A few months ago,’ Your Waverley’ published its 5-year housing supply figure.
3.5 yrs.
As you will see from the council report below, it had a 3.5-year supply.
Then Dunsfold Airfield took off for the Planet Zonk when Trinity College, Cambridge “mothballed” the site until further notice! This reduced the 5 year supply down to :
2.8 yrs.
Is Dunsfold Garden Village Done For?
Waverley Council’s housing land supply position revealed that the largest downfield site in the borough had been consigned to the trash bin, leaving it with a miserable 2.68 years of deliverable housing between 2024 and 2029.
Now that the latest supply figure has been published…
On the deck with
1.28 yrs
There are approximately 4,200 homes with planning consent in the borough which have not been built!
The WW wonders when someone is going to suggest that sites with an extant planning permission longer than five years should be compulsorily purchased by the Government?
‘Your Waverley’s Housing land supply figures disappointing.
It would appear, WBC has decided, knowing the inevitable was coming, that the best thing to do was just give up. The axe on the borough is falling and apart from anything else, none of the council will survive the carnage to come, they obviously have concluded to go now rather than later.
What has been crystal clear for decades is the landowners had the ear of the last Government and now, under Auntie Angie they can continue to call the shots. But with added venom.
We are told of a massive demand and in the same breath nobody can afford to buy.
With the construction industry stating.
Not enough bricks not enough builders, energy prices through the roof.
Absolutely the right conditions for Auntie Angie to beat up WBC. Remember politics and reality rarely coincide. There is a need to point the finger. And point it she will. Especially hard at the gin soaked Surrey Hills.
When the Auntie Angie’s planning commandos arrive to thrash around in the planning department, It’s going to be awkward, and everyone knows why.
Dunsfold,
Hunt, Ineptitude.
Politics.
No money.
Forced to do more with less and an inadequate population to stand alone.
The council is effectively bust. Commercial business is contracting impacting on local taxes. It’s holding on because of it’s merger plan. Except this clinging on (courtesy of the next door basket case Guildford) is occurring at the very same moment Kaiser Tim and his SCC Empire is attempting to survive, obliterating the power of the boroughs as part of his diabolical plan. He seems utterly convinced he will remain come what may.
The cry of
“As a unitary authority is the Government plan. Why bother to merge WBC with GBC?”
echoes abroad. As the public realise that massive change is coming. All those homes spoiling the view, frightening the horses and generally brining the sort of people the ‘locals’ moved to Surrey to escape from in the first place.
From an observers perspective you have two tiers of local democracy fighting for survival. SCC will survive but unlikely to be Kaiser Tim’s version.
At the grass routes level the impacts are only two years away as all the rural villages of Surrey fill with housing without services and inadequate infrastructure. Would you want to be anywhere near it with parish councils increasingly realising the impossible position they are in? No.
Because Auntie Angie will have her way and thus
WBC doesn’t stand an earthly. It either
as MM humbly suggests.
Applies for a Section 114 as it is the only chance of survival. Because you cannot merge a bankrupt borough.
Or
Puts its hands up and surrender and await your fate with a semblance of dignity.
What is obvious to the viewer is the councillors have not taken onboard the fact that they are soon gone along with the administration.
It simply hasn’t sunk in how different the landscape is going to be.
Think on.
MM
MM
As per above, the landscape, looking out of any window in Alfold, will be high rise blocks of flats, surrounded by pools of excrement. Overlooking roads bumper to bumper with cars, windows rattled out of their dwellings by the excessive HGVs. Still no buses, no reliable electricity, no gas, water that is unfit to drink, sewage bubbling up into the gardens and backfilling the toilets, no schools, no shop, no GP surgery, no dentist, just hundreds of and hundreds of shoddily built, unaffordable houses built on flood plains, surrounded by hate and distrust as existing residents are pitted against the incoming new money.”, also frustrated by the lies they were spun when they purchased, the failure of the developers maintenance.
Gone will be biodiversity.
Gone will be sunrises and sunsets.
Gone will be the sound of the Dawn chorus.
And all because of failure of leadership of Paul Follows who referees to behave collaboratively.
And all because of the ineffectual and incompetence Liz Townsend.
Therein lies the remains of the village that was once called Alfold, the heart of the fold country. It’s beating heart ripped out by greed, entrenched political failure, and derisable by WBC planning committee.
RIP Awfold.
Why don’t we dump another 1,000 houses in cranleigh to complete the total chaos that Waverley have achieved to date, let’s not bother with sewerage and stuff, that just complicates things
I couldn’t agree More… We are in one Helluva Mess and the Doggy-Doo is all coming to Alfold. I just do not understand how, as one of the smallest and remotest Villages in Waverley, has taken in percentage terms the highest number of Houses in the Borough. I don’t care about designations any more – We DON’T HAVE ANY we just have over 450 homes Granted and another 430 in the Pipe line between WATES 80 homes & THAKEHAM – Remember them? that “Consulted” with Alfold about their plans for another 350 Homes then failed to publish any of the Feedback!!.
What was the point of Alfold doing the Neighbourhood Plan? it was a damn good piece of work, which clearly showed what the Village wanted, but it has been ignored and is not worth the paper it was printed on – SHAME ON WAVERLEY!
Ah Well – Just another little bit of Loveliness from Thakeham New Application for up to 400 Homes at Springbok!
https://planning360.waverley.gov.uk:4443/planning/search-applications?civica.query.FullTextSearch=Alfold#VIEW?RefType=GFPlanning&KeyNo=544726&KeyText=Subject
Planning ref.Planning Application WA/2025/00219 – Valid From 04/02/2025
Thakeham Thugs at it again, the most deceitful, arrogant, abusive contractor that refuses to release the unanimous views of the village that SHOUTED NO.
You really cannot make up this level of corrupt, decietful bullshit.
Meanwhile, members of the committee continue to refuse applications for housing on completley unsubstantiated grounds leading to a full award of costs being made against them. WW may be interested in reviewing the decision and costs decision at Little Heath to see the criticism from the Inspector on relying on a policy with ‘no statutory force’ and not engaging in suitable debate!
WW may also be interested to hear that the senior officers at Waverley appear to be delaying new housing schemes even coming to comittee! Just look at the last few agendas to see they are hardly full! Its head in the sand time
Please provide us with the WA number of the appeal you mentioned. Yes, this is not the first time we have been informed of such decisions. We also know that some planning applications have languished at Waverley Towers for years. We understand that the planning department is currently running at half strength
WA/2023/02240
Many Thanks.WW