by admin | May 17, 2015 | Cranleigh, Development, infrastructure, Meetings, Surrey County Council
Members of the Cranleigh Society attended a meeting on 30 April 2015 at the Parish Council Offices in Cranleigh called by Surrey County Councillor Alan Young, together with Paul Millin, Surrey County Council Group Manager for Travel and Transport, Bob Bayley Vice President of the Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce and Kenneth Mitchell representing the Neighbourhood Plan.
Paul Millin is responsible for local bus services, home to school transport, transport for adult social care, road safety , speed cameras and railways. He has worked for a number of years on viability studies for reopening the railway line between Cranleigh and Guildford; copies of these reports are now available at the Cranleigh Parish Council Offices. Mr Millin confirmed that previously the Cranleigh railway line had not operated at a profit.
Re-opening of the Cranleigh Railway Line
The original Guildford to Horsham via Cranleigh line was opened in 1865 and was a single track railway with passing places. The line was never very profitable and the 1963 ‘Reshaping of
British Railways’ report indicated a flow of under 5,000 passengers per week. As a result the Guildford to Cranleigh line was closed in 1965. Since that time population in the area has grown considerably and this justified investigation into its re-opening.
In 1994 Surrey County Council were investigating infrastructure deficits in the area and this included commissioning a report from Colin Buchanan and Partners looking into the reopening of the railway line from Guildford to Horsham line via Cranleigh. It was concluded that there would not be enough people using the line to operate at a profit and also that there were too many physical structures; bridges and tunnels, which would be too costly to reinstate. The cost of reinstating the line just between Guildford and Cranleigh was projected at £24 million which would include the base, civil, electrical, engineering and signalling works. However it did not include land acquisition costs, legal costs and bridge works.
in 1996 British Rail projects carried out a further study to reopen the line and calculated the costs at between £11 to 14M, which was less than the previous estimate by Colin Buchanan in 1994. This was based on a rail service of one or two trains per hour. As part of the study they sent out questionnaires to local residents and from these it was estimated that only 12% of journeys were made to Guildford or London, with the remaining 88% being made to other parts of Surrey. The questionnaires also forcasted a reluctance on the part of car users to use this method of transport. The study concluded that the line would require substantial public sector investment which could not be justified and the business case for re-opening the line was negative.
In 2009 the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) called for the Cranleigh Line to be reopened from Guildford to Bramley and Cranleigh as part of a number of additions to the existing rail network proposed in the Connecting Communities report. ATOC in its report estimated the cost would be approx £63 million. Waverley Borough Council Environment and Leisure Overview and Scrutiny Committee (ELOS) agreed to review the ATOC report. During this review ATOC confirmed that the “study has only established that a route is physically possible, and a detailed feasibility study would be required to ensure that the best route were chosen and to confirm that there was a good business case”. ATOC also acknowledged that the final cost could be closer to £100M.
ELOS concluded that a further feasibility study would involve significant cost and no authority had funding to carry it out. There were also significant concerns raised over the ability to provide a rail link together with a replacement footpath and bridle path alongside on the Downslink without significant environmental impacts or re-routing. There were also a number of engineering obstacles to the proposal, in particular the location of new stations at Bramley and Cranleigh.
The reopening of the line was looked at again recently in 2013, as part of Surrey County Council’s rail strategy and was still not considered to be viable.
Paul Millin in the meeting pointed out that the the environmental constraints to the reinstatement included a history of flooding in the area, the fact that the majority of the route is in green belt and width constraints at particular points. Consideration must also be given to the detrimental effect of noise, vibration and visual impact on local residents and property adjacent to the Downslink.
The Downslink is protected as a public bridleway and footpath and this must be accommodated alongside any transport solution, which also must include high safety fencing to prevent animals and pedestrians from straying onto any tracks.
Paul Millin confirmed that there are currently plans to remodel Guildford station, which delivers benefits to a far wider number of people, and this does not involve the reinstatement of the Cranleigh line.
A Guided Bus on the Cranleigh Downslink
There have been recent discussions regarding the provision of a guided bus service on the downslink. Guided buses are normal buses that can travel along the public highway but also have guide wheels attached to the side of the bus that engage with high vertical kerbs and keep the bus centralised on the track, which means that they can travel at high speeds. Passengers get on and off the bus at platform areas along the guided bus line.
