Environment

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The Long Ditton Residents Association have formerly responded to Elmbridge Borough Council. 
(Our response can VIEWED HERE)


LDRA Statement

Our main concern is that the Council has prematurely treated Green Belt as an ‘option’ for meeting long term development when Government policy is clear that Green Belt release should only even be considered after all other options have been exhausted.

The Council has undertaken a comprehensive review of the Green Belt in Elmbridge to inform the options currently being considered.  Green Belt releases have been suggested as potential options for meeting the objectively assessed housing need (of 9,480 to 2035) as a result.

However, national policy (National Planning Policy Framework) makes it clear that this should only happen in ‘exceptional circumstances’ and after all other options have been explored through the local plan review process.  The Housing White Paper (Feb 2017) confirms that there will be no change to national policy but proposes amendments to the NPPF (to be introduced later this year) to make it clear that:

“authorities should amend Green Belt boundaries only when they can demonstrate that they have examined fully all other reasonable options for meeting their identified development requirements, including:

* making effective use of suitable brownfield sites and the opportunities offered by estate regeneration;

* the potential offered by land which is currently underused, including surplus public sector land where appropriate;

* optimising the proposed density of development; and

* exploring whether other authorities can help to meet some of the identified development requirement.”

This process should be applied before coming to the conclusion that there are exceptional circumstances for releasing Green Belt.  Options 2 and 3 of the Council’s consultation are therefore premature as other ‘reasonable’ options have not been fully explored. In order for the Council to even consider Green Belt, further ‘urban capacity’ work that goes beyond the Land Availability Assessment, is needed.

LDRA OFFICIAL

 

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YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO RESPOND – RESPONSE CLOSES 24th FEBRUARY!!

Our Greenbelt (including Stokes Field) is under threat, with the Government’s housing shortage.  There are new plans to build thousands of new homes on Long Ditton and Hinchley Wood Greenbelt.

These flyers will be posted through your door shortly (if you would like one to be emailed – please contact us here) – contact@longditton.org

SAVE OUR GREEN BELT
SAVE OUR GREEN BELT

 

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CHANGE OF DATE! CHANGE OF DATE!

IMPORTANT UPDATE FROM ELMBRIDGE BOROUGH COUNCIL!!

There will be a public exhibition on 19th January 2017 at Hinchley Wood school 7-9pm.
Also our Long Ditton councillors have arranged a public meeting on January 24th at 7.45pm at St Mary’s Junior school.
THIS HAS NOW CHANGED DUE TO LARGE NUMBERS ANTICIPATED IN ATTENDING AND WILL TAKE PLACE AT:

JANUARY 24th (AT 8.00PM)
The Council Chamber
Civic Centre
Esher High Street
KT10 9DS

Residents can find out more and have their say.  The councils Planning Policy Manager will give a talk on the proposals – Elmbridge Local Plan – Greenbelt Review

FOR SAFETY REASONS ENTRY WILL BE ON A FIRST COME BASIS  AND LIMITED TO BETWEEN 170 AND 200 PEOPLE , WITH THE FINAL NUMBER TO BE AGREED WITH THE COUNCIL’S HEALTH & SAFETY OFFICER. PRIORITY WILL BE GIVEN AS FAR AS POSSIBLE TO LONG DITTON RESIDENTS. THE PRESENTATION WILL BE WEBCAST ON www.elmbridge.public-i.tv/core/portal/home  AND WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING SUBSEQUENTLY.

PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON TO ANY OTHER LONG DITTON RESIDENTS WHO YOU KNOW.

 

 

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This meeting will take place  at 7.30pm at the Guildhall in Kingston.

For more information, contact local campaign group Friends of Seething Wells via their website www.friendsofseethingwells.org or the developer, Hydro Properties Ltd, at www.hydroproperties.co.uk.

If you want to comment on the scheme, you can write to Kingston Council.  Make sure you mark the letter “Filter Beds application” and quote the application number 11/16502. Their details are as follows:

Email: Development.management@rbk.kingston.gov.uk.

Postal address:
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Planning Services, 2nd Floor
Guildhall 2
High Street
Kingston
KT1 1EU

Tel. 020 8547 5000

0 2105

The new ‘heritage-style’ lights are up!
All but a few of the new lights have now been installed – and most of us agree that they look good. Thanks are due to all those who were involved in the campaign and kept up communications with the county and borough councils, especially Alf Manly, Christine Pember, Karen Powell, Charlotte Bramley and Mark Herbert. For information on the light replacement programme see www.surreycc.gov.uk.

Background
As you probably know, Surrey County Council is replacing all the lamp posts in the county. Residents of roads with converted swan-neck gas lamps opted for a design similar to their existing lamp posts rather than the upright light to be installed generally. Last summer the LDRA collected contributions from these residents to pay the extra £150 per column required to supply their roads with these ‘heritage-style’ lights.

Elmbridge Borough Council conservation officers asked SCC to look at the original swan neck proposal again as they did not feel it was appropriate and asked for a more heritage style to be installed instead. This process took four months and SCC advised us they would install the more expensive ‘Iffley’ design as shown here – for the same cost to residents. Shields were to be fitted as originally proposed.

We would like to thank residents for their patience during the delay which was unexpected and totally out of our control. However it does appear that we now have lights that are more in character with the surrounding architecture, for the same price.

LDRA POSTS