2019 News Update

MEETINGS WITH WAVERLEY – Cranleigh Civic Society has been instrumental in arranging regular meetings with management representatives of Waverley Borough Council, including its Chief Executive Tom Horwood, Leader and Deputy Leader Cllr. Julia Potts and Cllr. Ged Hall, Head of Planning Elizabeth Sims and others. We have discussed our numerous concerns about Cranleigh especially in light of the vast amount of additional housing coming our way and have endeavoured to ensure that the Council improves its lines of communication with our residents. We are also liaising closely with Societies and associations from other settlements within Waverley and are happy to pursue any community related queries or issues with the Council at these regular meetings, if you email any queries you would like us to raise. Karen

DRINKING WATER PIPES – In January 2017, Cranleigh Civic Society asked Waverley Borough Council to assess the risk to our health of our many old, blue asbestos drinking water pipes in Cranleigh, but so far Waverley has decided it cannot do this as there is as yet no evidence to support them spending time and money on the issue. Meanwhile they need to get all the new housing estates into Cranleigh completed and occupied first.
Cranleigh Civic Society is continuing to press Waverley Borough Council for action, and we have written to the Government’s Drinking Water Inspectorate for clarification.

ENVIRONMENT – of particular concern is to increase awareness and protection for our environment which is under threat due to over development.  

CENTENARY GARDEN – protected green space – Cranleigh now has a beautiful new centenary garden and a good deal of work is being done on Beryl Harvey Fields, our conservation site.

FLOOD RISKS – As regards building on land that has in the past regularly and seriously flooded, the worst location is the field opposite the sewage treatment works where we fought long and hard for planning to be refused. So we have brought this particular site to the attention of leading Home Insurers and it appears that they have logged this as a site to treat with caution. Furthermore, we have arranged for, and will accompany, Anne Milton MP on a visit the Association of British Insurers in January 2019 to discuss not only this site but the fact that this building on flood plains is happening countrywide.

PLANNING It has been another busy year for your Society in reviewing all aspects of Planning :

The Waverley Local Plan Part 1 laid down that Cranleigh MUST build 1,700 houses by 2032. BUT we have already received over 1,700 dwellings’ Planning Applications – and most of these have been approved and it looks like most will be built and occupied

So how can we fight off any more Applications in the next 14 years?

The Plan was delayed by being taken to the High Court for Judicial Review – mostly over the planned 1,800 houses for Dunsfold.

This delayed the whole planning policy, and meant that some developers had only to pay Section 106 – rather than the heavier
Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).  

Your Society responded in detail to the draft Waverley Local Plan Part 2 – and also to the Cranleigh Neighbourhood Plan produced by our Parish Council.

This was a good review of all aspects of our Village development and named a large number of Green Sites to be protected.

It reviewed what other sites might be protected from development.

Waverley Council introduced the rules for levying the Community Infrastructure Levies on Developers.

Our biggest battle was over the 55 houses proposed by Thakeham Homes now being built! We attended the Planning Meeting in Godalming,
and produced photographs showing that the site has flooded over several years. But the Planning Department and the Committee brushed aside our evidence, maintaining they had designed in enough drainage !

We were concerned that the Joint Planning Committee had 23 Councillors – and it was obvious that most had not visited the site and did not know much about it.

We contested the housing development on Hewitts where 3 storey houses looked down into private back gardens, but accepted the requested number of houses.

CRANLEIGH VILLAGE HOSPITAL TRUST AND HC-ONE – We held a special meeting to have a presentation by one of the Trustees of Cranleigh Village Hospital Trust (CVHT) about the new planning application for developing  their site – it is now to be a private Care Home with 20 Community Beds contracted out to our local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Surrey County Council (SCC). There will also be a block of bedsits only for staff who work in medical situations, owned and run by CVHT.

We also attended the Parish Council review of the Application. On balance we agreed to support the plan in view of its benefit to our Community, but there was heavy discussion on the funding story and the truth of it all.

We opposed the housing development at Ruffold Farm as being outside the Village boundary.

CRANLEIGH SCHOOL – PRIVATE – have recently held a consultation as they wish to develop the site with dwellings for staff, plus an all weather pitch. To do so they wish to build houses opposite Notcutts. We object to the 40 houses on top of the Application for 34 houses dotted around the school site.

We are very concerned at setting the precedent of allowing development along the Guildford Road which would mean merging Cranleigh with Rowley.

LEISURE CENTRE – Waverley Council has set aside some £12 Million from developers to upgrade our Leisure Centre, and this has caused healthy debate.

We are against building a completely new Centre on, say, Snoxhall Fields, which must be protected, and are advocating that there is enough land for the existing Centre to be expanded with improved facilities, changing rooms and a new Sports Hall. Being next to the Village way car park is a major benefit.

ROADS – Our severe concern at the pressure on our Infrastructure has a major focus on our totally inadequate roads – especially the A281 into Guildford.

So we had a good meeting with 4 Highway Engineers from Surrey County Council to review all their plans. We were especially disappointed that they stated that they had no funds for improving the A281 apart from smoothing the traffic from Dunsfold onto that road.

CAR PARKING – ? GOING UP? In our meeting with Cllr. Julia Potts, the Leader of Waverley Council, we expressed serious concern at the future lack of shopping parking – with the extra 1,700 homes – let alone the 2,600 houses at Dunsfold which will surely come to Cranleigh for shopping, She said that they were reviewing this problem and were considering a multi-storey car park in Village Way – are YOU in favour of this ? and what other concerns do you have for our Community’s future ??

We reviewed all their other projects – and highlighted the growing traffic jams on the High Street.

SUCCESSES? The bottom line is that for years Cranleigh Civic Society and our councillors have worked hard to try and stop Waverley pushing ahead with getting so many houses built in Cranleigh and on green fields, as an easy way of meeting their allocated housing numbers – however we are sorry to say that the deluge continues.

Do you think Cranleigh Civic Society should only be concentrating on developing ways to fight legally? 

CRANLEIGH RIVERS – a few of Cranleigh Society members are very keen to help Surrey Wildlife Trust find out about our “rivers” and their water quality.  So we have started river dipping monthly to find and count wildlife – tiny! – and report to SWT for their records.  If the waters deteriorate they will take action or if they improve we will able to celebrate.

MEMBERSHIP – perhaps because CCS hasn’t stopped the housing numbers our membership has not increased lately.  BUT we believe keeping our councillors and officers informed of things we all know has helped and can continue to help.  In addition we are asked by them to share information – a two way street.  Please keep the faith and join in.

KEEPING CRANLEIGH CARING – We meet at the Three Horseshoes pub from 6.30 – every month – on the second Monday in each month – come along anytime and join in.