Parish Council Challenges SCC Over Support for Garden Village

Published on: 15 Jan, 2019
Updated on: 18 Jan, 2019

Cllr Hodge’s letter in support of GBC’s Wisley garden village bid

Ockham Parish Council is claiming that Surrey County Council has made a U-turn on its view of protection of the green belt and a proposal for a “garden village” at the former Wisley Airfield.

Former leader David Hodge (right) with his replacement Tim Oliver

Former Surrey County Council (SCC) leader, David Hodge has been asked to clarify an apparent policy change expressed by him in a letter from him to the leader of Guildford Borough Council (GBC).

Ockham Parish Council (OPC) wrote to the former leader when he was still in post on December 3rd expressing “surprise and concern” at his “ill-informed” October 30th letter to Cllr Paul Spooner in which he says that SCC strongly supports a proposed Garden Village at the Wisley green belt site.

In his letter, Cllr Hodge claims that the proposed Garden Village was a “locally led” initiative. OPC’s letter queries that statement, asking; “Perhaps you would be so kind as to identify the local bodies to which you are referring since we know of none.”

The GBC bid for government money to prepare the bid was a contentious issue when announced in October. It resulted in the resignation of Colin Cross, the ward councillor for Lovelace (Ripley, Wisley and Ockham), from the Liberal Democrat group at Millmead. He is now a member of the three-man Independent Alliance.

A spokesman for the Wisley Action Group, which campaigns against developed of the former airfield at Wisley said: “David Hodge’s office confirmed that he planned to respond to the OPC letter before OPC’s December 11th parish meeting, as requested but no such response was ever received.

“OPC’s letter also asked why Mr Hodge made no attempt to liaise with them before sending the letter to GBC. “We would appreciate an early clarification of why you have neglected to inform the Parish Council or to consult with us in any way prior to sending what seems to be an ill-informed letter to Cllr Spooner.”

It went on; “The Parish Councillors are particularly disturbed that your letter of support, as Leader of the Council, for the Wisley Garden Village bid contradicts the 2013 statement from Surrey County Council. In March 2013, SCC passed a unanimous motion to protect Surrey’s green belt.”

In his letter to Cllr Spooner, Cllr Hodge stated; “I can confirm that this submission is strongly supported by Surrey County Council.”

Dr Mary-Claire Travers, chair of Ockham Parish Council said last week that Cllr Hodge’s comments represented a complete about-face on green belt policy. “We have asked him to explain himself and his suggestion that this proposal is in any way “locally led”, but he has failed to respond.

“OPC has since received an e-mail from Cllr Colin Kemp, deputy leader of SCC, which also fails to answer the specific questions presented in OPC’s December 3rd letter and, instead, merely confirms support for GBC’s Wisley Garden Village proposal.

Cllr Kemp wrote in his email: “A key priority for us is to support our district and borough colleagues in hitting their housing targets.”.

Dr Travers commented; “Unfortunately both Mr Hodge and Cllr Kemp have shown a marked reluctance to address the issues raised in our December 3rd letter but we will continue to press for a constructive response. Cllr Kemp has agreed to a meeting – but not for another three weeks.

“In the interim, and in view of the apparent policy change on green belt protection, we urge SCC to respond to our specific questions with all haste. We have now been waiting for five weeks and the matter is increasingly urgent and pressing.”

Asked by Dragon NEWS if the letter, written by David Hodge, still represents the SCC view under its new leader, Tim Oliver, a spokesman said yesterday (January 14, 2019): “There is a need for more housing in Surrey which is the responsibility of our boroughs and districts but we’re supporting them in hitting their targets to help give younger generations the opportunity to own their own home.

“While we do not support development on the green belt, our role is to look at what infrastructure could be needed alongside our district and borough colleagues’ local plans. We appreciate there is a delicate balancing act between helping to deliver this and understanding the needs of local residents – as such we’re planning to meet with Ockham Parish Council later this month to discuss this further.”

Cllr Julie Iles

County councillor for The Horsleys division, which covers Wisley, lodged her objection to the previous planning application in 2015. She commented: “I still view it as inappropriate and harmful development in the green belt.

“Air quality issues already exist in this area and a development on this scale would add to the levels of pollution. The road network around the site would struggle to provide the necessary infrastructure and there’s a lack of sustainable transport links”.