Appeal Reference: APP/R3650/W/24/3346472, which begins on Tuesday.

LAND ADJOINING BROCKHURST FARM DUNSFOLD ROAD ALFOLD CRANLEIGH Development:

Erection of 11 dwellings comprising seven open market units and four affordable units with access through adjacent residential development, as well as associated parking, servicing, and landscaping. Application Reference: WA/2022/00204.\The site has an extremely complicated history:

These appeals are referenced below: Appeal A Ref: APP/R3650/W/18/3193390 for up to 45 homes was dismissed. Appeal B Ref: APP/R3650/W/18/3201576 for up to 25 homes was allowed This application should be seen as a “by stealth” extension to the current permission for 23 homes that were granted at Appeal B Ref: APP/R3650/W/18/3201576 plus the seven homes that were granted under WA/2021/02393 and it can be seen that were it to be allowed, the total number of homes on the site would be almost the same as appeal A Ref: APP/R3650/W/18/3193390 which the Inspector dismissed for good reasons.

Over 450 permissions have been granted to Alfold, compared to the 125 minimum homes allocated to Alfold in the Waverley Local Plan.

In January, Waverley planners refused the application, which is now the subject of appeal on the following grounds. 

1. The proposed development, by its scale and location, would have an unacceptable impact on the character and appearance of the adjacent open countryside in conflict with Policies RE1 and RE3 of the Waverley Local Plan (Part 1) 2018, Policies DM4 and DM15 of the Waverley Local Plan (Part 2) 2023 and Policy ANP H1 of the Alfold Neighbourhood Plan (2024).

2. The proposed development’s location and proximity to Dunsfold Park Village would lead to a greater potential coalescence with this neighbouring settlement, harming Alfold’s village character and, therefore, conflicting with further planning policies and the Neighbourhood Plan (2024).

Objectors, of which there are many, say:

 The Local Plan Settlement Hierarchy calls for only modest development in the “smaller villages”, of which Alfold is one. The current amount of development already risks material skewing of the Spatial Strategy. Previous reasons for refusing more homes on this site can be found in the Inspector’s report from the previous appeals. These grounds still stand and are equally valid today as they were in 2018, if not more so, given the over 450 permissions granted in Alfold. Some of the Inspector’s reasons for refusing a larger development are

“Appeal A would introduce buildings into an area between the northern corner of Vintner’s large garden and the easternmost boundary of Spinners. This would represent an encroachment of development well beyond the existing development and the currently defined village boundary.

The illustrative layout shown would fail to have sufficient regard for the form and layout of the existing development at Brockhurst Cottages. This adjacent development is within the village’s built-up area. It is distinctly different in character from the scattered dwellings that are to be found in the outlying area. The extent of the developable area within Appeal A, shown in Drawing No 16.011.010 Rev G, would also significantly restrict the amount of the site, which would be retained as open space; the result would be a disproportionate scale of development that would be harmful to the appearance of the site and its immediate surroundings. Furthermore, the Alfold Neighbourhood Plan has been made and adopted and should carry significant weight. The Neighbourhood Plan deals with housing development in the area, and some key items from it are listed below:

The impact of building 447 new houses in a small and scattered rural community, previously numbering 449 households, cannot be overstated. This is the reality facing Alfold in 2022. Evidence in the Plan demonstrates that this community has the highest level of deprivation of rural Parishes in Waverley, is remote from most essential community services such as schools and health facilities and is extremely poorly served by public transport. It is forced to be a car-dependant community, which flies in the face of all government and local authority initiatives towards creating a carbon-neutral and sustainable society. The level of development now underway has been permitted with no material improvement in physical infrastructure (roads, schools, health centres, etc…) to date to mitigate this situation. This plan, therefore, aims to redress the imbalance this has created. (Housing).

The minimum housing requirement in LPP1 has been met and significantly exceeded (447 vs. 125 dwellings); therefore, the Neighbourhood Plan does not allocate sites for new housing. The Neighbourhood Plan also states that major developments will not be supported—the NPPF defines major as developments of over ten dwellings. Waverley Borough Council echoes this.

This application fails to meet the above policy goals and should be refused for numerous reasons.