Transcript of article in Surrey Advertiser 10 October 2014
Members of a housing group that was dedicated to helping Cranleigh’s Neighbourhood Plan have resigned in anger after feeling powerless to influence any changes.
All 12 members of the Cranleigh Neighbourhood Plan Housing Group announced they were quitting at a meeting of their steering group on Monday night.
Leader of the Housing Group, Liz Townsend, said: “Despite all the hard work that we’ve put into developing the Neighbourhood Plan so far, we feel it’s powerless to help Cranleigh at this critical time, and we believe we’re giving false hope to the community.
“We believe that we stand a much better chance of making a real difference against the current development onslaught on Cranleigh, by setting ourselves up as a Civic Society.”
Civic Societies are described as independent grassroots organisations made up of volunteers. The new society will celebrate and encourage positive action, but, in this case, be forthright in resisting damaging change.”
The Cranleigh Neighbourhood Plan Group was formed in January this year by Cranleigh Parish Council, after two packed public meetings where residents vented their strong feelings, some queuing outside around the block trying to get in.
Cranleigh Parish Councillor David Gill was at the Steering Group meeting when the announcement was made. He was taken aback by the announcement and said: “This is a very serious thing that has been said. We want the Community to develop a Neighbourhood plan.”
Some Housing Group members added their comments including Dominique McAll, who explained:”Cranleigh people deserve to have a stronger voice regarding what is happening in the village. We’ve been left in a terrible position, without the protection of a Local Plan.
“We are vulnerable here in Cranleigh due to the lack of greenbelt protection enjoyed by the other major settlements in the borough. We have no train station, the lowest share of local employment opportunities, the weakest road infrastructure and overstretched medical and community facilities of all of the four main settlements.”
Surrey County Council has developed a document entitled ‘Cranleigh’s Future Highways and Transport Infrastructure Requirements’ which had been held back from the Neighbourhood Plan group members.
“We only new of its existence from looking through the officer’s report relating to a planning application and then had to ask the planners at Waverley for a copy to be sent to us,” said Dominique.
The document appears to dictate where housing should be built in Cranleigh and goes completely against the Neighbourhood plan Group.
Adrian Clarke, previous member of the Housing Group added: “Things have changed in Cranleigh since the start of the year, and we are now facing the threat of the Lion’s share of all new housing in the Waverley area being built in Cranleigh and on Dunsfold Aerodrome if the planners and developers get their way.
“I’d like to pay tribute the Cranleigh Parish Council for facilitating Neighbourhood Planning in Cranleigh; otherwise we wouldn’t as a community have got to this point.”
Cranleigh Parish Council will be meeting on Thursday October 16 and discussions will take place about what to do now the group has resigned.
