As Ash Allotments Plan Abandoned, Resident Says Questions Need To Be Answered

Published on: 20 Aug, 2025
Updated on: 20 Aug, 2025

By David Reading

A resident of Tongham has expressed his “deep concern” over what he sees as Guildford Borough Council’s failure to enforce a legal obligation on Bewley Homes to deliver an allotment on the new Ash Lodge Park Estate.

John Ferns has written to GBC’s Lead Councillor for Planning, Fiona White (Lib Dem, Ash Wharf) seeking answers as to why there was no legal enforcement ensuring that the allotments were provided.

The planning permission for 481 homes granted to Bewley was dependent the company providing numerous benefits to the community to mitigate the impact of the new development. These benefits, under what is known as a Section 106 compensation agreement, included the provision of allotments.

Mr Ferns says a 2013 officers’ report to the council explicitly framed providing allotments as a material planning consideration influencing a full council decision. The allotments were to be managed by the parish council.

He said planning documents showed that what was envisaged was a fully serviced allotment valued at over £1 million.

He added: “Yet by 2024, Bewley sought to remove this obligation altogether, dismissing the site as ‘unused scrubland’ and proposing a LEAP instead (a Local Equipped Area for Play). This is something that was already well provided for in the developer’s original application for the 481 homes.”

See also: Council Has Quietly Relieved Developer of £Million Obligation

The site concerned is a small triangular piece of land between the old railway line/Spoil Lane to the south, footpath BY518 to the north and land at Minley Nursery to the west.

Both Cllr White and Bewley Homes have now said there were significant impracticalities in using the land for allotments – in particular, there being no vehicle access, meaning tools and produce would need to be carried by hand. Bewley said it was when the challenges were examined in detail that this became apparent.

Bewley has revealed that the idea of an equipped play area is also no longer thought to be viable.

A spokesperson for the company said “We have been working on a new proposal to deliver a more practical and beneficial use for the community. The current option under consideration is to extend the already successful Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) site.

“Located close to the SANG car park, this would enable the provision of a secure ‘off the lead’ dog walking area on the allotment land, together with improvements to the Surrey County Council public rights of way. Discussions with officers on these proposals will take place shortly.”

Mr Ferns remains adamant that questions need to be answered on why the matter of Bewley’s original obligation to provide allotments was not pursued.

“This is more than a missed opportunity,” he said in his letter to Cllr White. “It points to a breakdown in internal accountability between elected representatives and officers.”

He believes that if GBC accepts Bewley’s claim that the site is ‘non-viable’ without enforcement or compensation, it signals “total capitulation”.

In his letter, he said: “This (the allotments scheme) was a detailed, costed, and credible commitment that has been entirely unfulfilled after 12 years… Is this not grounds for robust legal enforcement? Should the council or its successor (following local government reorganisation) treat developers who renege on community obligations as trustworthy partners?”

Cllr Fiona White

Cllr White, who is chair of Ash Parish Council as well as GBC’s Lead for Planning, told The Guildford Dragon NEWS there were reasons why setting up an allotment on the site was thought to be impractical.

These included the fact that there was no vehicle access to the site in question. Furthermore, she said, a number of years has elapsed since the original planning permission was granted, and the waiting list for allotments in Ash had substantially reduced during that time.

She said the S106 agreements signed as a result of the planning consents require the developer to provide allotments – but not fully serviced allotments,

Cllr White also pointed out that Ash Parish Council decided it did not want to manage the site, as it would be a drain on resources. It would involve a lot of additional work and cost to the council, and therefore to those residents who pay the parish precept.

A spokesperson for Bewley Homes told the Dragon: “When we began to examine the practicalities of delivering allotments on this land, it became clear that there were a number of challenges. In particular, there is no vehicular access, meaning tools and produce would need to be carried by hand, and there is no supply of water or electricity.

“This would leave the site with only very basic facilities and carried the risk that, while laid out as allotments, the land would see very poor take-up.”

In light of these concerns, Bewley said, alternatives were explored and an application was submitted to change the use of the land to provide a woodland LEAP together with a planting scheme to restock native trees.

However, following a site meeting with councillors and officials, it became clear that a woodland LEAP was unviable due to the site’s isolated location. Furthermore, there were already play facilities within the main part of the development.

The spokesperson said the current option under consideration is to extend the already successful Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) site enabling the provision of a secure ‘off the lead’ dog walking area.

Mr Ferns said finally: “So Bewley’s £1 million sweetener was only ever a mirage — and the council’s role is now to politely look the other way. If this is what ‘planning gain’ amounts to, residents might as well believe in fairy gold.”

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