Look no further.
Whilst Farnham’s Carole Cockburn takes a blast at Paul Follows for not actually building the homes she planned in her Farnham Neighbourhood Plan, we search for the real culprits of Waverley’s Local Plan Part 1.
With the news that the Inspector thinks this plan has only 4.01 years of housing ready to go, that means Waverley has to fast-track another 25% with a presumption to grant.
To recap – 15 years ago, Waverley’s Tory administration did everything it could to stop development at Dunsfold, despite recognising that it was the largest brownfield site in the borough. One Cranleigh councillor said at the time of the first Planning Appeal –
“Dunsfold will be developed over my dead body.”
Be careful what you wish for? It will be built – and he is now dead and buried.
Our (then) local MP’s – both anguished over the spatial strategy of including Dunsfold but refused to say where the houses would go otherwise. Both were involved in referring the planning application to the Secretary of State, creating many years of delay.
The Campaign for Rural England (Surrey Chapter) – yes, a preservation charity no less took the Local Plan to court to get it chucked out as it didn’t recognise the amount of green protection in Waverley compared to the level of house building. It is unbelievable that such an action resulted in a spectacular shooting of themselves in the foot, resulting in further development on green fields.
Ask the villagers of Alfold, Ewhurst, Badshot Lea and more what they think of losing vast swathes of their valued landscapes? With countryside come trees, including ancient woodland that has now bitten the dust!
In 2018 CPRE Surrey branch director Andy Smith said: “The Inspector’s decision to increase the housing figure for Waverley will inevitably result in loss of countryside in the AONB and Green Belt. This lack of regard for policies of restraint cannot be right.” Too right doughnut!
Bob Lees, and Chris Britton – serial objectors to the Local Plan that included Dunsfold, raised hundreds of thousands of pounds with the help of Alfold Parish Council to fight the plans. Now that very same village gets the worst of both worlds. Homes are covering their countryside – and a new garden village at Dunsfold. And, ‘Little Britton’ is now a parish councillor! Where’s Protect Our Waverley? Because it certainly isn’t protecting the eastern villages or Haslemere.
Julia Potts – it was her plan – perhaps she is a heroine, spending £200,000 of our money defending the plan in the High Court and winning.
Perhaps you’ve forgotten this paragraph from POW’s submission to the Inspector re Local Plan Part 1?
“… There are substantial risks to the borough’s land supply associated with relying so heavily on a large single and complex site for meeting such a significant proportion of the borough’s future housing requirements. This is particularly the case in the period post 2026, by which time all other ‘strategic’ allocations are expected to be completed, although even from 2022 the site is anticipated
by the Council to deliver 47% of the overall supply. In our opinion, this is unrealistic even assuming outline consent being granted in 2017/18 and reserved matters approval in 2018/19.”
And this paragraph from the Alfold Parish Council’s submission:
“Alfold Parish Council is encouraged that WBC has already identified a 5-year supply of deliverable sites. The parish council agrees that identifying a supply of specific developable sites for growth for years 6-10 is also essential, however, the parish council considers that the council is making too many assumptions in allocating Dunsfold Park at this time, having clearly stated in this document that any development at Dunsfold Park is subject to the inclusion of appropriate infrastructure to mitigate the impact of the development. Therefore, Alfold Parish Council considers that it would be irresponsible for WBC to move forward with a 19-year plan on the basis of allocating a site when it is not, as yet, known whether that site can deliver sustainable development.
Dear Crystal Tipps
We presume you’re the Crystal Tipps AKA Beverley Weddell, former Clerk to Alfold Parish Council, who was up-to-her-neck in a money-laundering scandal on behalf of Protect our Waverley (PoW) involving the Parish Council, given you seem to be intimately acquainted with both PoW’s and Alfold Parish Council’s submissions to the Planning Inspector in the Dunsfold Park Planning Inquiry.
That same Crystal Tipps wasn’t held to account for her role as Widow Twanky, washer-woman to PoW, and has since climbed the first rung of the greasy-pole and now works for Angela Richardson MP in her Guildford constituency office.
Given what’s going on in the Tory Party at the moment, Crystal Tipps’ money-laundering antics are small beer but it demonstrated a willingness to do the Party’s dirty-laundry which marked her out as a convenient stooge for those aiming for high office.
If we’re mistaken, our apologies to the reincarnated Crystal Tipps.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing; smug self-satisfaction quite another.
Forgive us but you’re missing the point, dear Crystal Tipps. Had you and your cohorts at the Parish Council and PoW not dickered around and put every obstacle in the way of the Dunsfold development, by the time Richard Turnhill (AKA Richard Turncoat, Trinity College Cambridge’s new Bursar) came along, Dunsfold would have been coming out of the ground and he wouldn’t have had any choice but to continue with its development. Three years of construction work wouldn’t have been lost and nor would a significant number of green fields in Alfold and Dunsfold because Waverley would have had its five-year housing supply!
You have nothing to crow about, Ducky, because you’re one of the reasons Alfold is in the state it’s in. Never mind Dunsfold New Town, you’ve helped to create the building blocks for Alfold New Town!!! What an epitaph … Maybe the Parish Council will erect a blue plaque in recognition of your efforts!
Ww. Technically Crystal Tipps statement is not with the benefit of hindsight, it recounts accurate foresight.