Waverley Web

Despite what the pundits said on Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce website – some people thought Scrooge was running the Christmas festivities this year

Our contributors want to know: Where were the snow machines that the kids absolutely loved? Where were all the stalls selling goodies, handbags/scarves Christmas gifts etc and stalls laden with food?

Where was the children’s entertainment? Oh yes, guess where – in Manns of Cranleigh – where else shoppers! Drag the kids in and get a parent too.

Great that Ewhurst’s own little drummer boy was invited to switch on the lights. The wannabe developer has just had his development kicked into touch we hear. He says he is coming back with an even bigger one soon!

The lights turned on at 6.30 pm – too late boys!  It’s normally at 5 pm for families – hence families making a quick getaway, in the bitterly cold wind. The streets were almost empty by 7.15.

WW poses the question on behalf of Cranleigh residents? Is it about filling tills or providing an evening of festive fun and market shopping. Is Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce turning into a businessman’s club?

Shall we hazard a guess as to which property developer sponsored the lights this year? Answers on a postcard please…

 

And there we were thinking all was sweetness and light at Waverley HQ.

Councillors are so busy blaming everyone for not getting a Local Plan in place that we decided to list them as a quick reference guide.

Here are the credits:

• The Council’s Planning Officers
• The Chief Executive – Tell everyone to work seven days a week said ‘Taffy’ Edwards
• Surrey County Council – Highways department for not getting its Transport Plan in place
• Natural England – Habitats Report
• The Government – for updating it planning policy guidance notes frequently and moving the goal posts!
• Guildford and Woking Borough Councils – for rushing its work on the Strategic Housing Assessment (SHLA) – the number of homes that are required in the three adjoining borough’s
• Developers – for swamping it with a load of planning applications
• Developers – who insist on going to appeal against WBC’s decisions
• The Public Consultation Exercise – some believe 4,000 of whom came to the wrong conclusion, because more than 80% wanted development on previously developed land
• Waverley residents  – who did not respond to  the Public Consultation Exercise. Some councillors want another one – we don’t know how much the first one cost yet!
• The Liberal Democrats – when they were there – eight years ago!
• Dunsfold Park – for not putting in a planning application
• The Government Inspector – for just being born!
• The weather – because in 2013/14, parts of the borough flooded – particularly Cranleigh where they want to build.
• The Council offices’ cat – who couldn’t catch the rats?
• Last, but definitely not least… each other

Alfold Councillor, Kevin Deans, when referring to the largest brownfield site in the borough at Dunsfold Park said that when the Public Consultation Exercise was held (have we seen the results yet?), that it was the NIMBY’s elsewhere in the borough who wanted to dump on Dunsfold and the exercise did not represent the views of everyone in the borough. 

 

No Cllr Deanus, what most Waverley residents have said  repeatedly is: “Build on our brown fields before building on our green fields and don’t build on sites that flood.” Have you got it yet?

We would have liked to pop up a picture of the newly elected/newly resigned Godalming Town Councillor Joy Woodham – unfortunately she resigned before her picture and details were posted on the Town Council website!  Unless of course she’s already been ditched. They don’t hang about in Godalming do they? Here today, gone tomorrow…

Apparently, she resigned due to “irreconcilable differences with the rest of the  councillors“. No change there then. Could it possibly have anything to do with her links to Farncombe Day Centre we wonder? After all, Waverley is doing the dirty on most of the borough’s centres for the elderly.

Here’s what some of the locals say:

And here’s what we think…
Wake up (and smell the aroma of the town’s coffee shops) Godalming ! Don’t let our town councillors call the tune and co-opt into a Tory ‘YES MAN or WOMAN’ to replace someone who dared to disagree… Call a By-Election and do it NOW! 

Good on you Julia and Steve – let’s hope Godalming residents are listening to you.

 

The power behind the throne at Waverley – according to  one of our mounting band of WW contributors, and  responsible for giving Alfold’s new boy  Councillor Kevin Deanus a leg up onto the council’s Executive powerhouse is… wait for it…

WW recently featured the rapid rise to the top,  of councillor and ex copper Kevin Deanus only days after being elected.. WW had believed his meteoric rise to join seasoned councillors on Waverley’s powerful EXECUTIVE as Portfolio Holder for old people was with a helping hand from the other Bobby on Waverley’s beat Robert Know-less. Well it would appear we were wrong according to the locals.

