Effingham Residents Association share results of recent village Questionnaire statistics with Guildford Borough Council and others
Emailed to: localplan@guildford.gov.uk
Local Plan Consultation
Planning Policy
Guildford Borough Council
Millmead House
Guildford GU2 4BB
Dear Sir/Madam, 17 September 2014
Guildford Borough Council (GBC) draft Local Plan – The Local Questionnaire Responses
I am again writing to you on behalf of Effingham Residents Association Executive Committee based on the responses we received to our recent questionnaire, which we had delivered to local Effingham residents. We delivered to over 1000 dwellings and received back 350 responses.
It is our understanding that this letter will count as a further letter of objection in its own right. Please let me know if this is not the case.
The data attached is raw and we leave you to draw your own conclusions from the percentage results. The original responses are on paper although we did receive a few via email – all of which may be inspected by you or your nominee for authentication if required. Indeed this is a process that we will be undertaking anyway but with time against us we are sharing our findings with you now.
Also attached is an electronic copy of the original leaflet and questionnaire.
We trust that you find this useful when considering whether the overall Local Plan consultation process has fulfilled its purposes.
Yours faithfully,
Chris Dick
Chairman
cc:
Sir. Paul Beresford, MP – via Mrs. Maureen Duke (Private Secretary)
Effingham Parish Council
Liz Hogger Borough Councillor
Members of Effingham Residents Association Executive Committee
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EFFINGHAM RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION Website: www.effinghamresidents.org
5 Orchard Gardens, Effingham, Surrey KT24 5NR Email: info@effinghamresidents.org
GUILDFORD DRAFT LOCAL PLAN & HOWARD OF EFFINGHAM/ BERKELEY HOMES
Are you in favour of:
Q1 Removing Effingham village and Home Farm Calvert Road, Chester Road from the Green Belt?
No 97%
No Opinion 1%
Don’t Know 0%
Yes 2%
Q2 Effingham’s Settlement Area (permitted development area) being expanded to include:
(a) The Grove site and nearby allotments
No 89%
No Opinion 3%
Don’t Know 4%
Yes 4%
(b) Browns Lane, Church Street, southern end of Effingham Common Road, Effingham Place part of Lower Road
No 93%
No Opinion 1%
Don’t Know 1%
Yes 5%
(c) The Howard, Browns Field, Effingham Lodge Farm
No 89%
No Opinion 1%
Don’t Know 2%
Yes 7%
Q3 GBC building a car park on the Common to allow more development?
No 97%
No Opinion 0.5%
Don’t Know 0.5%
Yes 2%
Q4 Building a replacement school if it did not require the building of “enabling” extra housing?
No 46%
No Opinion 5%
Don’t Know 5%
Yes 44%
Q5 Building a replacement school on Effingham Lodge Farm with the following enabling development?
(a) 310 houses built on the existing school site, Effingham Lodge Farm and Browns Field i.e. the proposed plan.
No 93%
No Opinion 2%
Don’t Know 1%
Yes 4%
(b) Houses built on the existing school site and Effingham Lodge Farm.
No 87%
No Opinion 2%
Don’t Know 2%
Yes 9%
(c) Houses built on the existing school site and Browns Field.
No 89%
No Opinion 2%
Don’t Know 2%
Yes 7%
(d) Houses built on the existing school site only.
No 66%
No Opinion 3%
Don’t Know 2%
Yes 29%
Q6 The school being rebuilt/refurbished on its existing site?
No 18%
No Opinion 7%
Don’t Know 4%
Yes 71%
Q7 The size of the school being increased?
No 67%
No Opinion 7.5%
Don’t Know 7.5%
Yes 18%
Q8 A new school being built nearer to Guildford?
No 21%
No Opinion 16%
Don’t Know 8%
Yes 55%
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Please circle your choices and return to your Road Warden, Sibleys or The Village Supermarket by26 August
GUILDFORD DRAFT LOCAL PLAN & HOWARD OF EFFINGHAM/ BERKELEY HOMES
Are you in favour of:
All the following questions with No/No Opinion/Don’t Know/Yes
Q1 Removing Effingham village and Home Farm Calvert Road, Chester Road from the Green Belt?
