Waverley Witness: Dunsfold-Day Has Arrived

Published on: 7 Jan, 2016
Updated on: 7 Jan, 2016

The Waverley Witness gives views and reports from that area, many of which we believe will resonate with, or be of interest to, Guildford Dragon NEWS readers.

One of the largest applications to have been considered by Waverley Borough Council planners to create a new Surrey village has arrived. At the same time Waverley’s head of planning has resigned.

The long awaited application for a new village on the former British Aerospace site at Dunsfold Park is for 1,800 homes, which could eventually increase to 3,500 homes.

The site on the Surrey-Sussex border between the villages of Alfold, Dunsfold and Cranleigh has been validated and can now be viewed on-line at www.waverley.gov.uk and search for WA/2015/2395

The controversial scheme was registered in double quick time and the consultation period lasts for just 16 weeks – ending on April 17.

A plan of what the proposed development may look like. Image from Dunsfold Park’s website.

The scheme for a village of 1,800 homes with the possibility of many thousands more in the future arrived as Waverley’s chief planning officer, Matthew Evans, resigned and is moving to Basingstoke.

His resignation will not alter the timetable for the Local Plan assured council Leader Robert Knowles. However, it is believed his colleagues are not so confident and are predicting its third failure, if and when it is published.

Access to the former British Aerospace site, currently home to businesses, including Cranleigh Freight, air traffic and BBC’s Top Gear show would be via a new junction and access from the A281 Horsham/Guildford Road. An access over a new bridge is already under construction across the Wey and Arun Canal on to Dunsfold Road and Alfold Crossways.

In the plan two-bedroom homes make up over 40% of the development, 31.1% three-bed, 19.4% four-bed, and 8.9% one-bed. Half could be built in five years, with the first tranche delivered in 2017 together with a new one-form entry primary school in 2020. The new village centre, which would be within a 10-minute walk of homes, could be completed in 10 years.

Plans also include a care home (2019) with the primary school being extended in the same year.

A new medical and community centre planned for 2020 and more homes and businesses to follow.

Need to travel would be minimised with the village providing the everyday needs of residents and businesses. Improvements would be made to three local bus services from Dunsfold Park to Guildford-Godalming-Cranleigh and to Horsham.

The documents claim there is no risk of flooding. Dunsfoild Park is a former developed site and is not physically constrained by archaeological, environmental, landscape or ecological issues.

It is not in the green belt or an area of outstanding natural beauty. It currently boasts the largest employment site in Waverley and provides a unique opportunity to co-locate an existing employment site within a new settlement.

The developers say: “Physically it is large enough to comfortably accommodate the proposal and the Land Use Parameter Plan demonstrates how keys assets such as the 250-acre country park will form part of the scheme.”

Villagers in Alfold now have planning applications for more than 2,400 homes planned in and around them and villagers are reeling from the sheer scale of development proposed around them.

During the draft Local Consultation carried out by Waverley Borough Council in 2014, the vast majority of repondents supported development at Dunsfold Park recognising that developing green fields around existing settlements is not welcome and neither can it meet the predicted housing need.

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