GBC Accused of Reneging on Tyting Farm Agreement with Residents

Published on: 1 Sep, 2018
Updated on: 1 Sep, 2018

David Thorp, Save Tyting Farm chairman stands by the property sale sign

Save Tyting Farm campaigners are accusing Guildford Borough Council (GBC) of reneging on commitments given over farm building’s set in land designated AONB and green belt near St Martha’s, a mile south of Guildford. But the three ward councillors have declined to comment.

The council wants to remove certain conditions of sale agreed with the residents to facilitate the sale and increase the potential value of the site.

In a letter sent to 300 local residents and Save Tyting Farm Campaign supporters David Thorp, chairman of the Tyting Society wrote: “Guildford Borough Council (GBC) are proposing to renege on major commitments to the community…”.

In the latest update, there is a report that the council has received an acceptable offer for the farm with the conditions in place but this has yet to be confirmed. The subject was pulled from the agenda of the GBC Executive meeting on August 28.

Thorp claims that following a decade of negotiations, agreement was reached with GBC to limit the scope and design of the redevelopment of the 1950 farm buildings necessary, he says, because of the sensitivity of the site and limit the impact, “on the setting of St Martha’s Hill, on the tranquillity of the valley and on the bridleway, which runs through the farm.”

One White Lane resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “GBC are basically tearing up the handshake that prompted us to support their plan. And by publicly tabling this they have sent a strong signal to the developers that there is an open door here.”

According to a council report seen by The Guildford Dragon NEWS, the GBC Executive endorsed the sale of Tyting Farm Buildings in June last year (2017) and approved a recommendation for restrictive covenants to be included in the sales transfer documents to enable control over future development of the land.

But, “A marketing and disposal programme over the last four months has demonstrated that these proposed covenants had a significant negative effect on the number of interested buyers and on the subsequent financial level of offers received.

An image from the Clarke Gammon Wellers website, advertising the property.

“… the property was marketed at £2.5 million on the advice of the marketing agents, they were mindful that the restrictions might have some adverse impact from the perspective of future purchasers.

“As the Executive will be aware, the financial pressures on the council have increased to the point where we need to re-examine a number of our building strategies including the disposal arrangements for this property.”

The report recommends: “That the Executive approves the sale of the property, but with removal of the following restrictive covenants:

Not to use the property for any purpose other than private dwellings with a maximum gross internal area of 1,055 sq.m;
Maximum unit restriction on the number of residential units permitted, stated as 5 units;
Obligation to implement existing approved planning scheme or alternative as approved by the council (acting reasonably save as to massing, height, no. of units and apertures).

The farms buildings have deteriorated and been inhabited by squatters leading to the necessity of security patrols paid for, it is said, by GBC.

The Save Tyting Farm Campaign chairman says in his letter: “…with the community acting in good faith, GBC secured active support to a number of their contentious ambitions.

“Firstly, the community supported their planning application for converting the farm buildings to residential in green belt, which is a non-compliant use.

“Secondly, the community supported the designation of the farmland to a SANG (Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace) allowing the council to collect about £11 million through developer levies on other sites to be developed in the centre of Guildford town. The community could have resisted and not supported this designation but did not do so due to their understanding of the agreement reached.

“Thirdly, residents with covenants restricting the farm to agricultural use also agreed to waive these in exchange for council promises to put in place similar restrictions limiting the farm building project to the existing footprint with five units only. This allowed a major liability of the council to become a valuable site worth perhaps a million pounds more than before.”

The farm is set within land designated AONB and green belt.

In 2006, The Guardian reported, following an outcry at the time: “…the council has said it now intends to “further protect [the farm] from inappropriate development” with extra covenants protecting its use. Guildford lead member for finance Tony Rooth [now Independent councillor for Pilgrims] says: “We are not doing this for the money. We are trying to save Tyting farm, which is in a very dilapidated state. We have no intention to develop the land.”

Although farmed for centuries, and used by SOE during World War Two, the farm’s current buildings were built as recently as the 1950s as a model farm.

The 1950s farmhouse.

According to the letter to residents, “It was in 2004 that GBC lost their last tenant farmer having let the farm fall into a dilapidated state whilst under council management. Interested farmers could not take on the farm and also cover the cost of dilapidations so it stood empty whilst vandalism compounded the problem.

Map showing the location of Tyting Farm, south of Guildford.

“Eventually, the community decided it would need to be pragmatic so over the last five years (and longer) the Tyting Society and the wider community have worked with GBC in good faith to design and allow a scheme to convert the farm buildings into residential units that are both viable and sympathetic to the environment.”

The letter concludes: “On 13 August 2018, we were alerted to a written proposal going before the Council Executive on 28 August to remove the key restrictions on number, size and location of the units in order to get more money from this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) site sale.

“As a result three of our representatives met a GBC councillor for Holy Trinity Ward on 16 August. Alerted to our serious concern the Council decided to defer the agenda item with Cllr Furniss sending a message to the meeting that a better offer recently received may make the proposal unnecessary. However, it is clear that this issue may resurface in the weeks and months ahead. Hence the need to alert residents, both in and around Guildford, as well as supporters of Save Tyting Farm Campaign.”

The three Conservative ward councillors for Holy Trinity ward, Cllrs Nils Christiansen, Geoff Davis and Dennis Paul were invited to comment.