Issue - meetings

Waverley is supporting Surrey County Council (SCC) to develop a 7km long Guildford to Godalming Greenway, the spinal route of a wider Greenway network extending to Milford. Following a positive public consultation, SCC has secured full detailed design funding. 

To reach the town centre of Godalming, the Greenway will have to cross the Lammas Lands. As landowner and manager of the Lammas Lands, Waverley needs to provide SCC with a preferred route that will then be put forward for detailed design, planning application, flood modelling (Environment Agency approval) and common land consent.

The purpose of this report is to:

a.     present the Executive with the consequences and risks for each of four potential options, and

b.     seek in principle approval for one of the four options for SCC to take thought the next stage of design.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Executive:

a.     Authorises SCC to proceed with detailed design and application for consents to cross the Lammas Lands using Option 3, hybrid route alignment, subject to in principle landowner permission from National Trust.

b.     Makes route approval on the basis that SCC would have the primary responsibility for route maintenance.

The Executive RESOLVED to:

a.         Authorise SCC to proceed with detailed design and application for consents to cross the Lammas Lands using Option 3, hybrid route alignment, subject to in principle landowner permission from National Trust.

b.         Make route approval on the basis that SCC would have the primary responsibility for route maintenance.

Reason: Authorisation will enable SCC Highways to proceed with detailed design, planning and other consents. The hybrid route (Option 3) minimises disturbance to the Lammas lands whilst still supporting active travel between the centres of Farncombe and Godalming.

[Overview & Scrutiny – Services]

The Portfolio Holder for Environment and Sustainability, Cllr Steve Williams, introduced the report which set out a number of options for enabling the Guildford to Godalming Greenway to cross the Lammas Lands and connect with the route through Godalming town centre. As landowner and manager of the Lammas Lands, Waverley Borough Council needed to provide Surrey County Council with a preferred route which could be put forward for detailed design, planning permission, flood modelling and common land consent.

The recommended option, Option 3 in the report, minimised the length of the Greenway crossing the Lammas Lands whilst providing a safe route from Farncombe into Godalming avoiding Bridge Road, and addressed a number of weaknesses of the other two options.

Cllr Jerry Hyman had registered to speak on this item. He queried whether this was a realistic option given potential flooding and common land issues. He also asked whether the planning application would be submitted by Surrey County Council or Waverley, and whether the Executive decision would in any way fetter the discretion of Waverley as Local Planning Authority to determine a planning application.

The Leader agreed that there were issues to be explored and resolved, but this would be done as part of the next stage of the work to be carried out by Surrey County Council once they had been given Waverley’s preferred route. The decision by the Executive would not fetter the decision of a future planning committee which would consider any planning applications on their planning merits. Local stakeholders including Godalming Town Council, the Environment Agency and National Trust had already been involved in discussions and there would be further consultation including with residents.

Cllr Williams noted that Waverley officers had put a huge amount  of work into developing an option that attempted to address some of the identified issues with the other two options, and the Council had benefited from being the only one of the Surrey District and Borough Councils to have an in-house sustainable transport projects officer on its staff. An Executive decision to support Option 3 would enable Surrey County Council to proceed with the next stage of the project and working to address any legal and regulatory issues.

The Executive RESOLVED to:

a.         Authorise SCC to proceed with detailed design and application for consents to cross the Lammas Lands using Option 3, hybrid route alignment, subject to in principle landowner permission from National Trust.

b.        Make route approval on the basis that SCC would have the primary responsibility for route maintenance.

Reason: Authorisation will enable SCC Highways to proceed with detailed design, planning and other consents. The hybrid route (Option 3) minimises disturbance to the Lammas lands whilst still supporting active travel between the centres of Farncombe and Godalming.