UPDATE 16 MAY 2016: After being postponed on 27 April when the Joint Planning Committee ran out of time, due to a prolonged discussion followed by refusal for the Knowle Park Initiative application, the Little Meadow application was granted on 16 May 2016.

UPDATE 18 APRIL 2016: Little Meadow Planning Application for 75 dwellings goes in front of the Joint Planning Committee on 27 April 2016 at 7pm, Waverley Council Offices, The Burys, Godalming.

UPDATE 15 SEPTEMBER 2015:  Please note – Objections can still be submitted for this application.

Please submit your objection to this application on Waverley Borough Council’s website,  Little Meadow, Alfold Road WA/2015/0478 – 75 dwellings – It’s easy to Object online NOW.

Position of Little Meadow Alfold Road planning application

Or email your comments to the case officer Mr Peter Cleveland direct on planconsult@waverley.gov.uk quoting ref WA/2015/0478 and give your FULL name and Postal Address.

Or write to Waverley Borough Council at (please quote ref WA/2015/0478 and give your FULL name and Postal Address):
Mr Peter Cleveland
Planning Officer
Waverley Borough Council,
The Burys,
Godalming,
Surrey,
GU7 1HR

Please also email a copy of your objections to the members of the Waverley Joint Planning Committee to let them know exactly what you feel. They will have the FINAL SAY on this application.
Click here for a list of the members’ email addresses

Always include your FULL name and postal address in any correspondence.

If you want to raise any of the following points please do put them into your own words, as otherwise Waverley Borough Council Planners may not take them into account, thank you.

Points to consider:

Some of the points you might like to mention are (please do not cut and paste these points, please do put them into your own words, as otherwise Waverley Planning Officers may deem them to be invalid):

  • This application is premature to the emerging Neighbourhood Plan. Under the Localism Act 2011 local people can influence where substantial development is situated in their community.
  • It will cause considerable harm to landscape character as the application is in open countryside and is not attached to the existing settlement.
  • In line with the NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework) brown fields (previously developed land) should be built on before green fields, in Cranleigh that would include Hewitts Industrial Estate which is deliverable within 5 years and the planning application has been submitted to Waverley.
  • The site has some very good quality Grade 2 Agricultural Land of which Waverley has precious little.
  • Part of the site is in flood zone 2 and at higher risk of flooding. This contravenes the Cranleigh Design Statement 2008 which states that new development should take into account the existence of a flood plain.

Point taken from Cranleigh Design Statement 2008 re flood plainPage 7 Cranleigh Design Statement 2008

  • New residents may find it difficult or impossible to get insurance cover for flooding. The Association of British Insurers has stated that New Houses built after 1 January 2009 will not be covered by Flood Re; this is to avoid incentivising unwise building in flood risk areas.
  • Cranleigh’s road infrastructure and in particular the Alfold Road is a material constraint to a development of this size.
  • Cranleigh’s sewage works need a major upgrade and major investment from Thames Water before a development of this size can be connected to the existing system. Raw sewage already leaks from overburdened sewers in the Alfold Road in times of heavy rainfall.

Littlemead Industrial Estate 23 November 2014Sewage Little mead Industrial Estate

  • The topography of Cranleigh has led to it developing in the way that it has; with housing on higher ground to the north and east of the village. This is because water runs down from the Surrey Hills and settles on the Weald Clay which makes the absorption of rainfall slow. This standing surface water will, and does, flood peoples’ homes and that is why these fields have remained undeveloped for generations. These fields should remain undeveloped for that reason.
  • Cranleigh Parish Council Planning Committee unanimously objected to this application.
  • The site is not within walking distance of the high street and would result in a large increase in traffic movements.
  • There is no pavement on this section of the Alfold Road which poses a serious risk to pedestrians.

Thank you for speaking up for Cranleigh.