Mr Bob Bayley outlined his 2 year study at a starting cost of £25M although at present he confirmed that no investigation had been carried out regarding projected numbers of users of the service and it’s ongoing viability. This project would be funded by pooling developers contributions from significant housing estates in Cranleigh and would, it was proposed, also service the high housing numbers (up to 5,000 dwellings) being discussed for Dunsfold.
The proposal included a large car parking behind Lashmere in Cranleigh to accommodate passengers cars. The bus would start at Stockland Square on the road and then be guided by way of concrete kerbs onto the Downslink. It would cross the main A281 at Shalford by way of a suggested level crossing. The impact on traffic on the A281 of this level crossing has not yet been investigated.
Paul Millin confirmed in a letter to Anne Milton MP on 9 February 2015 that:
“even at the upper range of new housing. It is not clear that any potential increase in demand/patronage would be sufficient to make reopening the Guildford-Cranleigh link for rail or as a bus ‘guideway’ economically justifiable.” He also estimated the cost of the guided bus at “several tens of £millions”. Finally he concluded that “spending taxpayers’ money on revisiting earlier work seems of little value.”
The current Cranleigh proposal is based on a model in Cambridge which suffered hugely from rising costs, with the final bill running into £161M and more recently problems with the concrete guide rails. You can read a chronological account on the No Guided Bus website.
We will keep you informed of any further developments.
by admin | Apr 18, 2015 | Beryl Harvey Field, Conservation, Cranleigh, Cranleigh Parish Council, Development
The Beryl Harvey Field in Knowle Lane, was donated to the people of Cranleigh in perpetuity by Mr Gordon Harvey in memory of his late wife to be used as a public open space. It is owned by Cranleigh Parish Council on behalf of, and for the benefit of, the Cranleigh Community.
The Chairman of Cranleigh Parish Council, Mr Brian Ellis, has recently spoken to Waverley Borough Council about selling the land for housing in the village. In a time of growing urbanisation in Cranleigh it is extremely important that we protect public green open spaces. This land is already owned by the community for the community let’s not lose it!
The next working party is on 10th May 2015 at 10am, please come whether a keen conservationist or simply just fancy an hour or two in the open air with like minded people! Children are welcome but must be supervised by an adult at all times. Bring your gardening gloves as we will be bramble clearing!
The site consists of two acres and has been managed by Cranleigh and District Conservation Volunteers, headed up by Tony Fox, since 1987 as a wildlife area, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Co-operative Society Ltd and the Gatwwick Airport Community Trust.
The site was originally all laid out as allotments. However from the early 1980’s these were confined to the lower third of the field and are highly sought after. In 1986, with the support of the Parish Council and Waverley Borough Council, the remainder of the land was set aside for conservation purposes. The field hosts a wide variety of wild spring flowers from roses and bluebells to Cowslips and many Common Spotted Orchids. The pond dug in 2000 also attracts local wildlife including a wide variety of birds, several species of dragonfly and all important bees too. Friends of the Earth continue to highlight the plight of our bee population. Creating havens of wildflowers like the Beryl Harvey field is essential to provide food and shelter for bees, and can help reverse the trend of a declining bee population.
In Summer more flowers appear including Lady’s Bedstraw, Betony and Bird’s Foot Trefoil. Later in the season swarms of common blue butterflies can be seen, together with meadow brown and gatekeeper butterflies. Large and small skipper butterflies as well as the large and small white butterflies which feed on Knapweed flowers and there have even been reported sightings of the small brown and green hairstreak butterflies.
Please help to save and improve this community asset before it is too late!
In the interest of conservation dogs are not allowed on the field at any time of year.
by admin | Apr 7, 2015 | Cranleigh, Development, Green Fields, Waverley Borough Council
Despite the promises of 40% affordable homes and local homes for local people, the pristine green field site that abuts an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) on Amlets Lane seems to be up for sale to the highest bidder!
We have written to Jonathan Harbottle, the agent working on behalf of the Roberts family requesting further details and will let you know his response if and when it arrives. You can see the original planning application on the Waverley Planning Portal.
by admin | Apr 1, 2015 | Cranleigh, Development, infrastructure, Waverley Borough Council
UPDATE 4 February 2016 – McCarthy & Stone appeal REFUSED
UPDATE 28 JULY 2015 – McCarthy & Stone lodge an appeal with the Secretary of State against the decision of Waverley Borough Council not to grant planning permission.
