Woldingham Parish Council – News September 2021
Greenbelt Threats
Planning matters continue to consume a great deal of time on the Council and there have been more applications than ever that threaten the Greenbelt. Most recently, the Woldingham Parish Council (WPC) addressed the application of Woodrising. Woodrising is a large Arts and Crafts house on The Ridge. While it has long been in need of work, the recent application was to turn it into a block of 12 modern flats. Unfortunately, this building, in the Greenbelt in an area designated as an Area of Great Landscape Value (AGLV) and directly abutting the Surreys Hills Area of Natural Beauty (AONB), would be highly visible from the AONB. The size of the building proposed was materially larger than the existing building and therefore harmed the greenbelt and the AONB landscape and the design would be out of keeping with the rural character of the road and the AONB views. Tandridge District Council’s inspector recommended this development progress, so we asked our District Councillor, Carole North (also Vice Chairman of the WPC) to call this into Planning Committee for a further discussion. The WPC and District Councillor North worked closely with the Woldingham Association and prepared to speak against the application at the meeting. We are pleased to say that this application was defeated in Committee.
We also continue to await news of the hoped-for defeat of the North Downs Golf Club application to destroy the Arts and Crafts Clubhouse and replace it with houses. If TDC are minded to approve, we will again ask it to be called into Committee for a vote. There are a number of other threats we are addressing, at the time of writing, including the threat of a multi-house development in Greenbelt on Church Road. We note that Tandridge District Council are very backlogged and decisions are taking longer than usual.
Chairman Deborah Sherry
Teenagers in the village
On 2nd September we held our first teenage discussion group in the Glebe Pavilion. The aim was to understand what facilities and social activities the young people in Woldingham would like to have access to.
It was a great discussion and lots of very good ideas came out of it. A big thank you to the young people who attended.
We are keen to hear from more teenagers in Woldingham who were unable to come along, or indeed, didn’t know this was happening. If they would like to contribute their ideas, please ask them to complete the survey below, then photograph or scan their responses and send it to carolewoldinghampc@outlook.com:
The survey will also be on the Parish Council Facebook page and website, or can be emailed to you on request.
Teenage survey:
The Woldingham Parish Council is keen to understand what facilities and social activities the young people in Woldingham would like to have access to and whether they would be interested in having a Youth Group.
Please go to the Teenagers Survey
Vice Chairman and District Councillor Carole North