Mole Valley District Council’s Draft Local Plan has allowed for an increase in the number of new houses built each year in the District to meet the housebuilding targets set by the Government. At the Draft Plan’s inception, this meant more than doubling the original annual target of 188 dwellings to 453 dwellings.
The District Council, having carried out an extensive seven-week consultation at the beginning of the year based around the 453 dwellings figure, has now been notified that the Government has proposed revising the method of calculating housing need. If agreed, the requirements imposed on Mole Valley District Council would see the housing need increase from 453 dwellings to 563 dwellings per year. The total number of dwellings the new Local Plan would have to accommodate would increase by 1,870, to a revised total of 9,571, over the plan period 2020-2037.
In making this change, the government is essentially putting the District Council under more pressure to consider Green Belt development and increase the housing densities in our towns – two areas where residents have expressed dissatisfaction with the current draft Plan.
We have written to the Secretary of State expressing our unhappiness at the approach to housing requirements as we cannot see it as tenable to simply agree to higher and higher housing requirements in a beautiful district that has huge Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and important Green Belt.
Hazel Watson
Building A Caring, Connected, Climate-Friendly Surrey
Dear Mrs Watson
Essential travel, looking after people, so please could you explain why the National Trust area of Boxhill was literally packed with day trippers and cyclists on Saturday?
There was very little Social Distancing and a trip to the doctors took us well over 45mins to get from our home to the New House Surgery. We also passed Ryka’s and there was obviously no concerns of Covid-19. Personally think that the National Trust should cordon off the car parks again, because the public obviously are not listening.
Ian
Many thanks for your comment.
The National Trust is being overrun with visitors and they are doing what they can but, with donations for them drying up this year. they have had to put a large number of staff on furlough and they are unable to manage the situation. As to why so many decided to visit Box Hill and why they decided that social distancing was not necessary, I am afraid that only those who visited the area can answer that question.
The car park question is a difficult one. This was done in the summer and it simply resulted in many cars parking all along Box Hill Road and in London Road in Mickleham. In trying closure, it showed that it did not solve the problem but just created an additional problem nearby. As such, I believe most residents prefer the car parks to be left open.
Overall, this shows we need a better strategy from the Government to address the issues like this that are being created all around the country – a strategy which means properly thought through rules which individuals will follow so that issues like this do not arise.