See the response from residents of Penwerris.
UPDATE 17 JULY 2015 – APPLICATION REFUSED BY WAVERLEY BOROUGH COUNCIL
We are delighted that Waverley Borough Council has now refused this application and the affordable housing in Penwerris has been saved.
This application to demolish two properties on the Horsham Road and build 25 McCarthy & Stone flats in Cranleigh was unanimously rejected by the Parish Council on 30 March 2015 and will now go forward to Waverley’s Joint Planning Committee.
If you don’t think this application should go ahead please submit your objections on the Waverley Planning Portal Ref WA/2015/0495.
Closing date could be as early as 22 April 2015, please don’t delay! The residents of Penwerris are relying on our support!
If you can please also email a copy of your objections to the members of the Waverley Joint Planning Committee to let them know exactly how you feel. They will have the FINAL SAY on this application.
We have a list of the Joint Planning Committee members’ email addresses.
If you would rather not use Waverley’s online planning portal you can email your objection to the case officer Peter Cleveland direct on planconsult@waverley.gov.uk quoting ref WA/2015/0495 and quoting your FULL name and Postal Address.
Alternatively if you prefer using pen and ink, you can write to Waverley Borough Council at (please quote ref WA/2015/0495 quoting your FULL name and Postal Address):
Mr Peter Cleveland
Planning Officer
Waverley Borough Council,
The Burys,
Godalming,
Surrey,
GU7 1HR
Always include your FULL name and postal address when writing or emailing.
We have put together the following points you might like to raise, however please put them into your own words. If you do not do this Waverley will not take them into consideration.
Points to consider:
(please do not cut and paste these points, please do put them into your own words, as otherwise Waverley Planning Officers will be free to bin them!!!):
- This application is premature to the emerging Neighbourhood Plan.
- This application is detrimental to the well being of the 21 residents of Penwerris.
- It would lead to vulnerable people being homeless.
- It would demolish the home of 21 people and a further large family home to make way for 25 flats, many of which may be at single occupancy.
- It would substantially reduce the availability of housing in Cranleigh for people on low incomes.
- It sets a precedent for housing of this density in the village.
- This application is overbearing and constitutes over-development of the site.
- It contravenes the Cranleigh Design Statement 2008 which states that it should have regard to the scale of existing buildings.
- The site height contravenes guidelines in the Cranleigh Design Statement 2008.
- 27 parking spaces are inadequate for 25 flats and additional staff and will lead to hazardous parking on the Horsham Road. This also contravenes the Cranleigh Design Statement 2008
- The building will have 24 hour lighting in the car park and in common parts which will intrude on neighbours and add to light pollution.
- The scale of the property is out of keeping with the locale.
- The noise from a site of this size would detrimentally affect the many close neighbouring households.
- The traffic study is based on data for occupants over the age of 76 years old with few cars.
- The transport study is based on developments of this kind in large towns and cities which do not have a rural bus service or the high car to household ratio of Waverley residents.
- The Transport report states that: “the site is currently occupied by two dwellings. As such, one might expect the existing development to generate some 16 vehicle movements per
day. However, Penwerris is in multiple-occupancy and so the generation of this property is likely to be significantly higher than the 8 vehicle movements assumed above. Therefore, a total generation of some 20 to 24 vehicle movements can be assumed”. This statement about current traffic levels is is not true of the residents of Penwerris where there are only 6 cars.
- It is the the policy of McCarthy & Stone to sell car parking permits to residents, for use of the parking spaces allocated for their use. This would put extra pressure on surrounding roads where residents could park for free.
- The site is too far out of the village for older residents to be expected to walk and shop within the village and this would inevitably encourage extra car journeys to and from the site.
- Construction traffic for a project of this size could not be accommodated on the Horsham Road.
- The access and egress point does not have sufficient visibility for cars which often travel down the Horsham Road at speeds greater than 30 mph.
- There will be limited visibility of pedestrians walking from the village out of Cranleigh due to the position of the site boundary and established planting as shown by the cross in the image below.
Recent complaints against a McCarthy & Stone development in Hebden Bridge.
