Letter: Weyside Village Will Present Problems But, Indirectly, We Voted For It

Published on: 10 Nov, 2024
Updated on: 11 Nov, 2024

Weyside Urban Village development. Image Guildford Borough Council

From Jim Allen

In response to: Weyside Urban Village Plans Progress – Architecture to Reflect Industrial Character

I am a long-standing critic of this project and I believe it is crucial for the public to understand the significant changes that have occurred since its inception.

The initial proposal in 2010 outlined the construction of 750 homes, which has since been revised to 1,550 homes as of 2023.

One of the primary concerns is the inadequate vehicle parking facilities, which can only accommodate approximately 25 per cent of the potential occupants. This means that the remaining 75 per cent will be heavily reliant on public transportation, as they will be prohibited from owning a car under the terms of their occupancy agreement.

However, the current public transportation system is insufficient, with buses operating at a frequency of one every 20 minutes. This would result in an impractical commute time of approximately six hours for all residents to reach their workplaces.

Furthermore, there was a previous water supply restriction imposed on 49 homes, and the new sewage treatment works, scheduled for completion in 2027, will not be fully operational until close to 2030. This raises concerns about the capacity of the sewage treatment works to handle the increased demand from the new housing development.

Despite these challenges, it is important to acknowledge that the project was approved through a democratic process, and the public ultimately voted in councillors in favour of it.

Responses to Letter: Weyside Village Will Present Problems But, Indirectly, We Voted For It

Roger Carnegie Reply

November 11, 2024 at 7:22 pm

Could Mr Allen backup his claims. A brief search shows the 2020 planning application was for:

– 1,500 homes

– 1,320 car parking spaces.

Further car parking in adjacent areas also.

I won’t comment on his perennial complaints about the sewage works, but note his previous claims of hundreds of HGVs per day using Clay Lane, which would have been against the planning conditions, have also been shown to be unfounded.
Ben Paton Reply

November 12, 2024 at 4:51 pm

This is like saying that the Guildford 4 were convicted through a proper criminal process involving a jury; or that Mr Malkinson was convicted in a fair process.

The planning process is rigged.

To call it “democratic” is ridiculous. The only people who have ever voted for this scheme are a few councillors – most of whom believed that the council was under the cosh to build houses – because of a desperate “need” for housing.

Now we know that there is no desperate need for housing – because deaths equal or exceed births.

What society does need is council housing, aka social housing. Yet we find that a so-called “socialist” government is just as right wing as Liz Truss – and has stolen her “borrow and spend” policies!
M Durant Reply

November 12, 2024 at 6:57 pm

With 1,500 homes planned and all requiring cars to drive around, I guess there will be a lot more traffic on the Woking road and in the area, glad I don’t live near there, yes the bus going every 20 minutes might not be enough.

I hope that a pharmacy, a GP and a supermarket are going to be included in the plan if not the existing facilities will be swamped with people, let’s hope they will add more people working at the hospital as well, as with the current numbers of people in the area, a friend of mine recently had to wait 6 hours for an ambulance, and seeing a GP as become a rarity.