Berkeley Homes has submitted two planning applications regarding houses on the Effingham Lodge Farm site. The first Application: 21/P/01283 is a proposal for
Variation of condition 1 (approved plans) of planning permission 14/P/02109, approved at appeal on 21/03/2018, to refer to updated parameter plans annotated to show the areas no longer to be developed pursuant to that application.
The second is Application: 21/P/01306 is a proposal for
Hybrid planning application for outline planning permission (only access to be considered) for the erection of 4 self-build dwellings on land at 408-410 Lower Road, Effingham following demolition of all existing buildings; and full planning permission for the erection of 110 dwellings, with access, parking, community assets, landscaping, and associated works on land at Effingham Lodge Farm, Lower Road, Effingham.
Anyone who wishes to comment on either of these planning applications should do so by 23 July 2021 on the Guildford Borough Council website for planning application: 21/P/01283, and for planning application: 21/P/01306.
In the first instance the planning should not have been granted for so many houses in such a small village with narrow roads, already dangerous levels of traffic ( several accidents have happened with one death already) . The village doesn’t have the requisite infrastructure for the original number of houses and neither does the neighbouring villages. The area has many pockets of high level flooding which are a major concern and will impact existing residents, even with adequate drainage on the site the water will end up further down and elevate the existing level of flooding for others. There is also inadequate sewage all around the area and for instance Little Bookham street is under constant issues of blocked sewage which need attending one a regular basis. The building of the school is as we know going to have a devastating impact on the local wildlife and especially protected birds like skylarks, as well as bats , invertebrates and many insects.In the light of the state of emergency of our planet and the need to preserve green spaces it is not only wrong but immoral to envisage such destruction, especially as this grand scheme was nothing but bribery by Berkeley homes promising a school to get planning on what is actually green belt land and should never have been considered. The other impact of the increased pollen will affect all local residential but mostly school age children from primary school St Lawrence to 18 years old from Howard who will be breathing dust and exhausts fuels 5 days a week until the building project is finished and thereafter they will be exposed to the extra level of pollution from all the extra cars from new houses as well as all other greenhouse gases from the new homes heating systems. So with all this in mind the request to add any number of houses should be refused and non negotiable, and economic reasons are not justified but purely reflect the level of greed which Berkeley homes are famous for. On that level if the original building planning goes ahead I would hope that Berkeley are enforced to provide the so called affordable housing they promise and this should always be in a signed non négociable clause of any planning permission since it is often the reason permission is granted. The original plans should be adhered to and not reduced to profit the developers who as I see already have altered the proposed plans for the school facilities and parking at a loss for the school and a profit to themselves.