PLANS by English Rural Housing Association to build 17 houses, including 12 affordable homes, at Orchard Farm in Hambledon, have triggered 105 objections.

Hambledon Parish Council supports building affordable homes in the village, but has backed local objectors and recommended the plan is refused.

ERHA bought the nine-acre site in the green belt and Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 2014 after being informed by Waverley Borough Council that a large residential development to include low-cost housing, might be considered under “rural exception” policies.

After acquiring the site in Wormley Lane, ERHA held public consultations on its plans in Hambledon in January, and again in March, and also consulted Hambledon Parish Council.

Providing more affordable homes for villagers came out as the top priority in the 2003 parish plan and, in 2010, a housing needs survey found 72 percent in favour of affordable housing with seven local families identified as being in housing need. Waverley currently has 1,499 households on its housing needs register and estimates it needs to build 499 affordable homes every year but has a shortfall of 314.

ERHA’s design and access statement supporting the scheme claimed: “Overall, this planning application provides an important opportunity to provide an appropriately designed housing scheme within a highly sustainable location to meet Waverley Borough Council’s housing requirements and contributes towards the locally generated housing need. The landscaping approach acts as an integral part of the scheme design, creating a sylvan development set within a mature setting.”

Recommending refusal in a six-page response, the parish council said it was unable to support the plan due to the size of the development in a protected area, with concerns it would not prioritise people with strong Hambledon connections, and worries about drainage and traffic, as well as the management and responsibility for the accompanying open space due to be gifted to the council.

The parish queried if there was “genuine local need” for 12 affordable homes, stating: “A pre-requisite for eligibility for affordable housing is enrolment on the local council housing register. The parish council understands four households from Hambledon are on the Waverley register.”

Surrey County Council has also recommended Waverley refuses the application, expressing concerns over drainage issues. Also objecting are The Surrey Hills Board and the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

CPRE chairman Anthony Isaac said: “Policy relating to provision of affordable housing in rural areas only applies if the development is for affordable housing only and the inclusion of market housing is objectionable for policy reasons. CPRE would not object if the development was limited to affordable housing and the site is otherwise suitable.”