ELEVEN parish councils have joined forces to request Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to call-in the application for 1,800 new homes at Dunsfold Park, sparking a public inquiry.

If the minister agrees to the request, he could tell Waverley Borough Council that even if it approves the plan, development cannot be permitted without his consent.

Eight of the parishes are in Waverley including Chiddingfold, Hambledon and Dunsfold, plus Shalford, near Guildford, and Loxwood and Plaistow-with-Ifold in Chichester District Council’s boundaries.

Calling on Mr Clark to intervene, the councils warn: “While the application is for 1,800 dwellings, the application makes clear it is specifically designed to ensure the expansion of Dunsfold Park for up to 3,400 dwellings over the period of Waverley’s impending new Local Plan. It should not be left to WBC to decide this planning application without an overriding Government framework, similar to that which applied to eco-towns. The promotion of new settlements of the right size in the right locations will be damaged if an inappropriate settlement is allowed.

“This is of national importance.”

The parish councils believe the proposal breaches policies of the current Local Plan and flies in the face of previous decisions that the airfield is an isolated and unsustainable site, and has significant effects beyond Waverley, in Guildford and West Sussex.

It would also require large amounts to be spent on infrastructure and other services as well as restricting how the council would meet its housing needs in other areas and the number of new homes it will build.