Autumn 2016 FINAL COLOUR
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NewsletterNo. 62 Autumn 2016 Founded 1984 www.rudgwick-rps.org.uk Chairman’s Report Roger Nash There been more reasons to contact the membership by Chairman, and Ian Mac, NP Chairman, we look for firm email than usual in this half-year. We value having your and decisive leadership, whilst fully aware there are rocky email address. If you do not get these communications, roads ahead. please contact us via the website to provide your email Sites for development over the coming 15 years, which address.I regret we cannot use any other means of we cannot avoid, must be very carefully vetted, yet will general communication, except for subscription or other come with pressure from those who stand to gain. I think personal issues. the village has already spoken loudly against large Planning is currently a hot topic! Horsham’s approved developments, so a number of small sites in locations Local Plan and an embryonic parish Neighbourhood Plan which do not raise alarm will have to be found. Our village (NP) are good news. The confident way in which officers must not be allowed to sprawl outside what are our demolished the developer Gladman’s case for building at “naturally defensible boundaries”. Our sensitive Fairlee opposite the bottom of Church Street was both countryside environments and “heritage assets” must be revealing and welcome. HDC were particularly supported protected. Numbers such as adding 10% to our existing by those they have to consult on highways, landscape, house stock are being bandied about, but this is an heritage and drainage. There may be a new plan for uncomfortably high number, and seems not to meet the Fairlee, or an appeal, but we expect Horsham will play requirement that it be “appropriate to the scale and fair, and if an appeal, fight on our side. It was not an easy function of the settlement”. Development must also meet decision for me personally to take up this issue on your our housing needs and assist retention of our community behalf, as the owner of the land is a friend, and I services and facilities. As I understand the process, the understand why someone in her position might wish to NP forums are presently assessing our parish on these look to make money from land her father had left her, and related issues. RPS has counselled that we start with knowing it was an insurance for his grandchildren, and what we already know from the Action Plan, Design she unexpectedly widowed at a young age. ‘Rules is rules’, however, and this land is inappropriate for development in many ways. Supposing only her garden and farm buildings had been offered, or were to be offered as an NP site, what would we say in the event of an application for 5-10 house, using the existing access? That is precisely the kind of offer we may be asked to approve in a suite of NP sites in surveys and eventually a referendum. The NP meetings have been positive, and RPS must wish the army of volunteers every opportunity to make rapid, productive and sensible progress towards their numerous goals. Let no one underestimate the task ahead over two or more years. Some of you (members) are volunteers, and we thank you. We salute the newer parish council members for finally biting the bullet that a previous council did not. We lobbied them in vain, and now, I understand, there is less financial support from HDC than if we had been an earlier adopter. This is a An historic view of Fairlee lesson learned, but to Richard Landeryou, Council In This Edition: The Skies of Sussex .……………………………………………. 3 Chairman’s Report…………………. 1 Rudgwick’s Railway: Revolution or Evolution (Part 3) ………. 5 Malcolm’s Miscellany………………. 2 Rudgwick People: Keith’s Story………………………………… 9 Happy Birthday Arun & Wey!……… 2 Air Raid Precaution………………………………………………13 Planning Matters……………………. 3 A Look Back on Summer Walks………………………………..14 1 Trees in Cox Green Statement, Housing Needs Survey and 2011 Census, Happy Birthday Wey & Arun! over the past ten years. A good supply of maps of Roger Nash Rudgwick may also be needed! I write this on 2nd October, the day on which the Wey and If all this is not enough, we must be aware and guarded Arun Canal opened in 1816. This weekend, the about developments elsewhere in our patch. David celebrations have taken place along the length of the Buckley writes warning us of developments in Waverley. canal, and I chose to visit Compasses Bridge in Alfold, Even little Alfold is under threat, but one big development where Dame Penelope Keith opened the new bridge into there at Springbok has been turned down. Broadbridge Dunsfold Park, the very place where the canal directors Heath and Billingshurst are our direct neighbours, and and navvies gathered for fine words and much eating and their contribution to traffic through Bucks Green in drinking 200 years ago. The