Proposal for 50 New Homes in Wood Street Recommended Despite Objections

Published on: 24 Sep, 2026
Updated on: 24 Sep, 2026

Hester’s Yard Bewley Homes

By James Moules

local democracy reporter

Fifty new homes could soon be coming to a village near Guildford under plans scheduled for council debate next week.

Bewley Homes is seeking planning permission to build the new homes – along with a parish building for use by Worplesdon Parish Council – on land in Wood Street Village near Guildford.

The proposals are set to be discussed at Guildford Borough Council’s Planning Committee next week.Planning officers are recommending that the development at Hester’s Yard go ahead, despite more than 20 community objections being lodged against the scheme.

In their report, officers wrote: “There are no national decision making policies which indicate that development should be refused, or any other considerations which indicate the application should be refused.

“The presumption in favour of sustainable development is therefore engaged across the whole site, both in the settlement and in the green belt.”

The applicant’s planning documents read: “The application proposal is for the erection of fifty residential units, together with a parish office building, the associated vehicular and pedestrian access, landscaping, car parking, play area and community open space with youth and adult play, on land at Hester’s Yard, Wood Street Village.

“The site is in a highly sustainable location, which is acknowledged by the council, and the proposal provides several, material planning benefits.”

Of the 50 homes proposed in the scheme, 25 are expected to be set aside as affordable housing – with properties ranging from one to five bedrooms in size.

The report continues: “The mix, in the context of the site, is considered an appropriate balance of unit type and size to meet the requirements for both private and affordable accommodation in the area,” the documents add.

“The applicant has worked closely with the parish council in agreeing the housing mix.”

Some of the site is previously developed land falling within the settlement boundary of Wood Street Village, but a segment of it falls within the green belt.

However, many objections to the proposals related to the potential loss of commercial premises in the area if the development were to go ahead.

One resident wrote: “This site is essential to the local people that work here and provides (bread on table money for so many people) all our livelihoods of all the full and part time staff that work here.”

Other concerns related to its impact on the existing village, with another resident writing that the extra homes “will make already heavy traffic traffic numbers become unsustainable and create more damage to our roads”.

But the applicant’s planning documents say: “The proposal does not result in the complete loss of employment, as it includes a commercial building, which is more in keeping with the character of the surrounding area.”