Once again, Waverley Planners refuse an Alfold planning application. However, will it end there? Or will the developer ask a government inspector to approve his cunning plan?

Rowe Property Investments wants to build nine homes near the Alfold Craft Centre at Cypress Grove. This development is just one of a long line of recent years that villagers claim has urbanised the rural area and increased traffic on an unsuitable narrow road. The site was formerly a horse schooling arena.

Fourteen letters of objection included: The urbanisation of a rural area, contrary to local character.  Increased traffic on narrow, unsuitable roads leads to safety risks. Overdevelopment, resulting in cramped and incongruous dwellings.  Negative impacts on wildlife and biodiversity, particularly given the proximity to Ancient Woodland. The strain on local infrastructure, including schools, healthcare, and drainage systems.

Surrey County Council, the lead flood authority, reviewed the submitted documents and considered that the applicant had not considered the surface water flood risk to and from the site. The applicant has not suggested appropriate mitigation measures to inform the Planning Application or provided any information confirming how surface water will be managed on-site and how the proposals will not increase the risk downstream of the site.

The horse schooling arena is currently used as a builder’s yard and storage area for construction materials. It is a level plot enclosed by timber close-boarded fencing, with access from the existing shared access/track serving it and neighbouring properties to the west, including Alfold Business Centre. This shared access also serves as a public bridleway.

Neighbours  strongly objected to this development for the following reasons:

 We live on a very narrow, rough bridle path, which will not sustain the volume of traffic and size of lorries, etc., that would need to use this road to gain access to the development. Our understanding is that this is not a public right of way.  When talking about the bridleway, there is a narrow pinch point by Alfold Vets, which is a single file. This would be unsuitable for increased traffic during and after the construction of these proposed houses. Construction vehicles would have to use our parking area to make turns.

Another nine houses would add a much higher volume of traffic to the bridleway, meaning a minimum of 9 – 18 cars using the bridleway regularly. It is unlikely that anyone without a car would buy a house here as there is no public transport.  The noise level for existing residents will be disturbing and disruptive.  Lack of infrastructure. Historic problems with water supply and regular power cuts.  Wildlife will be disturbed. We live in an area of natural beauty which is already upset by the level of building work in our village. The design and construction of these proposed houses will be out of character with the already existing barns that have been converted into living accommodations. 

Alfold Village is lacking in infrastructure. The local infrastructure does not support the construction of such family houses. There is no local public transport, there is no doctor’s surgery, there is no shop, there is no school. This will make people over-reliant on using their cars. The height of the proposed houses will mean that existing gardens and houses will lose their privacy and be overlooked. It will also produce light pollution. Rural crime is already a concern. Adding a development with expensive plants and machinery may be attractive to unscrupulous individuals we do not want in our neighbourhood.