3 thoughts on “‘Your Waverley’s Housing land supply figures disappointing.”
The good councilor is falling into her own and her parties own trap. Let us be frank every opportunity to solve the housing situation in the Jin soaked Surrey hills was doomed to abject failure before it was even dry on the paper. There is suitable land there are communities that could have additional housing but they don’t because the land value has not reached the point where the said owners will accept a sale and let us be frank they want more than one pound of flesh. Everyone has their price. The brutal fact is that the higher the land value the less likely it is that affordable homes will be built as house builders demand a good return for their investment. One consequence of the government’s latest taxation policy regarding farmers has highlighted the value of land. Many landowners will be considering their position as vast quantities of good agricultural land will be taken out of production and sold off for housing which will cause an outcry throughout the land it will also create a glut and a price reduction as a consequence and builders unwilling to build because of reduced opportunity of profit. True it may force builders to actually construct affordable homes but more likely to just stop production.
Thus the good councillors of Waverley find their argument regarding agricultural land less compelling than it was. With the planned annihilation of the existing planning system throughout the country I anticipate that the means of stopping this juggernaut is about to be removed and hiding behind AONBs may be no longer an effective means of preventing development right up to the edge of SSI’s; as beauty, being in the eye of the beholder, has a monetary value. Waverley planning department being forced by its counselors to attempt to withstand the increasing pressure from the government and its new task force of special planning officers he’s wasting Council taxpayers money. The local plans are a tick in the box for democracy and have no place in the government plan for the borough to an extent it reminds me of Manny Shinwell and the country house Wentworth Woodhouse. Manny as head of the NCB had mining shafts built right up the drive of the great house. Basically two fingers up to the upper classes. In this case two fingers up to the middle classes behind there high electric wooden gates and their 5 acres of garden.
My advice.
Run for someone else’s hills.
MeaninglessMud
Well I guess we all know what this means don’t we??? More housing for ALFOLD! With Thakeham’s 350 Odd Proposed homes…. that would go someway to filling the Gap in the 5YHLS! Who cares if all the new residents will have to drive..that they won’t be able to see a Doctor for weeks or get their Kids into schools? After all if you are taken in by the Developers Marketing Gumph – You would honestly believe that Alfold has it ALL and it is only 30 (odd) miles to London by car and close to numerous Train Stations after all so perfect for Commuters.. N’es pas?
All the reasons for rejecting Sites across certain parts of the Borough will become obsolete, unless of course you Do have AONB/ SPA’s / AGLV or Greenbelt (that isn’t yet GREY!) But then we don’t have any of those…. so easy pickings. You just have to look at all the Rejected Sites on the 5YHLS Baseline 1st April 2024 – released this month to see that even if they are Brownfield sites they are still not considered “Suitable” due to the impact they may have on other parts of the area (and possibly.. only possibly.. the value of those said areas)
I see that Dunsfold Park Housing figures are no longer in the Mix..not surprising really and I am sure that a New Application will come to the fore – which looks nothing like the SPD of November 2021.. All those S106 agreements to provide improvements to the Transport Infrastructure, Employment opportunities, Retail, Schools, Health centre, Waste, Water etc etc….
It is very good of Councillors to try to assist the developers with Starting their Developments once they have planning Approved, but why would they? I am afraid it should be a STICK and not a damn CARROT… If they don’t start building out within a specific (reasonable) time frame they should be made to pay a Proportion of Council-Tax (or similar) until they do… I am not talking about a few holes in the ground.. But actually BUILDING HOMES. We have 30 just down the road that have been sitting “On their Hands..” hoping to add another 11, and we had a similar delay on the Horsham Road development… But I understand that has to come from Central Government, who won’t even think about it – whilst they come up with mythical Housing numbers for Rural areas.
You would think that someone would think about this sort of Mass development in Rural Locations, with Hundreds of New Properties soon to come onto the market. It isn’t providing Homes for Local Waverley residents unless you are on the Housing Register. Nor is it providing our small rural Villages with any Infrastructure or amenities.. There are only so many people that can squeeze into our SINGLE SHOP in the Village at the BP Petrol Station!
I’m waiting for when people realise the pure incompetence of Cllr Paul Fellows and Cllr Liz Townsend and just get rid of them. The WBC planning committee is an absolute joke. Liz Townsends leadership is appalling, and Feckless Follows, is just that, a follower, not a leader! Only concerned with blaming everybody else except them selves and playing immature party politics, instead of pragmatically solving the mess that they preside over.
