Residents Without Water

Residents Without Water

2,000 residents had no water for approximately 24 hours, starting in the early hours of Friday morning, due to a number of burst water pipes across Cranleigh.

Most residents will be aware of the burst water main on Barhatch Lane.  The road was closed for the day in order for a large tree to be removed before workers could fix the burst.  It also affected an overhead power cable and residents on Amlets Lane reported a power cut.

Barhatch Lane Burst Water Main

Thames water Van on Barhatch Lane

There was another burst pipe on Homewood, just off The Ridgeway, affecting 28 properties, where residents suffered from some external flooding.  Thames Water also reported it was working on a pipe on Bloxham Road affecting 13 properties.

Finally, there was another report of a burst on Wyphurst Road which affected 50 properties.

Cranleigh Civic Society is investigating this matter further with Thames Water assisted by our MP Anne Milton.

We have been highlighting water supply issues with Waverley Borough Council for some time and have been successful in calling for Thames Water to request Grampian Style Conditions against new housing estates. This means that development shall not be commenced until impact studies on the existing water supply infrastructure and sewerage network have been submitted and approved by the local planning authority. We also expect that developers will have to contribute towards any upgrade work.

We have serious concerns about Cranleigh’s water supply infrastructure and aging pipe network and will continue to investigate this matter.

Amlets Lane Deferred!

Amlets Lane Deferred!

Good news!  On Wednesday night Cala Homes detailed planning application for 125 dwellings on Amlets Lane was deferred!

Members of the Joint Planning Committee 13 to 1 (abstention) disliked the layout, particularly dwellings on the boundary with existing residents.  The 3 storey flats came under a barrage of criticism from Councillors, which was hugely welcomed by residents in the gallery.

amlets-lane-flats

The vast bulk and appearance of these flats was acknowledged in the planning officers’ report as having “a strong vertical rhythm” and 2.5 storeys high.  Residents and Councillors strongly disagreed.

This building is out of character, vast, and most definitely 3 storey and contradicted officers’ claim that they were trying “to retain a rural, countryside feel to the development”.

Other concerns included the parking courts (small car parks), which were not in keeping with the rural location and suffered from a lack of maintenance. Parking spaces, it was generally acknowledged, were better placed adjacent to new properties.

Residents also raised concerns about the lack of any detailed drainage strategy.  Cala Homes appeared unaware of Surrey County Council’s comments, published against the application, regarding the positioning of a swale (a drainage ditch and part of the drainage system) on the boundary with Copse Edge, in order to prevent additional flooding to residents there from the site.

It is extremely important that the drainage system is integrated into the design and layout of dwellings on the site, using the natural contours of the site.  We cannot understand why so much of the drainage detailed is being left to planning conditions, as this should be an intrinsic part of the design.  It is critical that the new development does not cause flooding elsewhere, particularly bearing in mind Cranleigh’s history of groundwater and surface water flooding in this area.

Residents pointed out that dwellings on the east and south east were also to be built less than the recommended 18m distance from the boundary. And whilst it was suggested that the trees would provide some buffer, this would not be the case in autumn and winter.

We continue to have grave concerns about the safety of Amlets Lane for all road users.  In a recent traffic count, between 7am and 9am on 12 September 2016, approximately 820 cars travelled along Amlets Lane, and yet again an HGV brought traffic to a standstill due to the narrow width of the road.

hgv-blocking-amlets-12-september-2016

A further worry is the fact that an up-to-date plan for construction traffic for the development site has not yet been published. Residents think that this is too important to be left to a planning condition.  Road safety should be paramount.

The Cranleigh Society still does not believe that Waverley Borough Council has fulfilled its responsibility regarding water quality in respect of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Cranleigh Waters, which receives the sewage effluent discharge from Cranleigh Sewage Treatment Works (SWT).

A scoping report for water quality (wbc-high-level-water-cycle-study-wastewater-final-18-august-2016-issuedm) carried out on behalf of Waverley Borough Council in August 2016 highlights the fact that Cranleigh Waters is currently failing in terms of water quality, this status we believe can only worsen with more sewage effluent.

The report highlights the “probable cause of existing failing WFD elements has been attributed to STW effluent, and evidence of deterioration between Cycles 1 and 2 is recorded. Increasing the population equivalent load as a result of the proposed developments would have an adverse impact of the ecological integrity and water quality of the water body.”

Cala Homes were told by Councillors that Amlets Lane “deserves something better”, we think so too.  In addition to the style and lyout of dwellings, we also hope that Councillors will raise the important issue of water quality, request details of the critical drainage system, and also the Construction Transport Management Plan, before they grant this application.

We expect this to come before the Planning Committee again some time in November.

Important News Update from Cranleigh Society

Important News Update from Cranleigh Society

Cranleigh Parish Council Drop-in Session

Have organised a drop-in session on Thursday 15 September 6pm – 9pm at the Village Hall.  All residents are invited to discuss Waverley’s Local Plan with your Parish Councillors.

This is a very important opportunity.  The Local Plan will have a significant impact on where you live.  You have until 3 October 2016 at 17:00 to get any you have comments to Waverley, after that the plan will be sent to a Government Planning Inspector for examination.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to find out how this will affect you.

Representatives of Waverley Borough Council were invited to the meeting but unfortunately are unable to attend.

Read more about what a Local Plan contains on the CPRE website

This should not be confused with Cranleigh’s Neighbourhood Plan which is a completely separate process and must comply with policies outlined in the Local Plan.


Crest Nicholson Site, Horsham Road

We are currently looking over a new site layout submitted by Crest Nicholson after their application for detailed planning was deferred.

Residents are very disappointed that their major concerns about the layout of the site have still not been taken on board by Crest Nicholson.

This is due to come back before the Joint Planning Committee very soon.


Cala Homes, Amlets Lane

The application for detailed planning comes before the Joint Planning Committee this Wednesday 14 September 2016, 7pm at the Council Offices in Godalming.  Public are welcome.

We have been busy looking at new information lodged against this application.

Access has not yet been agreed for this site. We carried out a traffic survey of Amlets Lane on 12 Sept to compare our figures to those of the developer’s original transport assessment.


The Gate House

We have submitted new flood evidence to the Planning Inspectorate for the Appeal to demolish the Gate House in Knowle Lane and replace it with a substantial block of flats.

knowle-lane-gatehouse-new-flats-street-scene

Windy Way, The Common

We have submitted an objection to Waverley Borough Council against the demolition of Windy Way, a bungalow in the Conservation Area on Cranleigh Common and the building of a block of 6 flats (over 13m high) and two semi detached dwellings on the site.

This development will have a harmful impact on the new Cranleigh Conservation Area.

Existing Bungalow

windy-way-bungalow-front-elevation

Replacement Block flats and Houses

Flats Side elevation (over 13m in height):

windy-way-flats

Houses (x2) Side Elevation (over 13m in height):

windy-way-semi-detached

Position on plot:

windy-way-block-plan

Please get in touch with your views and comments.