Policy P3: Countryside
Within the area of countryside, as shown on the Policies Map, development will only be permitted provided it:
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Response: Object
This seems more protective – as a policy – than the proposals for the AONB and the Green Belt which is anomalous. Note - we are not in favour of building on this area. We think that the brownfield areas within the urban area are sufficient to meet all reasonable housing targets. There should be no need to build on any green fields if brownfield (previously developed) land is used efficiently. (That does not mean garden-grabbing!). However, we do not think this area justifies stronger policy protection than any other part of the borough. This policy refers to the area of countryside near Ash and Tongham (see paragraph 4.3.28). The fact that the current and previous Council Leaders represent this area should not give It preferential status: “we will seek to limit any development in the countryside unless it can be demonstrated that it is necessary in that location”. Green Belt and AONB areas should – by definition - have higher levels of protection than non-Green Belt areas, which is not the case with this policy.
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‘Limited Infilling’ in Normandy and Flexford
‘Limited Infilling’ is increasingly used by planning officers as a justification when approving applications in Normandy/Flexford, even where the site is outside the settlement area identified in the Local Plan and is therefore in the Green Belt. (It is worth recalling in this context that the Local Plan removed Normandy and Flexford, along with several other settlements, from the Green Belt, making then ‘inset’, rather than ‘washed over’; this meant that development within the settlement area would not need to accord with Green Belt policy.) We therefore thought it would be helpful to take a closer look at this concept of ‘limited infilling’ in the Green Belt.
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Report from 2023 NAG AGM
Our AGM took place on 31st October; the draft Minutes are attached. We discussed the unsatisfactory situation regarding the enforcement of local planning regulations, assisted by Councillor George Potter, the Lead Councillor for Planning at Guildford Borough Council (GBC).
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