easthorsley.info News and information from East Horsley Parish Council SUMMER 2016 Volunteers Make Party a Roaring Success! INSIDE THIS ISSUE Opera House Approved Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebration Roads and Pavements When Skinner met Spooner Local Plan Update Keep Fit Special deadline 18 July GBC LOCAL PLAN COMMENTS SUMMER 2016 Editor’s Note… A bumper summer issue allows us to share with you some stunning photographs and wonderful memories from the first Horsleys Arts Festival together with celebrations for the Queen’s 90th birthday. A great deal of planning went into both events and congratulations to the team responsible. Elsewhere we bring you results from the latest Neighbourhood Plan survey and confirmation that Grange Park Opera has been given the green light to build ‘The Theatre in the Woods’ at West Horsley Place. Read what happened when the Grange Park Opera Leader of EH Parish Council Stephen Skinner met the Leader of Guildford Borough Council, Paul Spooner, and how gets the green light Surrey CC’s John Furey promises to tackle speeding, drains, potholes and uneven GUILDFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL has The owner of West Horsley Place, Bamber pavements in East Horsley. If approved plans by Grange Park Opera to build Gascoigne commented, “This is thrilling news for you’ve always meant to the Theatre in the Woods in the grounds of everyone concerned. The stage is set for Grange get fit but never quite got West Horsley Place, despite local objections Park Opera to build a legacy at West Horsley that the development is in a green belt Place and I know it will become a source of great around to it, we bring location. Leader of the Council, Cllr Paul pride for the ancient village that shares its name.” you the first of a two-part Spooner said, “If ever there are exceptional The 650 seat Theatre in the Woods has feature highlighting the circumstances for development in the been designed by architect Tim Ronalds and many fitness options green belt then I believe this is it. We are comprises four tiers arranged in the horseshoe in and around looking at enabling a development here format of La Scala. The first performance will East Horsley and which is not housing. It is providing a take place on 8 June 2017, with Joseph Calleja Effingham Junction. cultural asset and contributing towards the singing the first of nine performances of Tosca. long term future of our heritage asset. I think Chris Campbell, Grange Park Opera, Steve Harvey it is a fantastic opportunity for West Horsley commented, “To hear so many GBC councillors [email protected] Place and for the borough.” talking passionately about the benefits Grange Park Opera can bring to the local area reminded me of just how important the artform can be. They made it clear that the project would be contributing not just to the cultural activities of the county, but also to the local economy and Clerk’s Column quality of life. There was a palpable sense of …from the Office of the Clerk excitement and enthusiasm for the Theatre in the Woods – it was joyous to be made to feel so What did the Romans welcome in our new home.” ever give East Horsley? Well they gave it roads and drainage. Well yes but look at the Prudential state of the roads and the drains overflow! Cycle Ride 2016 At the recent Question Time Event SCC Councillor John Furey, Cabinet Member for ONCE AGAIN the A246 will be closed on Highways, Transport and Flooding, made some commitments and your Parish Council is Sunday 31 July at the Clandon lights for the pursuing these. Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 which starts in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, Both Ockham Road and Forest Road have been surveyed and a list of areas on the then follows a 100-mile route on closed roads highway and footpaths that need resurfacing have been provided to SCC. The Parish through the capital and into Surrey’s stunning Council is prepared to commit funds to facilitate the work that needs to be carried out. countryside with leg-testing climbs and a route With regard to flooding, the areas that continually flood even after moderate rain are made famous by the world’s best cyclists at known to all. SCC have increased the budget to alleviate flooding and East Horsley will the London 2012 Olympics. The Prudential benefit from this. However, John Furey stated that the drain network is ancient and has RideLondon-Surrey 100 finishes on The Mall in never been mapped so it is difficult to locate the many collapsed pipes that prevent Central London, shortly before 150 professional rainfall running away. cyclists race in the Prudential RideLondon- Surrey Classic on a similar route. Crowdfunding is a growing source of revenue in communities. At the Question Time event Needless to say lots of other road closures a respected resident pledged