ePetition details

NO TO WEST HALL DEVELOPMENT

We the undersigned petition the council to We The People of Byfleet, West Byfleet and Pyrford demand that Woking Borough Council refuses the current planning application for West Hall development based upon the following demands: • Refuse the planning since the land planned for the development was taken unlawfully from our Green Belt, misleading the borough residents into a false sense of security regarding the use of this land. • Refuse the planning due to the fact that no plan to contribute to the protection, enhancement and management of local biodiversity and nature conservation, including priority habitats within and adjacent to the site, and adjacent Biodiversity Opportunity Area (BOA) has been presented to the residents: including detailed design that should take opportunities to achieve BOA objectives, and to improve connectivity of habitats within the site and to the surrounding Green Infrastructure network, including Wey Navigation wildlife corridor (Woking Borough Council Site Allocations DPD- Section GB9 and GB9A)

• Refuse the planning due to a Noise Impact Assessment which takes into account the proximity of the site the M25 and Parvis Road, and informs any mitigation measures necessary to protect residential amenity has not been presented to the public (Woking Borough Council Site Allocations DPD- Section GB9 and GB9A)
• Refuse the planning due to the fact that no wastewater drainage strategy produced by Thames Water, considering potential wastewater capacity constraints in the area; impact of the site’s development on the wastewater network and necessary upgrades to the existing drainage infrastructure has not been presented to local residents (Woking Borough Council Site Allocations DPD- Section GB9 and GB9A)
• Refuse the planning since no Flood Risk Assessment, produced by the Environment Agency, in accordance with Policy CS9: Flooding and water management as the site is adjacent to Flood Zones 2 and 3 as well as most up-to-date climate projections have been presented to the public within the Borough residents (Woking Borough Council Site Allocations DPD- Section GB9 and GB9A)
• Refuse the planning since no up-to-date assessment from the Department of Education for the education needs arising from the development has been presented to the residents nor have we been presented with any plan for essential education infrastructure necessary to mitigate identified impacts caused by the development residents (Woking Borough Council Site Allocations DPD- Section GB9 and GB9A)
• Refuse the planning because no NHS impact assessment on the overcapacity of our local Health Centres has been presented to the public nor an assessment on the wellbeing of local residents brought on by the added bearing of this development. (Act J - Local authorities’ public health responsibilities (England), House of Commons Library)
• Refuse the planning since no Fire Risk Assessment has been requested by the Local Authority to the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority to ascertain the viability of emergency vehicles being able to enter and exit the site since only one access way has been projected.
• Refuse the planning because no credible Traffic Increase Assessment by National Highways has been presented to the people of Byfleet, West Byfleet and Pyrford and surrounding areas determining how over 1000+ vehicles will impact our local over-capacitated roads, further impeding the much congested flow residents (Woking Borough Council Site Allocations DPD- Section GB9 and GB9A)

These demands from We The People of Byfleet, West Byfleet and Pyrford apply not only to the projected West Hall Development, but also to all future similar projected developments within our area of residence.
Furthermore, the West Hall Development land HAS to be returned to our Green Belt.
https://moderngov.woking.gov.uk/documents/s19812/EXE21-147%20Appendix%204%20-%20Site_Allocations_DPD_Modified_Version_October2021.pdf
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06844/SN06844.pdf
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-local-government-statutory-duties-summary-of-responses--2

This ePetition ran from 25/04/2024 to 25/07/2024 and has now finished.

2 people signed this ePetition.

Council response

“The site known as West Hall was removed from the Green Belt for residential development following the adoption of the Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) in October 2021. Prior to the adoption of the Site Allocations DPD, there was extensive public consultation and engagement in accordance with the statutory requirements for the plan-making process. This process also included the examination of the proposals (i.e., the proposed site allocations) by an independent Planning Inspector. It is entirely lawful for local planning authorities to amend their Green Belt boundaries through the development plan process, which is how this amendment was made.

The site is identified in Policy GB9 and GB9A of the Site Allocations DPD as an allocation to deliver some of Woking’s housing needs (around 555 dwellings is the plan’s indicative yield along with 15 Traveller pitches). This means the principle of development of this site was agreed following the adoption of the Site Allocations DPD. The Site Allocations DPD forms part of Woking’s Development Plan meaning that for the purposes of assessing planning applications, the document has primacy and must carry full weight in planning application decision making unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The Site Allocations DPD 2021 document can be viewed here - https://www.woking2027.info/allocations

A planning application has been submitted for residential development on this site, including traveller pitches and full details of the application can be viewed on the Council’s Public Access website using the reference number PLAN/2024/0475. An Environmental Statement has been submitted with the planning application which provides technical information relating to the proposed development including ecological, noise and highway information. Not only will the submitted planning application be assessed against the criteria in Policy GB9 and GB9A, but it will also be assessed against all relevant policies in the Woking Core Strategy 2012, the Development Management Policies DPD 2016, national and local planning guidance and any other relevant material planning considerations. The proposals will also need to demonstrate how they are going to deliver a 10% Biodiversity Net Gain, a requirement set out by the Environment Act 2021”.