development

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IMPORTANT MEETING TO HEAR VIEWS ON NEW HOMES FOR VILLAGE

The English Rural Housing Association planning application has finally been submitted seeking permission to build 17 affordable and market price homes on the Orchard Farm site and it is important to hear the views of villagers before the Parish Council considers the issue.

This is a reminder that a meeting is to be held this Tuesday (September 13) at the Village Hall at 8pm and it is hoped that as many people as possible will attend so that opinions from across the parish can be heard.

The Parish Council held one open meeting when the ERHA first made its proposals known after acquiring the Wormley Lane/Petworth Road site in 2014.  Now that a planning application for 12 affordable and five market price houses has been submitted to Waverley Borough Council the latest meeting is to hear from villagers before the Parish Council comments on the application.

The application can be found by clicking here.

 

Orchard Farm name

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Dunsfold “New Town”? Draft Local Plan Gets Go-Ahead For Next Stage

Waverley Borough councillors have overwhelmingly supported a recommendation that its new draft Local Plan be published.

The plan, which sets out a strategy for housing up until 2032, allows for 2,600 homes to be built on the site of Dunsfold aerodrome. Local parish councils, including Hambledon, have expressed grave concerns that unless sufficient infrastructure is in place, a “new town” development at Dunsfold is not sustainable.

A meeting of the full Waverley council on Tuesday night was picketed by protesters who chanted and waved banners in protest at the Plan as members arrived at the council offices in Godalming.

They were being asked to agree to a recommendation by the council’s executive that the draft Plan be formally published to allow it to move on to the next stage – a minimum six-week period for representations to be made before it is submitted for examination by a Government planning inspector (see previous news item).

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Three councillors abstained. Many others thought it flawed but voted in favour to prevent central Government taking it over and imposing its own targets.

To avoid this outcome the Plan has to be in place by early 2017. Waverley’s earlier attempt at a Local Plan was rejected by a Government inspector for not having met new housing targets.

The owner of the airfield, Dunsfold Park Ltd, is currently applying to build 1,800 homes on the site, potentially rising to 3,400.

Hambledon and other local parishes in the area are concerned about the impact such a significant new housing development will have on narrow, rural lanes that surround the airfield site. The only major road in the area is the A281 which is already heavily congested at peak times in the Guildford direction.

It is argued that people will look to “rat-run” on unsuitable single-track country lanes such as Markwick Lane, Salt Lane and Vann Lane to reach Witley and Milford stations, schools and surgeries, all of which are already stretched to meet existing local need.

Hambledon Parish Council has objected to the current Dunsfold Park application on the basis of a lack of supporting infrastructure. It accepts the need for new homes but said the current proposals would put “severe and unacceptable pressure on an already overstretched transport network”. The council has suggested that the planners and developers should consider reinstating the former Guildford to Cranleigh railway line – with a spur to Dunsfold – as a light transit system to help alleviate road congestion, if development goes ahead.

If you would like to read what comments Hambledon Parish Council has made to Waverley on the Dunsfold application so far, please follow this link ,- and then click on Dunsfold Park. Further comment is likely when final plans are known.

In the meantime parishes and the campaign group Protect Our Waverley (POW) will be keeping up the pressure on councillors when they come to consider the planning application and during the representation stage of the draft Local Plan.

 

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A “new town” for Dunsfold? Council meets to consider Local Plan

 

A “new town” of 2,600 houses at Dunsfold Aerodrome is among proposals in the new draft Local Plan to be considered by Waverley Borough Council tonight (Tuesday July 19).

The airfield site is already subject to a planning application for 1,800 homes and this total will inevitably rise if the new Local Plan is adopted. Dunsfold Park, owners of the site, has suggested that eventually up to 3,400 houses could be built.

Hambledon Parish Council has objected to the application and has joined with other parishes in the area in arguing that narrow country lanes will not be able to cope with the additional traffic.  The only major road near the site, the A281, is already at a standstill at peak times. To avoid this new home owners will be forced to “rat-run” by using single-track rural roads such as Markwick Lane, Salt Lane and Vann Lane to reach Milford and Witley stations, schools, shops and places of work.

POW protest

If Waverley adopts the new Local Plan, efforts to fight the Dunsfold Park proposals will be seriously undermined. In 2009 Waverley refused a similar housing application for the site, upheld by a Government inspector on appeal. Today, although reasons for objecting remain the same, Waverley is under central Government pressure to build more than 500 new homes across the borough every year to 2032.

Waverley’s executive has already recommended the new Local Plan be formally published and the full council meets tonight at 7pm to consider endorsing this recommendation. If this happens there will be a minimum six-week for representations before the plan is submitted for examination by a Government Planning Inspector.

Protect Our Waverley, a campaign group set up to fight the proposals, will be staging a demonstration outside Waverley offices before tonight’s meeting.

