Letter: Worplesdon SANG Report Was Weighted In Favour of Housing Need

Published on: 6 Nov, 2017
Updated on: 6 Nov, 2017

From Lisa Wright

In response to: Inspector’s Decision to Allow Worplesdon SANG Appeal Is Flawed

Cllr Bob McShee [Con, Worplesdon] has, as far as I’m aware, been the only Conservative councillor to really honour his pledge to protect our green belt. On many occasions at council meetings, it has been Bob who speaks up for his ward. I wonder what my other ward councillors were doing when they should also have been fighting this?

As a local resident of Wood Street Village, I am disgusted with the way our village and its residents have been treated. Having objected to this application many times, I expected to be informed when we would be able to speak at the planning inspector’s hearing but whilst waiting for the dates from GBC, this week we were told that it had already been approved.

We are subject to a flawed planning system when Guildford planning officers have greater power to make decisions, in my opinion ignoring evidence pertaining to the NPPF [National Planning Policy Framework], than our elected representatives.

As Bob notes, the inspector made no mention of our protected species, nothing was said about the loss of a local employer and staff, no reference made to the existing open access commons in Worplesdon which make this SANG redundant before it’s been started.

In my view, her report was weighted heavily on housing need, something that in planning law does not warrant loss of green belt.

I do hope Guildford Borough Councillors will be looking at exactly what and how this case was made to the planning inspector and whether all the evidence and individual objections were thoroughly analysed.

Meanwhile, I have written to our MP, Anne Milton, to see how we complain about this decision.

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