Letter: This Is What We Stand to Lose

Published on: 24 Aug, 2019
Updated on: 24 Aug, 2019

Harvest time at ‘Three Farms Meadows’, the former Wisley airfield.

From Tony Edwards

spokesperson for the Wisley Action Group

Harvest time at “Three Farms Meadows”, the former Wisley airfield.

It’s a most peaceful picture to ponder as we move towards the forthcoming Judicial Review which will focus on the green belt grab dominating Guildford’s Local Plan.

Guildford councillors, past and present, who have campaigned to take this highly productive farmland out of the green belt in the name of “progress”, might consider a quiet stroll across Three Farms Meadows this weekend, tune into and reflect on the ecology of the land and its abundant wildlife, and then factor-in the total absence of infrastructure, the further damage to air quality and the pigs-might-fly likelihood of so-called “affordable” housing promised by anonymous Cayman Island investors, before at least whispering a heartfelt apology to the people of Guildford.

May I remind them that, once vandalised by incongruous development, the green belt is gone for good.

Responses to Letter: This Is What We Stand to Lose

Stuart Barnes Reply

August 24, 2019 at 11:44 am

The madness must be stopped. The green belt must be protected.

The problem is still what is has been for years – virtually unrestricted immigration. The question is whether Boris can or will stop it.
David Roberts Reply

August 24, 2019 at 11:48 am

The crop land in the photo is probably little changed since Neolithic times. Seeking to build on it is morally little better than burning down the Amazon.
Lisa Wright Reply

August 24, 2019 at 2:56 pm

And still they will blame the farmers and not the developers or politicians when the cost of food goes up!
Jan Lofthouse Reply

August 24, 2019 at 4:22 pm

All too true. Protect our precious space and the views of the Surrey Hills. So much farmland. So much produce. Enjoyed by many.
Lachlan Anthony Reply

August 24, 2019 at 4:27 pm

If anyone wants to take a walk this autumn try Pewley Down, Merrow Down or Newlands Corner all of which are ANOB.

The picture above is just farmland with a large airstrip running through, it not at all like the Amazon.

We will wait and see what happens with the Local Plan but from what I’ve heard the legal advice the council sought has confirmed it will withstand any legal challenge. Funny how they’ve gone quiet about this.
- Lisa Wright Reply
  
  August 26, 2019 at 9:27 am
  
  You may wish to take a look at http://www.Windy.com which has options to see air pollution levels.
  
  The levels are particularly high in our area and this shows exactly why we need to retain as much green countryside as we possibly can to produce more oxygen.
- John Perkins Reply
  
  August 26, 2019 at 11:03 am
  
  Just farmland? Do farms not have any value?
  
  The government promised to remove the airstrip it had installed during the war but didn’t.
  
  What has tMr Anthony person heard about the legal advice that the rest of us are not party to?
- Jules Cranwell Reply
  
  August 26, 2019 at 1:38 pm
  
  I’d like to know how Mr Anthony knows the legal advice GBC received from the second QC, as thus far they have refused to release it.
  This tells me the council has something to be concerned about.
Dave Middleton Reply

August 25, 2019 at 7:22 pm

Ah yes, “A peaceful scene”. The roar of a combine harvester, with accompanying tractor and the clatter and clanging of an agricultural trailer, along with the drone of traffic from the A3 and M25. Yes, a rural idyll indeed!
Valerie Thompson Reply

August 26, 2019 at 9:52 am

Better to walk at The Sheapleas in West Horsley, where, as yet, there are no parking charges.
Katharine Paulson Reply

August 30, 2019 at 8:24 am

This may look like a pretty picture but is this land is in fact much more than that if the development goes ahead it will be the permanent and irreversible loss of over 170 acres of Best Most Versatile grade 2 agricultural land adjacent to the M25 and near a population of London.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has called on the Government to make a strong commitment to British farming to ensure a secure supply of home-grown food for shoppers after new figures put UK food self-sufficiency at 61%. Notionally, had the UK population eaten only British food from 1 January 2019, food would have run out on 11 August 2019. I took pains to appear at the hearing and reminded the planning inspector that he was under a duty to give this substantial weight. Viable means that the area of land is viable in that is of sufficient size to make it viable to farm. Fields here and there (which could be developed) should be prioritised for development before large areas such as this. The large quantity of land makes it a viable farming production site for food strategically situated so near the capital city.

On recent trip to Croatia I was informed how Russian investors have bought all the Islands around Pula with plans to develop this coastline for profit, although their plans have been thwarted as the Local government has refused to give them planning permission aware of the strategic and beneficial benefits of keeping the land in its national state for the benefit of the Croatian people.

If only Guildford Borough Council would be willing to safeguard our own countries national heritage in this way. We don’t want to be reliant on trade deals for the production of our food. Since Brexit, the proposed destruction of areas of agricultural land as large as this one take on a new strategic significance and hope that the Secretary of State will take head heed to this call from the NFU when reviewing the rushed through Local Plan