So … WW wants to put the record straight…

The person responsible is a dear old lady of 92 far more qualified.

Former Waverley councillor/mayor  Betty Ames.

The woman  who has been  reported to, and found wanting by the Standards Board more times than Waverley residents have had meals on wheels.

 Her internet history reveals she has  been thrown out of the Conservative Party several times, over the years, but has always manages to bounce back.

According to villagers Alfold parish councillor  Ames was determined to oust the former borough councillor Mary Foryzweski from the seat  she held  for  (8 years) because the councillor, who was elected in May to a Cranleigh seat, was showing signs of supporting  “Scottie” just down the road at Dunsfold Park and wasn’t concealing  it too well.

 Councillor Ames, well-known locally for nurturing  friends in “high places” to do her bidding, some might say “dirty work,” has been “schooling” Councillor Deanus in the art of counsellorship.

Let’s hope the new bobby on Waverley’s beat man’s up enough to the broomstick bearer before she calls  “payback time.” According to the locals in the know – ‘Bet the Bat’ is determined not to have an increase in traffic beating a path past  her  front door, (an access road to Dunsfold airfield) and Kevin’s got to help her. Have to hand it to her though – most people of her age would be happy knitting, not schooling councillors in the black arts.

Judging by the Executive meeting tonight – Christmas arrived early for Councillor Ames, as Councillor Deanus was openly opposing  development at Dunsfold Park, accusing the rest of the borough of being Nimbys.’

All grist to the mill for the other developers breathing down the Alfold locals’ necks then! Watch out Alfold you could get more than 500 homes at Care Ashore (Springbok).  

The moral of the tale is… be careful who you vote for! WW  you may have  voted for Betty Ames!

 

Could it possibly be that Waverley’s third attempt at a Local Plan is heading for the buffers?

For the uninitiated – “Your Waverley Borough Council” has a committee called the Overview & Scrutiny Committee – yes, to overview and scrutinise important issues! Got it so far…

All councillors were invited along to recent meetings,  and made all sorts of comments about the Local Plan – Waverley’s blueprint for future development. Pretty damned important stuff – our Waverley our future. The sort of borough we want for our children and our children’s children.

Some turned up – lots didn’t. Those who did, made comments, expressed their fears – some of which contained warnings to get on with the job and FAST. Others said take your time and ignore the threat of Government intervention. Now, the council could, at its EXECUTIVE meeting to-day  Tuesday (lst Dec,) move into the realms of  FARCE.

The O & S Committee’s view,  put forward,  by its chairman  Councillor Nick “The Brick” Holder (Con Chiddingfold,) will propose the very opposite of the position taken by the vast majority of its members: He couldn’t even get the housing figure right – he said 591 homes, the council has proposed  519, and even that may not satisfy a Government Inspector!

Saying: ” I propose that we say – let’s go forward with the existing plans we have for 591 houses for 10 years, and then during that period we will look again at Dunsfold Park.”

So how come the chairman was able to summarise the committees views as being the opposite of what they said? Disgraceful. Step in Councillor  for Farnham, Carole Cockburn and set the record straight.

In other words – build on  Farnham, Godalming, Hslemere and Cranleigh’s green fields.  Stupid “Brick” and in ten years time when all the damage has been done, build on the largest brown field site in Waverley and cover it with even more “bl**** bricks,” pity he wasn’t one of them.

So tonight,-  watch the webcast of the council meeting.  Will the LEADERSHIP (EXECUTIVE)  decide without the benefit of  reports  awaited from such as,Mott Macdonald on Transport;  Natural England Habitats’? Will it  ignore  the 4,000 individuals and organisations who responded to its Consultation, 80% of whom voted to use Brown Field sites in the borough first. Ignore the views of many of its own rank and file democratically elected councillors?  Possibly so chaps…

Here we go again – another failing Local Plan in the making – and while Waverley whistles up its ever gaping a**, developers are putting the final touches to  their proofs of evidence for the mounting number of appeals in the pipeline, with applications for costs whic  have to be paid with OUR MONEY.

Our WW followers are asking?  When is someone going to take…

A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE IN THE LEADERSHIP OF WAVERLEY COUNCIL- BEFORE ITS TOO DAMNED LATE.