canal passes through a small particular is becoming a major talking point in the village, edge-length of Rudgwick at the demolished Hope Bridge as so many commute into Surrey and back again. I in The Haven, which can be seen if you look carefully in increasingly feel the A281 is likely to kill any sense of the photograph. The canal was not as revolutionary as the tranquillity we had hoped to preserve in this parish. More railway from Rudgwick, there being no wharf nearer than people have bent my ear about all these issues than is Loxwood or Newbridge. Evidence for the use of the latter I usual, and the one which came out of left field to hit Cox spotted in a court case Elliott v Silverlock in 1840. The Green is perhaps the most extraordinary. I write of the plaintiffs, Elliotts, seed merchants in Rudgwick had sent land behind Crouchers and Songhurst, which is in Ellens 10 sacks of trefoil seed via Newbridge, carried by barge to Green, Surrey, and exhibits an air of neglected parkland, Chichester. The defendant claimed they were not of with lovely trees, and rolling slopes, accessible by sufficient quality. He lost the case. Timber merchants were footpath. For reasons why this should never be among the biggest users, and Rudgwick also had good developed, see above! So far, no application…. trade. In 1844, Thomas Langton, George Marshall, both of Rudgwick, and Edward Child, Slinfold, joined forces to try to lower carriage costs by a letter to the proprietors, results unknown. The canal, of course, died at the birth of The Shaping the railway, but now ever so slowly revives, with the of Rudgwick determination of WACT volunteers. Only £2 The definitive history of Rudgwick in 23 pages: Chapter 1 from Diana Chatwin’s classic book on Rudgwick Available at Autumn meeting, or contact us via website Hope Bridge, The Haven 2 Planning Matters David Buckley It is difficult to understand how highway improvements can mitigate Although Horsham District Council’s community and leisure facilities and the effects of such a large Plan has been approved by the schools. The appeal was dismissed development – the A281 is already Inspectorate it doesn’t mean that it is on the grounds of transport impacts carrying large amounts of traffic as the end of contentious or difficult and prematurity. However, much has anyone travelling through Bramley any planning applications. The inspector changed since 2009: morning will confirm. approved a target for the total number The NPPF (the National framework) The Parish Council has registered its of applications over the plan period requires the Council to positively seek objection to not only this scheme but but still left the opportunity for some opportunities to meet the development also to the two others in the Cranleigh loose ends to be explored. needs of the borough and to meet area: One aspect is the concept of ‘windfall’ objectively assessed applications, namely applications that needs unless any are not included in the plan but are the adverse impacts of result of existing policies being doing so would applied. Examples could be where a significantly and house is demolished and replaced by demonstrably more dwellings, when industrial outweigh the premises are converted or when benefits, when proposals are agreed in assessed against the neighbourhood plans. policies in the NPPF An example of this was the District as a whole Council’s refusal to allow development The objectively at Woodfalls, which then became the assessed need for subject of an appeal. At the hearing housing has been the Council argued that the inspector assessed as 519 was happy with the number proposed homes per annum, far above the Whatever Waverley finally agree to and that local neighbourhood plans for South East Plan target for Waverley at in their plan there will be places such as Nuthurst were likely to the time of the appeal. implications for Rudgwick. provide sufficient extra permissions to Although Dunsfold Aerodrome is in a ensure that targets were met. The David Buckley is the Chair of relatively isolated location, there are Rudgwick Parish Council Planning appellant disagreed and suggested no other large brownfield sites in that the housing numbers were a Committee, writing in a personal Waverley that could make such a capacity minimum which could be exceeded if large contribution to meeting the other conditions could be met, which assessed needs. The Skies of Sussex would make it a windfall site. The The NPPF states that development Malcolm Francis inspector agreed with Horsham’s should only be prevented or refused on One thing that is noticeable when interpretation and rejected the appeal. transport grounds where the residual staying in other parts of Britain is the The implications mean that any cumulative impacts of development are lack of background noise, from development proposed for Rudgwick severe.