schools in the area. They believe a meeting to discuss strategy along with the Heads of Glebelands and Cranleigh Primary School is now essential. Cranleigh Parish Council has a strong voice in the bid to protect and improve educational facilities for the area.
Waverley Web wonders why the county council has suddenly dumped the scheme? – New school places will be required to serve new housebuilding which continues unabated in the eastern villages? Could it be that it is predicting a big black financial hole in its finances?
CCS now wonders if the removal of the hedge alongside the bowling green will be completed.
We wonder whether Philip Roche (schools and major capital projects manager) will now finish his ‘general maintenance work of the site which included pruning, clearing and safety work on the social club site and the public footpath’ The Council denied that the removal of the hedge had anything to do with widening the access to the proposed site yet, since the withdrawal of the application, it has left the access to the playing fields in a real mess and far from making it safe for the children, they have left it in a hazardous state. We can but keep trying….