funding to alleviate an issue adjacent to their property. Is as well throughout Surrey. More details at there anyone else out there who wants to make a pledge? www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/events/100/ Nick Clemens – [email protected] Cover image copyright: Event Volunteers Freya, Lulu and Amelia taken by Brenda Aldred 2 EAST HORSLEY PARISH COUNCIL NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2016 New GBC Local Plan – comments please Guildford Borough Council has issued a new Draft Local Plan for consultation by residents. This follows over 20,000 comments made to the 2014 version which was eventually withdrawn by GBC. FEATURES of the borough-wide plan, which inside the expanded Settlement Area, East Horsley, the lack of justification for some runs until 2033, include: projected by GBC to deliver 188 new homes: of the Settlement Boundary changes in the • A target of 13,860 new homes, 7% more than • Thatcher’s Hotel village and the total failure of the Local Plan to in the previous 2014 version of the plan • Two fields near the railway line fulfil its stated policy of protecting the Green • An average target of 693 homes per annum behind Ockham Road North Belt. A detailed letter of objection to the • The majority of this new housing lies within • Fangate Manor Farm in St Your proposed Wisley Airfield development the Green Belt Martin’s Close beyond the comments must will follow separately. • ‘New Settlement’ is still proposed for former bowling green be sent to GBC by Residents can find a copy of the Wisley Airfield with 2000+ homes. • Countryside Depot & BT MONDAY Parish Council’s response on the If achieved, this plan represents an increase in telephone exchange 18TH JULY website www.easthorsley.info which the housing stock of Guildford Borough of around • Carlians Garage on the A246 may give some ideas and information 25% over the plan period. This compares with the • West Horsley has 385 new homes helpful in preparing your own responses. Office of National Statistics growth forecast for allocated, potentially increasing The Parish Council strongly encourages Guildford Borough’s population of 15%. its housing stock by 35%, with significant everyone to submit your views. GBC has an For East Horsley the new Local Plan includes: implications for the infrastructure and e-mail address just for this purpose and a • In-setting of the East Horsley Settlement Area services of East Horsley. link is available on our website. Numbers are from the Green Belt East Horsley Parish Council intends to object important and time is short. • Eight changes in Green Belt boundaries to to the draft GBC Local Plan on the basis of its East Horsley Action Group, who prepared increase the Settlement Area by 13% excessive and unjustified housing targets for information to help residents with their • A new “identified boundary of the village” Guildford Borough as a whole. In its submission, letters to GBC back in 2014, are doing the south of A246 where limited in-filling will be the Parish Council will also detail a range of same again. For further information see permitted, despite its Green Belt status objections including the proposed insetting of www.easthorsleyactiongroup.uk • Five sites are identified for development Proposed Housing Numbers in draft Local Plan “We did a sustainability test on the Wisley Airfield site, and it failed. Now can the Area in Guildford Borough No. Homes % of total developers of Wisley Airfield deliver proper Guildford Town Centre 1,135 9 sustainability within 20 years? We believe as a council that it’s possible which is Guildford Uban Area 5,773 46 why it’s still in the Local Plan, otherwise it wouldn’t be. Whether the applicant or future Ash & Tongham 1,320 10 applicants are able to deliver that, I don’t Previous developed land in Green Belt 216 2 know. Clearly they failed dismally last time which is why it failed. I don’t believe there New Settlement (Wisley Airfield) 2,000 16 was a single soul in this council thought Villages 2,186 17 it had a hope.” Paul Spooner, Leader of Guildford Borough Council. Total 12,630 100 Neighbourhood Plan Survey Results THE PARISH COUNCIL has been hard at work Highlights of the results include: – The full results are now available online on a new Village Survey in order to consult • 88% of respondents said that the rural (www.easthorsley.info) as well as in the Library. further on the emerging policies for the surroundings were the most important Residents also provided useful feedback on a Neighbourhood Plan. attribute defining the character of East Horsley. wide range of village issues in the four policy areas This follows on from the Household Survey • An even more impressive 96% thought covered – Housing, Environment, Infrastructure that was carried out last summer where the new housing should be in keeping with the and Local Economy.