List of Cranleigh Parish Councillors:
Cranleigh East:
Stewart Stennett – stewart.stennett@waverley.gov.uk;
Jeanette Stennett – jeanette@stennetts.com ;
Rosemary Burbridge – roburbridge@aol.com ;
Gareth Emmett – gareth@cranleighscientific.co.uk ;
Howard Wagstaff – howardwagstaff@yahoo.co.uk
Cranleigh West:
Brian Ellis – brian.ellis@waverley.gov.uk ;
Patricia Ellis – patricia.ellis@waverley.gov.uk ;
David Gill – davidgill46@aol.com ;
Dominique McAll – domini.mcall@gmail.com
Cranleigh North:
Mary Foryszewski – mary.foryszewski@waverley.gov.uk
Elmbridge:
Robert Wilson – RAW@cranleigh.org
Cranleigh Rural:
Liz Townsend – liz.yourcranleigh@gmail.com
Copy in:
Anne Milton MP anne.milton.mp@parliament.uk
Matthew Evans Head of Planning Services
(Chief Planning Officer): matthew.evans@waverley.gov.uk
by admin | Mar 20, 2015 | Cranleigh, Development, Flooding, Green Fields
Representatives of the Cranleigh Society, Liz Townsend and Richard Bryant, met Crest Nicholson in the Snoxhall car park at midday on Tuesday 10 March 2015.
Ben Sherreard (Cratus PR Company), Sarah Conlan (Crest Strategic Projects) and Paul Stewart (Engineer) from Mayer Brown attended representing Crest Nicholson (The Chantries site off the Horsham Road, Cranleigh).
The Crest representative confirmed that The Chantries site was stage 1 of the build with stage 2 to follow with an additional 100 dwellings. Rumours circulating of a further stage 3 were stated to be untrue.
Flood Risk at the Chantries, Horsham Road
The Crest representative stated that the Horsham Road was the most sustainable of the major sites being proposed, as it is at lower risk of flooding (flood zone 2) than Berkeley Homes – The Maples and the Knowle Park Initiative- West Cranleigh Nurseries (both with areas in flood zone 2 and 3, 3 being the highest risk). We pointed out that it could increase flooding to adjacent properties in Nightingales, however Crest said they would be reducing this risk with their Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SuDS). When questioned the Engineer was not aware that adjacent homes relied on electrically pumped culverts.
We commented that the RPS Report (independent drainage survey carried out on behalf of Waverley Borough Council) was very disappointing and had not checked the water run-off rates calculated on behalf of Crest Nicholson and no site visit had been carried out, this was agreed by Paul Stewart (Engineer) from Mayer Brown. Paul Stewart confirmed that he used the SuDS manual to calculate run-off rates for the Crest site. He also confirmed that he would get the rainfall data from the Environment Agency for the last high rainfall events in Cranleigh in November 2014 and January 2015 and ensure that there would be adequate storage in the proposed SuDS for this type of rainfall event. Provision for multiple events had not been accommodated in the calculations and the run-off is based only on phase 1 of the build with 149 dwellings.
Sarah Conlan also stated that Crest Nicholson would not be responsible for the maintenance of the ditch that runs between existing properties and the proposed new housing estate. Although historically this has been maintained by the Vachery Estate.
This news is of huge concern to residents who are extremely worried that unmaintained this culvert will increase the risk of flooding to their homes. Also lack of maintenance could result in a blockage and build up in run off from the Vachery Estate and even Vachery Pond. Any breach of the pond which is a 900m long reservoir would obviously be a catastrophic flood event for the whole of Cranleigh.
We have been advised by the Environment Agency that records of flooding on agricultural land, like the Chantries site, are not robust as flooding on agricultural land is not usually reported. We know however, from local accounts, that significant surface water does flow down the hill and currently collects at the bottom north west corner of the site (flood zone 2). It is crucial that the drainage ditch running along the northern edge of the site remains maintained. Who will be liable if flooding occurs from this source? We are aware that riparian ownership is a complex area and we suggest that neighbouring properties look into government guidance on this.
A management company will be appointed and will be responsible for public areas and the maintenance of the drainage system. The rough charge per household was unknown, however we have asked Crest to provide this to us. Crest Nicholson did confirm that they would top up the maintenance fees whilst the estate was not at full occupancy.
