CALLS for 8,000 houses to be built at Dunsfold Park rather than the 2,600 allocated in Waverley’s draft local plan have deepened the borough’s East/ West divide.

Last week was the deadline for responses to the draft document based on the need to build more than 9,000 houses in the next 16 years.

Godalming Town Council’s stand that a “housing target of 7,000-8,000 homes in Dunsfold should be adopted”, swiftly became a flashpoint.

Chiddingfold Parish Council chairman Richard Hogsflesh told The Herald: “My initial reaction to Godalming Town Council’s suggestion a strategic housing target of 7,000 to 8,000 houses should be set for Dunsfold Park is what on earth do they put in the water at their council meetings?

“On further reflection though I can see it is an understandable attempt, similar to that of the Farnham Society, to get the housing targets for Waverley put as far away from them as possible. – something that I suspect is supported by many borough councillors representing wards that are not located near Dunsfold, especially those in and around Farnham and Haslemere.

“But what people should be doing is challenging the housing target Waverley Borough Council have put in their draft local plan. It is based on out-of-date statistics. The numbers should be closer to 372 a year rather than 519 according to independent expert consultant Neil McDonald. That’s nearly 3,000 less houses, which would reduce the pressure on all of us considerably and doesn’t even take into account what the further downward impact might be on the numbers once a ‘hard Brexit’ is taken into account.

“The plan needs to adapt to meet current conditions.”

Godalming Town Council said 2,600 homes was the “worst possible scenario” and it would be more sustainable to build a much larger and more self-sufficient settlement – big enough for its own secondary school.

The council said adopting a strategic housing target of 7,000 to 8,000 homes on the airfield site would remove the need to allocate any green belt sites in the twon and neighbouring parishes of Busbridge, Hambledon, Hascombe, Peperharow and Witley.

Opposing the plan, Hascombe Parish Council chairman Charles Orange told The Herald: “On the one hand Godalming Town Council express concerns about the lack of infrastructure surrounding Dunsfold Park, and then on the other, they talk about building 7,000 to 8,000 homes.

“They even suggest it may alleviate the traffic in Godalming and Cranleigh, which is absolute rubbish. If you’ve got 1,800 houses at Dunsfold Park, assuming there are two cars on average per house, that means 3,600 extra cars in the area. Well, if you’re talking about 7,000 or 8,000 you’ve got 14,000 or 16,000 new cars.”

The Farnham Society has already called for Dunsfold Park’s housing “cap” to be lifted and a settlement of “more than 5,000” built.

Its chairman David Howell said: “We have always believed Dunsfold should become a significant development as it is the only major brownfield site remaining in Waverley.

“To develop to the maximum capacity would require a heavy commitment to dramatically improve the local infrastructure and without that commitment from local and central Government it is difficult to imagine how these proposals could occur.

“However, with the new Prime Minister’s recent commitment to a massive acceleration in housebuilding, this could happen should the appropriate political blessing be given. It would certainly take pressure off the despoiling of open fields in Waverley.”

The deadline for responses to the outline application for 1,800 houses is tomorrow (Friday) – more than 2,000 objections and some 330 responses in support have been lodged so far.

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

Campaign group Protect Our Waverley warned: “If the Local Plan is adopted then it increases the likelihood the planning application will be approved. So it is vital we stop both, or it will overload our overstretched road network, put unsustainable pressure on doctors’ surgeries and local schools and wave goodbye to swathes of countryside”.