New Ash Housing Proposal: Public Asked for Comments

Published on: 17 Oct, 2021
Updated on: 17 Oct, 2021

By David Reading

Plans for 82 new homes on land between Foreman Road, Ash, and the railway line will shortly be going before Guildford Borough Council (GBC).

Map showing the area of the proposed development marked by a red boundary line. Click to enlarge in a new window.

The proposal, put forward by developers Persimmon Homes, is likely to generate strong feeling among people living in the area. Ash and Tongham are currently undergoing a massive housing development boom, with around 1,750 homes earmarked in the Guildford Local Plan.

Present development includes Bellway Homes’ plan for a mini-estate in the immediate area of the Foreman Road proposal. Details for this were approved by GBC in 2020.

Persimmon Homes has launched a public consultation exercise including an information leaflet delivered to more than 200 properties in the neighbouring area. People are being asked to comment by Friday, October 29.

The four-hectare greenfield site is located to the east of the built-up area of Ash, bordered by Foreman Road to its west and to its north by the railway line. The rest of the site is surrounded by open countryside.

The site is in the area of Ash where a new road bridge will be built over the railway line near Ash railway station, for which planning permission was granted in January 2021. The aim of the project is to enable the level crossing to be closed and traffic to be diverted over the railway.

Persimmon Homes says its proposal involves a mix of types and sizes of homes and includes 40% “affordable housing”. Included in the application will be new pedestrian and cycle links, public space, landscaping and biodiversity enhancements.

A statement issued on behalf of the developers said: “The site is allocated in the adopted local plan for housing and so the principle of development has been established.”

Sending out a request for public comments, the company said: “Your opinions are important to us and we would like to take the opportunity to hear your thoughts on our proposals for the future of the site.” Feedback can be posted at https://www.foremanroad.com/

Responses to New Ash Housing Proposal: Public Asked for Comments

John Ferns Reply

October 17, 2021 at 8:58 pm

What a crass attempt at a ‘public consultation’. None of the 200 targeted households in the Ash area will have received this information.

This is from the Persimmon opening screen…..

“Public Consultation. A leaflet has been delivered to over 200 households in the West Horsley area. Please see below for a copy of this material for you to review before visiting the ‘Have Your Say’ page.”

Editor: The developer Persimmon Homes has said that naming West Horsley instead of Ash on its website was a typographical error and has been corrected. It added that no letters have actually been sent to households in West Horsley.
Cllr Catherine Young, (Guildford Green Belt Group, Clandon & Horsley) Reply

October 27, 2021 at 10:03 pm

That of course is not entirely true. West Horsley residents have received leaflets about Persimmon’s proposed development of 90-plus homes on part of Local Plan allocated Site A39. The other part of the site is with Antler Homes for 35 new houses, due at Guildford Borough Council’s planning committee next week.

For a house builder of this size, this really is a poor attempt at engagement with the local community and there will be battles ahead.

West Horsley residents are as fed up as Ash residents as more and more of our green fields and beautiful countryside is being destroyed, courtesy of the infamous Local Plan!

This is the link to Persimmon’s details for West Horsley:
https://www.ockhamroad.com/.

The closing date for comments was at the end of July, 2021, but of course nobody has seen any results and I doubt they could be printed anyway.