On 17th July Guildford Borough Council’s Executive Committee will vote on a recommendation to confirm the Wanborough Fields Article 4 Direction. The meeting, at 7pm in the council chamber, Millmead, is open to the public as observers.

All the signs are that the executive will confirm, in which case the Article 4 will remain in force indefinitely. If they don’t confirm, it will be terminated.

Residents at The Paddocks were shocked to receive notification from Guildford Borough Council in early July 2017 of a planning application 17/P/01451 for outline permission for 25 homes on land at Little Flexford. The close date for residents' comments is 11 August 2017.

The owners of land at 140 Glaziers Lane have initiated an appeal against the refusal of the application for outline permission for the erection of 30 new houses. Residents that previously commented received a letter from Guildford Borough Council [GBC] dated 11 July 2017 informing them of the appeal. The close date for residents' comments is 8 August 2017. The PINS appeal reference is APP/Y3615/W/17/3173871, GBC reference 16/P/00649. The appeal will be determined on the basis of written representations.

Due to the hard work of Worplesdon councillors and all 345 residents across Wood Street, Normandy and Flexford who wrote to object, the planning application to turn 34 hectares of agricultural land at Russell Place Farm, Frog Grove Lane, Wood Street into Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace [SANG] was refused in the vote during the GBC Planning Committee meeting on 20 July 2016. It is likely the applicant will appeal.

While residents were focussing on their replies to the Guildford Local Plan, the architect retained by the owner of land opposite The Paddocks on the east side of Glaziers Lane and to the north of the North Downs railway line was submitting a planning application [16/P/01452]. The application is proposing 42 dwellings on land that currently falls outside the settlement boundary of Flexford and is "washed over" by the Green Belt.

Normandy and Flexford residents joined the last minute rush to submit their comments before the consultation period ended at 11.59 pm., Monday 18 July 2016. Normandy Action Group submitted its  22 page critique along with an 8 page addendum that challenged the Habitats Regulations Assessment that covers the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area [TBHSPA].

Location: Land to the north of Grassypiece Copse, Aldershot Road, Normandy, Guildford, GU3 2BE

Ref: APP/Y3615/X/15/3032668

Appeal Open Date: 21 July 2015

The owner of the land to the north of Grassypiece Copse recently submitited an appeal against the refusal by Guildford Borough Council [GBC] to grant a certificate of lawful use.  

The appeal for the development of North Wyke Farm was refused by the Planning Inspectorate in the report published 14 July 2015. Some of the inspector's observations characterised the rural nature of the Normandy settlement and placed the decision in the context of evidence from documents in the last version of the draft Local Plan. In particular, the lack of Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace [SANG] within a 5 kilometre radius was a contributing factor in the inspector's decision.

Having failed to convince Guildford Borough Council planning officers of the benefits of a 29-room residential care facility on the former Duke of Normandy public house site, the same applicant has submitted a proposal for four semi-detached residencies