Plans for 68 new homes along Surrey railway line approved

Members of Guildford Borough Council’s planning committee approved developer Persimmon Homes’ plans for the four hectare site at Foreman Road in Ash on April 23.

The new project is mapped for just south of Ash Road Bridge, where the area is currently used as a construction site.

Developers Persimmon Homes said 40 per cent of the houses will be affordable on the site.

The majority of the new dwellings will be one, two and three-bedroom, with just six four-bedroom houses.

According to the planning document, 142 car parking spaces will be provided too.

As well as the new homes, the plans also feature a small play area at the top of the development site.

Around 0.7 hectares of public open space will also be carved out for the new residents by Foreman Road.

The scheme was initially presented to the planning committee last month.

But councillors were worried about putting a play area near a railway line and road, so opted to defer the decision until after another site visit.

Previously, councillors were up in arms developers and the council would agree to put a playground for young children next to a railway line with trains “hurtling down the track at 120 miles an hour”.

Ward councillor Sue Wyeth-Price said the playground would be very unsafe as it was next to an open public area served by both buses and trains.

Cllr Yves de Contades asked: “Could they not put it somewhere else?”

Reconvening, Cllr Joanna Shaw said she was “totally satisfied” with what she saw on the development site trip and her “mind has been put at rest”.

She said: “There are plenty of homes with gardens back on to railway lines.”

Officers stressed the play area is designed to be less of a ‘location’ play ground but more of a ‘play on the way’ area for small children nearby.

No concerns have been raised by Network Rail, Environmental Health or any of the legal consultees, documents state.

Councillors discussed conditions on putting hedgerows up and extending fencing around the play area to make a gap between the railway and the rest of the area.

Officers added that guidelines exist on what woodland species should be used in development and what is best for managing pollution.

Cllr Joss Bigmore highlighted the development could harm the historical setting of Ash Manor, a Grade II-listed building.

But officers claimed the public benefits of the new homes would outweigh the harm.

From April 1, Guildford council no longer has clear evidence it will have the number of homes it needs in the next five years.

Planning decisions will now be tilted towards approval unless there are impacts which significantly outweigh the benefits.

Some residents raised concerns there could be overflowing on the site which could overflow onto the surrounding areas.

But planning officers said there is no or low risk to flooding on the development site.

Instead they argued residents may have been thinking of the land on the other side of the railway line which is designed to flood in heavy rain as a kind of water management strategy.