And yes, to paraphrase above contributers, ALFOLD IS SCREWED!!
The good councilor is falling into her own and her parties own trap. Let us be frank every opportunity to solve the housing situation in the Jin soaked Surrey hills was doomed to abject failure before it was even dry on the paper. There is suitable land there are communities that could have additional housing but they don’t because the land value has not reached the point where the said owners will accept a sale and let us be frank they want more than one pound of flesh. Everyone has their price. The brutal fact is that the higher the land value the less likely it is that affordable homes will be built as house builders demand a good return for their investment. One consequence of the government’s latest taxation policy regarding farmers has highlighted the value of land. Many landowners will be considering their position as vast quantities of good agricultural land will be taken out of production and sold off for housing which will cause an outcry throughout the land it will also create a glut and a price reduction as a consequence and builders unwilling to build because of reduced opportunity of profit. True it may force builders to actually construct affordable homes but more likely to just stop production.
Thus the good councillors of Waverley find their argument regarding agricultural land less compelling than it was. With the planned annihilation of the existing planning system throughout the country I anticipate that the means of stopping this juggernaut is about to be removed and hiding behind AONBs may be no longer an effective means of preventing development right up to the edge of SSI’s; as beauty, being in the eye of the beholder, has a monetary value. Waverley planning department being forced by its counselors to attempt to withstand the increasing pressure from the government and its new task force of special planning officers he’s wasting Council taxpayers money. The local plans are a tick in the box for democracy and have no place in the government plan for the borough to an extent it reminds me of Manny Shinwell and the country house Wentworth Woodhouse. Manny as head of the NCB had mining shafts built right up the drive of the great house. Basically two fingers up to the upper classes. In this case two fingers up to the middle classes behind there high electric wooden gates and their 5 acres of garden.
My advice.
Run for someone else’s hills.
MeaninglessMud
Well I guess we all know what this means don’t we??? More housing for ALFOLD! With Thakeham’s 350 Odd Proposed homes…. that would go someway to filling the Gap in the 5YHLS! Who cares if all the new residents will have to drive..that they won’t be able to see a Doctor for weeks or get their Kids into schools? After all if you are taken in by the Developers Marketing Gumph – You would honestly believe that Alfold has it ALL and it is only 30 (odd) miles to London by car and close to numerous Train Stations after all so perfect for Commuters.. N’es pas?
All the reasons for rejecting Sites across certain parts of the Borough will become obsolete, unless of course you Do have AONB/ SPA’s / AGLV or Greenbelt (that isn’t yet GREY!) But then we don’t have any of those…. so easy pickings. You just have to look at all the Rejected Sites on the 5YHLS Baseline 1st April 2024 – released this month to see that even if they are Brownfield sites they are still not considered “Suitable” due to the impact they may have on other parts of the area (and possibly.. only possibly.. the value of those said areas)
I see that Dunsfold Park Housing figures are no longer in the Mix..not surprising really and I am sure that a New Application will come to the fore – which looks nothing like the SPD of November 2021.. All those S106 agreements to provide improvements to the Transport Infrastructure, Employment opportunities, Retail, Schools, Health centre, Waste, Water etc etc….
It is very good of Councillors to try to assist the developers with Starting their Developments once they have planning Approved, but why would they? I am afraid it should be a STICK and not a damn CARROT… If they don’t start building out within a specific (reasonable) time frame they should be made to pay a Proportion of Council-Tax (or similar) until they do… I am not talking about a few holes in the ground.. But actually BUILDING HOMES. We have 30 just down the road that have been sitting “On their Hands..” hoping to add another 11, and we had a similar delay on the Horsham Road development… But I understand that has to come from Central Government, who won’t even think about it – whilst they come up with mythical Housing numbers for Rural areas.
You would think that someone would think about this sort of Mass development in Rural Locations, with Hundreds of New Properties soon to come onto the market. It isn’t providing Homes for Local Waverley residents unless you are on the Housing Register. Nor is it providing our small rural Villages with any Infrastructure or amenities.. There are only so many people that can squeeze into our SINGLE SHOP in the Village at the BP Petrol Station!
I’m waiting for when people realise the pure incompetence of Cllr Paul Fellows and Cllr Liz Townsend and just get rid of them. The WBC planning committee is an absolute joke. Liz Townsends leadership is appalling, and Feckless Follows, is just that, a follower, not a leader! Only concerned with blaming everybody else except them selves and playing immature party politics, instead of pragmatically solving the mess that they preside over.
And yes, to paraphrase above contributers, ALFOLD IS SCREWED!!