Ash’s MP Jeremy Hunt Says Residents Oppose Ash Care Home Plans

Published on: 28 Feb, 2025
Updated on: 28 Feb, 2025

The Ash site earmarked for a medical facility

By David Reading

Plans to build a new care home on the vacant plot of land that was once destined to be the site for a primary healthcare centre in Ash are moving ahead – but the idea faces opposition from the area’s MP, Jeremy Hunt.

This week Bewley Homes – developers of the new Ash Lodge Park estate – revealed that they have signed an agreement with a private company that hopes to open and run the care home. A planning application will be submitted to Guildford Borough Council “in due course”.

It was back in 2019 that Bewley agreed that the parcel of land within the Ash Lodge Park development could be allocated for an NHS health use, possibly a GP surgery. This formed part of a Section 106 legal agreement with the council.

The intention was to meet the need created by the local housing boom in the Ash and Tongham area. But plans for a new surgery did not get NHS support.

Last October, The Guilford Dragon NEWS revealed that a consortium of GPs had expressed an interest in building and running a general practice surgery on the site.

But NHS Frimley rejected the proposal, insisting that the best way to meet the area’s increase in population will be to invest in the existing GP services rather than by building a new surgery.

We reported the care home proposal in December after approaching Bewley Homes for an update.

However, Jeremy Hunt, MP for Godalming and Ash, says a local survey that he instigated shows that most people who participated aren’t in favour of the idea.

In a post on social media, he said: “It has been reported in the local press in recent months that Bewley Homes, the developer, was in discussions with a commercial care home provider to use the site. I don’t think this is suitable for Ash Lodge Park and residents agree.

“Over 60 per cent of residents (who participated in the survey) felt that the site would be best useful for a community green space, with the second preference being an alternative community use building. As part of my survey, residents have flagged other issues within the development which I will be raising with the developer.”

The survey was promoted via a flier delivered to people on the new estate and, according to Mr Hunt,  it attracted 220 responses.

Asked about those other issues flagged up by residents, a spokesman from Mr Hunt’s office told the Guildford Dragon: “Residents mentioned the ongoing challenges relating to the availability of parking within the estate, particularly exacerbated when the road is busy around school hours. Residents felt this would be worsened by any further housing or residential development, unless mitigations were taken urgently.”

Mr Hunt has pointed out that as part of the original agreement with Bewley, Guildford Borough Council reserved the option to take the site back for an alternative use within five years if a GP provider was not found in that time. That time limit has now passed.

Mr Hunt said: “GBC did not exercise this option” and he added: “I will be meeting the Managing Director of Bewley Homes at the earliest opportunity and will shortly be contacting Guildford Borough Council about their failure to take the appropriate action following the five-year period.”

Cllr John Tonks, a Conservative on Ash Parish Council, commented: “It is very disappointing that because of GBC’s inaction this site was allowed to be essentially handed back to the developer. Bewley Homes now has the site unencumbered by any Section 106 restrictions to do what they wish with. I would argue that a sale to a commercial care home for profit is not the ‘community use’ envisaged by the local community.”

Bewley Homes say they worked for five years to find a primary healthcare use for the land, in line with the original S106 agreement, but were consistently blocked by the NHS. Eventually they began exploring the care home proposal, which was supported by “a significant local demand for beds.” This was the closest they could get to a medical use for the site.

Asked to address the issue of “community use” for the land, Bewley pointed out that this did not fit in with the original intention of finding a medical use for the site, which was always deemed to be a priority.

The development company has dispelled fears that it will take the land back for housing, telling The Dragon that it has no interest in doing this.

Asked to comment, Guildford Borough Council said only: “A decision is yet to be made on the future use of the site in Ash. We are continuing our discussions with the developer, and they remain committed to delivering a viable community use for this site.”

Meanwhile, the pressure on local healthcare generated by the rising population is still a major talking point in Ash and Tongham.

NHS Frimley has insisted all along that its expansion of the number of consulting rooms at the two practices serving the area – the Bartlett Group and the Border Practice – is the way ahead. The Bartlett Group says its new online booking system, Rapid Health, is also aimed at getting patients the help they need as quickly as possible.

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