 

 

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Planning for Hambledon’s future – Latest

In 2003 Hambledon produced a Parish Plan to help shape its future.  Since then the Parish Council has examined various other formal frameworks to ensure the village’s ambitions for the years ahead are taken into account by Waverley Borough Council and other authorities.

These have included producing a Village Design Statement and Neighbourhood Plan, a route which some villagers had asked the council to consider.

After seeking professional advice – and taking into account the cost and resources necessary for such measures – it was decided that there were insufficient benefits to justify the time and money involved.

Instead it considered producing a Community Plan, which is smaller in scope that a Neighbourhood Plan and arguably more relevant to a little rural village.

Whichever method the parish council adopted for drawing up a blueprint for the future, it would require financial assistance and community volunteers. In the event neither was forthcoming.

It was hoped that funding for a Community Plan would be awarded by the Big Lottery Fund and that sufficient villagers would volunteer to participate in its preparation.

However, The Big Lottery, which distributes National Lottery money for community causes, turned down the request. The application had been carefully prepared with professional help. But Big Lottery experts could not see why a Community Plan was required to address the needs and issues set out in the application.  (This point had also been raised in previous advice given to the Parish Council, including from Waverley Borough Council.)

The second set back was that one month after an appeal for volunteers appeared in the Parish Magazine and on the village website only six responses had been received.

So it’s back to the drawing board.

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Although there have been changes since Hambledon produced its Parish Plan in 2003, it would be difficult to improve on its objectives.  The Parish Council has therefore decided to continue using it as a base document but to up-date it and re-issue it, either in its existing form or in a new format and perhaps with a more appropriate title.

Village organisations and individuals are therefore being asked what would make Hambledon a better place for them and their activities.

The responses will be incorporated in a discussion paper which will be made widely available early in April.  The paper will then be discussed and questions arising from it addressed at the Parish Assembly on 16 April.  Funds for printing the completed plan have been included in the 2016-17 budget. It will also be available on the village web site.

So, in thanking those who did volunteer to help with a Community Plan, the Parish Council  now asks them and as many other villagers as possible to give some thought as to what they think would make Hambledon an even better place in which to live.

Examining the 2003 Parish Plan and its most recent up-date might be a good point from which to start. This can be found on this web site here: Parish Plan documents . Or you can ask the Clerk ( via email, or telephone 01428 684213) for a hard copy

Please make sure that comments are either posted by leaving a comment on this article, or sent to the Clerk by 15 March so that they can be included in the discussion document.

 

 

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Dunsfold redevelopment consultation deadline 5th Feb

Screen Shot 2016-01-05 at 15.31.53As announced earlier on this site, the new planning application for a new town on the Dunsfold Aerodrome is currently being considered by Waverley Council.  The deadline for residents to make comments to the planners is 5th February.   More information here: http://www.dunsfoldvillage.co.uk

Click here to go to Waverley Planning site: Planning Application Documents

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Hambledon 503 Bus service under threat… again

Surrey County Council is proposing to axe the 503, Hambledon’s only bus service.

Having won a reprieve in 2012, once again the county council is making further spending cuts including the subsidy that keeps the 503 operating.

This time the village faces a big battle to keep its bus, even though the need for the service remains as great as ever.

If you want to comment on the proposal then please complete the Surrey Council questionnaire online at www.surreycc.gov.uk/transportreview or fill in a paper version available in libraries and local council offices.  Or you can request a copy in the post by calling 0300 200 1003. The deadline is Monday March 14.

SCC will then consider responses to the consultation and final proposals will be debated on May 24. The outcome will be announced in June and changes will come into effect in September.

If you care about the future of Hambledon’s bus, which provides the only public service link to shops/banks/surgeries in Milford, Godalming and Guildford then please take part in the consultation. SCC is suggesting the bus could be replaced by a dial-a-ride service.

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Many older residents in the village rely on the 503, which currently operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, twice in each direction.

A handful of residents join the bus in Hambledon and others board as it stops the in Manor Fields and Chapel Lane estates in Milford.

Because of its importance to these passengers, the Stagecoach-operated service is subsidised by Surrey County Council to keep it running. But continuing cuts in funding to local authorities by Central Government are taking their toll.

And this at a time when the need for public transport, and the energy and environmental savings it brings, could not be more important.

Additionally, an affordable housing development at Orchard Farm is currently under consideration. The 503 starts on its doorstep at Lane End. The bus also travels close to the new 100-homes development off Tuesley Lane. Continue reading →

Dunsfold Aerodrome – transport review

Screen Shot 2015-03-21 at 17.08.09EIGHT rural West Surrey parishes – including Hambledon – have united to commission a transport review to examine the impact any significant new development at Dunsfold Aerodrome would have on narrow local roads and lanes.

