STRONG objections to Waverley Borough Council’s site allocation for 180 new homes on land opposite Milford golf course have been backed by Witley Parish Council.

Hundreds of protest leaflets were circulated by campaigners to homes and businesses in Milford and Witley last week in the run up to the deadline for responses last Friday to a plan for 200 houses by Crewe-based developer Stretton Milford.

Campaigners claimed the company ‘have already sold the site on to one of the major house builders for £25m’, objecting that Milford club owner Crown Golf promoted the 27 acres of surplus land for development without disclosing that a legal covenant prevent the proposed development.

A High Court challenge against Waverley’s site allocation on land subject to a legal covenant was launched by Milford residents Timothy and Isobel House earlier this year but dismissed.

The protest leaflet highlights objections by Witley Parish Council and Witley Neighbourhood Plan to the development of land at the golf course, noting that the majority of residents responding to a 2017 neighbourhood plan survey didn’t support the allocation and preferred a scheme promoted by Secretts in the centre of Milford.

Witley Parish Council has objected that the site is “unsustainable” due to traffic and flooding concerns and urges Waverley “to test this application rigorously to satisfy themselves” it is not overdevelopment.

The parish council responded that there was already traffic congestion on Station Lane - ‘a narrow road with inadequate pavements that floods regularly’ - and the ‘lead flood authority have recommended the application be refused because there is inadequate consideration of flood-risk and run-off’.

It objected that the proposed improvements to the Station Lane junction with Church Road, a notorious bottleneck, was minimal, but it would also serve as a main conduit to the A3 when more than 2,000 homes are built at Dunsfold Aerodrome.

The parish council stated: “The bridge over River Ock is very narrow, not wide enough for two cars to pass without mounting the pavement; and elsewhere Station Lane is too narrow for two lorries to pass. It is unclear what is proposed to alleviate this.

“We are also concerned that if long queues form in Station Lane more drivers will use Rake Lane as a rat-run. Rake Lane is a narrow lane with no pavements. It is used by children walking from Milford Station to Rodborough School. Any increase in traffic will make it unacceptably dangerous.

“The River Ock floods regularly, as residents of Ockfields and Busdens will confirm. A number of trees are identified for removal, which will again increase the risk of flooding.We note that Thames Water have not responded to the developer’s request for comment and would suggest that they be asked to so before the application is progressed.

“We are pleased to see that there are 60 affordable homes included in the application and that these are pepper-potted throughout the site. We will seek to ensure that this promised number of affordable homes are actually delivered.

“The design of the SANG which is proposed to mitigate the impact of the development on the Wealden Heaths SPA is unusual. We are surprised that it has been approved by Natural England and would welcome evidence that it has actually been approved. There is nothing in the application to support this.”

Urging the application be accepted, Stretton Milford’s design and access statement concludes it has demonstrated that the proposals are acceptable and designed to meet the characteristics and principles of the national and local plan of Waverley Borough Council.

Stretton Milford stated: “The scheme will deliver a high-quality development providing good standards of amenity for existing and future residents. The appearance, layout and scale of the development are entirely appropriate within the existing landscape framework.

“It is envisaged tat the new development will enhance the surrounding area in aesthetic, landscape and ecological terms."