Developers have succeeded at their second attempt to build a 74-bed care home at Andrews of Hindhead off Portsmouth Road.
However, the Grayshott G.P. Surgery, the local Clinical Commissioning Group and both major acute hospitals – Royal Surrey and Frimley Park Hospitals – objected to the proposals.
After the demolition of this:
The scheme proposed by Seetwo Developments Ltd was refused in October 2021 by Waverley’s Western Planning Committee due to its scale and design. However, recently, despite the objection of health professionals and councillors recognised that the current scheme is the same size and as cramped as previously considered, permission was GRANTED.
Though all councillors said, they were voting “reluctantly.”
Why the volte-face? Because planning officers warned councillors that as improvements to the design had been made and the borough lacked a 5-year housing land supply, the ’tilted balance’ favoured the development and recommended it be allowed.
The proposed development for a 74 bedroom care home is on an existing underused brownfield site in a mix of uses, including retail, workshop, office and fitness studio. There are also two residential dwellings on the site. The site is an allocated site in the Pre-Submission Local Plan Part 2.
Here’s what the Doctor ordered – but didn’t get.
Dr Edward Bell spoke on behalf of his colleagues at Grayshott Surgery and his patients.
P.S. Regardless of health hazards anywhere in the borough, Thames Water does not object!
When will Paul ‘showboating’ Follows and his rainbow council colleagues understand that we need a 5 year housing supply. We need more housing for our young people in particular, and they must understand that to prevent inappropriate development they must stop playing political games to suit their supporters(Red Court) and get back to listening to their planning officers. GRASP THE NETTLE and get on with the job you were elected to do as our residents deserve better!
Somestimes you leave our team here at the Waverley Web speechless! You presided within a tory administration that delayed LP 1 postponed LP2 due to an impending election – when you lost control, persuaded two Tory MP’s to call in the Dunsfold Airport planning application when finally consented – delaying it for a decade, costing the ratepayers millions – and now you blame the Rainbow Alliance for not having a 5-year housing supply!? How about telling the Government that you support that it should fine every developer that fails to built-out consents within five years. What an exorcet missile that would send into developers and their shareholderds’ profits. Presently developers are in control, drip-feeding homes onto the market to keep demand up and prices high.
Never known Waverley Web to be speechless unless it’s their failure to comment on the appalling failure by the current Waverley administration, but there again that’s politics. To be fair there were many issues to consider at the time but never the less the Inspectorate agreed there was a 5 year supply prior to to the ‘Follows’ meddling in the housing numbers in Haslemere, these had already been agreed by planning officers and other involved parties. I do agree that HMG should introduce a mechanism to encourage developers to build on agreed applications, but in the meantime elected councillors must stop playing silly political games and get the local plan agreed and stop throwing residents hard earned cash at lost political causes.
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