Q2 Effingham’s Settlement Area (permitted development area) being expanded to include:
(d) The Grove site and nearby allotments
(e) Browns Lane, Church Street, southern end of Effingham Common Road, Effingham Place part of Lower Road
(f) The Howard, Browns Field, Effingham Lodge Farm
Q3 GBC building a car park on the Common to allow more development?
Q4 Building a replacement school if it did not require the building of “enabling” extra housing?
Q5 Building a replacement school on Effingham Lodge Farm with the following enabling development?
(e) 310 houses built on the existing school site, Effingham Lodge Farm and Browns Field i.e. the proposed plan.
(f) Houses built on the existing school site and Effingham Lodge Farm.
(g) Houses built on the existing school site and Browns Field.
(h) Houses built on the existing school site only.
Q6 The school being rebuilt/refurbished on its existing site?
Q7 The size of the school being increased?
Q8 A new school being built nearer to Guildford?
Any other comments:
(Please continue on reverse side if required)
Name: …………………………………………………………………………………..
Address: ……………………………………………………………………………………
Postcode: …………………………………….
Email: (optional) …………………………………………. Tel: (optional) ………………………………………..
Issued July 2014
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LEAFLET TO RESIDENTS:
BIG CHANGES PROPOSED FOR EFFINGHAM
PLEASE GIVE US YOUR VIEWS
Changes to the local villages proposed in the draft Guildford Borough Council (GBC) Local Plan and the Berkeley Homes/Howard of Effingham School Joint Venture are the most significant in Effingham and surrounding areas for many years. We (your Residents Association Committee) are concerned about the scale of the proposed developments in Effingham and other local villages. This leaflet aims to give you a brief outline of those changes here and their possible impacts. The second page, to be completed by you and returned (as over) is for us to gain your views so that we can determine our response to the draft Local Plan and proposed development sites in Effingham.
The draft Local Plan includes a 30% proposed increase of homes in Effingham and is now out for consultation until 22nd September at: www.guildford.gov.uk/draftlocalplan
It is important that residents as well as filling in this questionnaire also express their views in the consultation that will be seen by the Planning Inspectorate when the Local Plan is formally examined. GBC intends the Plan to be adopted in Autumn 2015. The proposals affecting Effingham are:
- Effingham village including Home Farm are to be taken out of the Green Belt and `inset.’ Together with the proposed extension of the settlement area (see below) this will make development proposed for Effingham much easier.
- Extension of the Existing Settlement Area (where development is permitted) to almost double in size. The Grove and nearby allotments, the fields in Browns Lane and Church Street as well as the houses on Lower Road and Effingham Place and all the Howard of Effingham School land would all be included. The latter together with Effingham Lodge Farm and Browns Field are the proposed “enabling” development sites for a new Howard school. We are concerned that GBC could be seen to be prejudging any application for any proposed development by incorporating these areas into the settlement area.
- Infrastructure Project on Effingham Common. This refers to the GBC’s plans to build a car park on the Common. Effingham Parish Council has already told GBC that the village does not want a car park built as it would probably be used as an overflow for the station and may attract antisocial activities to the area. We understand that building this car park is an enabling mechanism to extend the SANG (Suitable Alternative Natural Green Space) status of Effingham Common which would release development land up to 5km around it. This could enable developments totalling about 3000 dwellings in Effingham, West and East Horsley and in particular Wisley. The latter is currently protected as a SPA (Special Protected Area).
Berkeley Homes and the Howard of Effingham have formed a joint venture to build a replacement school for the Howard on Lodge Farm opposite the current school. This would be funded by enabling development of 310 houses on the three sites listed above. Berkeley Homes has acquired Effingham Lodge Farm but under the current status of the land would be unable to build houses on it without building the school. The size of the school would increase to 2,000 pupils. Car parking would be provided on the site and access is proposed to be from Effingham Common Road and Lower Road.
The Howard currently has 1600 pupils and is an academy with an excellent reputation. About 10% of pupils are from Effingham with many travelling by bus or car from Bookham and the villages to the West. SCC Education Department has said that an increase in pupil capacity at the Howard is not currently needed. The Draft Local Plan contains plans for a further secondary school to be built at West Clandon.
Issued July 2014