The review, carried out by Guildford-based road and transport consultants Motion, was published this week and concludes that the site is unsustainable for any substantial housing. (A report on this appears in this week’s Haslemere Herald March 5th edition)

The Motion study confirms that the reasons why Waverley Borough Council rejected an “eco-town” proposal for the site in 2009 – a decision supported on appeal by the Secretary of State – remain sound when assessed against the key principles of current Government policy.

The parish councils of Dunsfold, Alfold, Bramley, Busbridge, Chiddingfold, Hambledon, Hascombe and Wonersh, reacting to concerns of villagers, asked Motion to examine two recent traffic assessments, one by Surrey County Council and the other conducted on behalf of the aerodrome’s owners, DAL.

Continue reading →

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Plans on show for new homes on Hospital site

The developer appointed to build more than 100 new homes on redundant land around Milford Hospital is previewing its proposals at a public exhibition and online.

David Wilson Homes, part of the Barratt Group, is displaying the scheme to local residents between 2.30pm and 8pm tomorrow (Thursday 12th September) at Clock Barn Hall, Hambledon Road. It is available online at www.dwhmilfordhospital.co.uk

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Continue reading →

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Waverley Planners Approve Brickworks Country Estate Development

ImageWaverley Borough Council has approved the scheme to build a country house estate on the site of the derelict Nutbourne Brickworks in Roundals Lane.

Members of the Central Area Planning Committe were unanimous in their approval when they met to consider the application by Millgate Homes on Wednesday (May 25th).

The developers had applied to build a mansion house, staff cottages, a gate house, stables and garages on the 220-acre site.   Nearby residents favoured the proposal and Hambledon Parish Council gave its support, but only after securing a covenant that safeguards the site from further development or change of use. Continue reading →

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Draft report of Housing Needs Survey, Hambledon, November 2010

This report, by Surrey Community Action’s rural housing enabler, Mona Johannson, was considered by Hambledon Parish Council at its meeting on 11 January 2011.  It is reproduced in full in the Minutes section of the Parish Council pages on the village web site.  The findings suggest that the village could accommodate a second affordable housing scheme.

A shortfall in affordable housing stock throughout Waverley triggered the Parish Council’s decision to commission the survey, which was carried out during September-October last year.  All households in the Parish received a questionnaire:  35 per cent were returned and 72 per cent of respondents favoured a further affordable housing project.  Both  figures are considerably higher than average response, indicating a good level of support for another scheme to complement the development completed in 2001 at Duncombe Cottages. Information provided by households who felt themselves to be in housing need suggested that a second scheme could comprise five one- or two-bed rented units and two two-bed shared ownership units. However, it must be remembered that these are to-day’s figures.  Until such time as units become available some of the needs will have been met elsewhere and not everyone may still be in need. The Parish Council has adopted the report and will now consider possible sites.   Some were suggested by respondents to the questionnaire but if anyone else has any ideas please let the Clerk know.  Mona Johansson will be getting in touch with households who indicated that they might be in housing need to remind them that, if they have not already done so, they should register with Waverley Borough Council (essential for anyone who requires any form of affordable housing). Mona Johansson will remain involved and, depending on progress made with site identification, Waverley and social housing providers will also become involved in the discussions.

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Parish Council Gives Conditional Support to Nutbourne Development

Hambledon Parish Council has agreed to support the proposal to build a country house estate on the site of the former Nutbourne Brickworks at Roundals Lane, subject to satisfactory legal advice on a covenant it has been offered by the developers.

The majority of villagers who expressed an opinion on the planning application by Millgate Homes urged the parish council to support the proposal.

The priority for parish councillors was to obtain the best possible outcome for Hambledon and they made it clear to the developers that many issues had to be examined before such support could be forthcoming.  As a result Millgate came back to the parish council with a significant concession. It would transfer a piece of Nutbourne land to the parish which would be given the benefit of a covenant restricting building on the neighbouring development site to one large country house and further restrict its use to that of a single-occupancy home. However, Millgate made the offer conditional to the parish council agreeing to support its application. This condition was unacceptable to councillors.

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Public Meeting To Consider Brickworks Plan October 28th

ImageHambledon Parish Council is to hold a public meeting to hear the views of villagers over the proposed country house estate development at the disused Nutbourne Brickworks site.  The meeting will be held in the Village Hall at 8pm on Thursday October 28th.

 

Millgate Homes have submitted a planning application to Waverley Borough Council (see earlier news item) for a substantial country house, ancillary buildings and landscaping following the demolition of all existing buildings on the site in Roundals Lane.

 

The developer is staging an exhibition of its proposals in the Village Hall on Thursday October 21st between 5pm and 8pm and again on Saturday October 23rd between 10am and 1pm. Refreshments will be provided and representatives of the company will be available to answer questions.

 

Hambledon Parish councillors will also be meeting to consider the proposal but will not make a response to Waverley until it has assessed local feeling at the public meeting on the 28th.   The application can be viewed here at www.waverley.gov.uk