Sustainable Transport
The Crest Nicholson Transport Report for The Chantries states that there is adequate capacity in our road system and Surrey Highways are satisfied with their transport study. In line with our objections they have recognised that the road is not wide enough for a pedestrian refuge in the middle of the Horsham Road at this point.
It appears that there is not to be any pavement for residents walking from the housing estate and turning immediately left out on to the Horsham Road towards the village. Crest Nicholson are proposing that residents come out of the access road and turn right, walking away from the village, before then crossing the Horsham Road. They then need to walk down to Avenue Road and cross the road again if they want to get to the nearest bus stop.
In reality we feel that residents will cross opposite (what is now) the house called Dalcarnie (with limited vehicle visibility) on the Horsham Road or turn left and walk on the grass verge – and the road itself where there is no verge. We consider this to be dangerous and unsuitable as a pedestrian access for this number of houses. Should Crest get permission for phase 2 and an additional 100 houses, there will be residents from 249 homes using this crossing point, including many school children who will already have a considerable distance to walk to their school and the temptation to cut even a small bit off that journey we think will be considerable.
With regard to the question of sustainable transport Crest pointed out that there is a bus stop just outside the site on the Horsham Road (with no direct pavement route to it) and contributions will be provided for the bus service, we have asked them how long this will be provided. This is at a time when Surrey is looking to reduce their own contributions to rural bus services. We remain unconvinced that residents from this housing estate will use the bus and not their cars.
Affordable Housing Provision
It was confirmed that the affordable housing would be built in tandem with market housing at certain trigger points. The percentage of affordable housing was quoted at 30%. They have no influence over the type of affordable housing and the split between affordable rents (80% of market value) and shared ownership. They did say that they had a housing association interested in taking this part of the build on. Commercial viability for Crest Nicholson (26% profit) and for the housing association can significantly affect the number of affordable houses on a site and the mix of those properties.
The Downslink footpath
Crest Nicholson confirmed Improvements to the Downslink (the proposed alternative footpath and cycle path into the village) will be entirely decided by Waverley and has not yet been outlined. It was suggested that hoggin would be laid, however no lighting had been proposed. Any lighting would negatively affect other homes backing on to the downslink and also wildlife.
Thames Water infrastructure
Crest Nicholson are awaiting a further response from Thames Water, however they confirmed that a Grampian agreement was not going to be imposed and that works would be in tandem with development. Thames Water have confirmed that Cranleigh’s infrastructure is inadequate to cater for new development.
We have a number of outstanding queries with Crest Nicholson and will keep you informed of developments. In the meantime if you want to object to this development you can still submit your comments on the Waverley Planning portal and we have further details on The Chantries Horsham Road on our website too.
by admin | Feb 14, 2015 | Anne Milton, Cranleigh, Development
The Cranleigh Society is barely 4 months old and yet it has achieved so much in that short time!
Initially set up with 9 residents from the Neighbourhood Plan Housing Group we have quickly become an important part of the Cranleigh community.
We are encouraged by the growing number of people supporting us, including our MP Anne Milton and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you all.
We are committed to unearthing the facts and keeping our community informed.
Since setting up the civic society on 9 October 2014, with your support, we have had some amazing successes. We have been a key contributor in:
- Bringing Cranleigh’s flood risk and rural road infrastructure to the attention of our Borough Councillors, our County Councillor Alan Young and our MP Anne Milton.
- Getting the Berkeley Homes, The Maples, application; by far the largest in the whole borough of Waverley deferred and then rejected by the joint Planning Committee at Waverley.
- The Crest Nicholson decision to get an independent drainage assessment on their site The Chantries, on the Horsham Road, investigating amongst other things if this will increase flood risk to neighbouring properties.
- Highlighting the real facts about insurance cover in areas at high risk of flooding.
- Promoting a proportionate share of the total Waverley housing allocation on brownfield sites in Cranleigh first and fighting overwhelming and inappropriate development on our green fields.
In addition to this we have set up our website, Facebook and Twitter accounts (Pinterest is next for publishing all our local flood photos).
The coming months will continue to be a very busy time for us and are really looking forward to seeing you all at our meeting on Thursday 19th Feb in the Band Room at 7pm.
