To answer the following questions from members of the public, received in accordance with Procedure Rule 10:-
i. from Celia Sandars of Farnham
“Please would either the Leader of the Council or the appropriate Portfolio Holder tell me how much Waverley Council has spent in total on the East Street/Brightwells Scheme to date and, in broad terms, for what purposes or actions this spending has been applied?”
ii. from Stewart Edge of Farnham
“At its meeting on Dec 1st the Executive agreed a report on the Spatial Strategy for the Future Waverley Local Plan. They said that it was not necessary for this to come to Full Council because it was only a ‘direction of travel’. However taking together
· the contents of the report (which identifies that at least 2900 homes will be in greenfield locations across the borough) and
· the answer to my question to the Executive meeting the Portfolio Holder for Planning said that there is no intention to assess whether Dunsfold Aerodrome could take 4800 homes to accommodate the additional 1400 identified as needed since the Consultation
the minimum number of homes on greenfield houses is now clearly planned to be greater than 1650 – the number specified in Option 4 of the Consultation which was supported by 80% of respondees.
This increase of 1250 houses on greenfield sites in Waverley seems to have been agreed as the basis for the new spatial strategy without any reference to Full Council. Could the Leader of the Council agree that the Portfolio Holder for planning is wrong to rule out any assessment of the capacity of Dunsfold Aerodrome to take 4800 houses?”
iii. from Jerry Hyman of Farnham
“I note that the Council papers say that we cannot possibly afford to spend another £40K to reduce our car park charging time to 6pm, so for the sake of perspective, my question tonight refers to the July Council meeting’s decision to gift Crest and Sainsbury’s a £2 million public subsidy.
We could assume that if Waverley gifts CNS enough of our money, then their funding and minimum land value challenges can be overcome, so my question is a request that the Portfolio Holder provides a Christmas Status Report and Update on the East Street and Memorial Hall redevelopment. As it’s quite a wide subject I’m specifically asking for timescales and a progress update in view of procedures that are necessary prior to the Borelli Walk and bypass tree felling, construction access and main scheme commence. We’ve heard nothing for a long time and your status report is eagerly awaited, so if you could provide some detail of what we can expect to happen and when, that would be much appreciated.”
[NB. Questions from members of the public express personal views of the questioners and Waverley does not endorse any statements in any way and they do not reflect the views of Waverley Borough Council].
Minutes:
The following questions were received from members of the public in accordance with Procedure Rule 10:
i. from Celia Sandars of Farnham
“Please would either the Leader of the Council or the appropriate Portfolio Holder tell me how much Waverley Council has spent in total on the East Street/Brightwells Scheme to date and, in broad terms, for what purposes or actions this spending has been applied?”
The Portfolio Holder for Brightwells responded as follows:-
“Thank you for your question. I am very happy to share these figures. They have of course all been included in Waverley’s published accounts but we have pulled them together to give the total sums that you requested:
In total, Waverley has spent £5.3m on the Brightwells scheme to date. This figure breaks down as follows:
-Riverside Tennis Club and new car park - £1.9m
-Land acquisitions - £2.5m
-Demolition and other site works £0.4m
-Legal and consultancy costs £0.5m
In addition, the Council chose to capitalise salaries for project staff totalling £0.5m.”
ii. from Stewart Edge of Farnham
“At its meeting on Dec 1st the Executive agreed a report on the Spatial Strategy for the Future Waverley Local Plan. They said that it was not necessary for this to come to Full Council because it was only a ‘direction of travel’. However taking together
· the contents of the report (which identifies that at least 2900 homes will be in greenfield locations across the borough) and
· the answer to my question to the Executive meeting the Portfolio Holder for Planning said that there is no intention to assess whether Dunsfold Aerodrome could take 4800 homes to accommodate the additional 1400 identified as needed since the Consultation
the minimum number of homes on greenfield houses is now clearly planned to be greater than 1650 – the number specified in Option 4 of the Consultation which was supported by 80% of respondees.
This increase of 1250 houses on greenfield sites in Waverley seems to have been agreed as the basis for the new spatial strategy without any reference to Full Council. Could the Leader of the Council agree that the Portfolio Holder for planning is wrong to rule out any assessment of the capacity of Dunsfold Aerodrome to take 4800 houses?”
The Leader of the Council replied:-
“I can confirm that I agree with the position stated by Councillor Brian Adams that 4,800 dwellings at Dunsfold Aerodrome was not considered as an option in the consultation in 2014 on the Local Plan and that there is no reason to consider that as an option now.”
iii. from Jerry Hyman of Farnham
“I note that the Council papers say that we cannot possibly afford to spend another £40K to reduce our car park charging time to 6pm, so for the sake of perspective, my question tonight refers to the July Council meeting’s decision to gift Crest and Sainsbury’s a £2 million public subsidy.
We could assume that if Waverley gifts CNS enough of our money, then their funding and minimum land value challenges can be overcome, so my question is a request that the Portfolio Holder provides a Christmas Status Report and Update on the East Street and Memorial Hall redevelopment. As it’s quite a wide subject I’m specifically asking for timescales and a progress update in view of procedures that are necessary prior to the Borelli Walk and bypass tree felling, construction access and main scheme commence. We’ve heard nothing for a long time and your status report is eagerly awaited, so if you could provide some detail of what we can expect to happen and when, that would be much appreciated.”
The Portfolio Holder for Brightwells replied:
“In answer to your question, the Memorial Hall refurbishment continues to programme with the expectation that the works will be tendered in Spring 2016. The first phase of development involves moving Farnham Town FC’s changing rooms and this is expected to start in early 2016. With regard to Brightwells, I can report that Crest Nicholson are currently working on the funding agreement and a report to Council is expected in early 2016.”