The Police and members of our committee for combating Anti-Social Behaviour are asking you to report any nuisance or crime no matter how small.  Reports help to build up a picture of a problem before it escalates.  Please tell your neighbours.  Please email PCSO Sheila Willis or call her on 07967 986569.  Alternatively phone the Surrey Police crime desk on 0845 125 2222 or Crime stoppers on 0800 555 111. 

Our Traffic committee also ask you to report details of any road and pavement damage such as potholes to your local councillors or to your ‘Safer Guildford Partnership’ Community Warden Andy Coumbe.   Many are dangerous and need fixing quickly.   The more people who report problems the quicker they will get fixed.  Do not rely on others reporting a problem. 

 

The Surrey County Council web-site has a page for reporting problems of any type, a page for potholes and a page for pavements.  You can also phone SCC on 08456 009 009.

Planning Reference 07/P/ 00621 Stoughton Grange School

 

This application is for “Two, two storey buildings containing eight care apartments each and a part two / part three storey building containing eight care apartments and a fifty bed care home with associated parking and landscaping following demolition of existing school buildings.”

 

This application has been submitted (plans are not yet on the GBC web-site) following a consultation process whereby residents and your association were briefed in March. Representations were made by residents and your association on the suitability of some aspects of the plan.  They are woefully short of parking spaces in the original plans (19 spaces for 44 staff and 76 residents) and SCA will be objecting if the plans are unaltered.

 

In spite of promises that all queries would be answered and taken into account, SCA only received a communication from the developers after the plans were submitted, and nothing more than a promise to get back to us.

 

This is advance warning.  SCA will be sending out details in a future newsletter when the plans appear on the GBC web-site

Planning Reference 07/P/ 00493 Headway Development

 

This application is for “Erection of a two storey building incorporating day centre and four flats, a two storey terrace of 6 houses and associated car parking and landscaping following demolition of existing day centre.”

 

The association applauds some of the features of this design, for instance:

• The new building will undoubtedly make the site more attractive

• There is provision of a space for traffic to turn round

• The Headway charity (treatment of head injuries) is a worthy use of land

• The residential properties will be for affordable houses

 

On the last point, however, yet again it is Stoughton – the most densely populated ward in Guildford – that takes the extra burden of housing.

 

On balance, however, we feel negative aspects outweigh the positives.

 

The properties behind 31 to 37 Grange Road are too close to the Grange Road flats and will interfere with privacy. Additionally the amenities enjoyed by the occupants of these flats have been taken away (their gardens have been snatched by the council to give to the houses on the new development). This contravenes policy G1(3).  I am not sure the planners would like to argue that the lost garden amenity has been satisfactorily compensated – by a tumble drier!

 

The application is at the end of a very narrow road with a dangerous exit onto Stoughton Road.  This contravenes Policy G1(2) . Luckily the developers have presented a much better picture of North Road:

 

 

 

The plans offer 15 parking spaces for 10 dwellings, their visitors, the clinic workers and their patients. Additional cars will either obstruct the turning head or overflow onto North Road. This does not satisfy the need to deter on-road parking as per the council’s new parking standards SPD passed in September 2006. This also contravenes Policy H7.

 

SCA says any monies from the developer via s106 agreements should be spent on improving the appalling state of traffic in Stoughton.

 

Deadline for submitting objections is 16^th April.  Please help us by objecting NOW and quoting the reference 07 /P/ 00493.  GBC web-site

Reference 07/P/ 00510 Application for a Phone Mast at the junction of Railton Road and Grange Road

 

There are currently four phone masts at the end of Railton Road. This is a planning application for a fifth, together with the usual cabinet. Stoughton Community Association says enough is enough.

 

1)   A similar application in Clay Lane was turned down because “There are already two telecommunication masts along this stretch of Clay Lane (between the two roundabouts) and a further structure along this stretch would give rise to a cluttered appearance which would have a detrimental impact on the visual appearance of the area which is contrary to Policy G1, G5 and G10 of the Guildford Borough Local Plan 2003”.  It is interesting to note the Clay Lane masts are 200 metres apart. There are four within a 50 metre radius around the end of Railton Road – the fifth would be within the same radius. We would rather the council tidied this area up and made it look presentable.

 

2)   Stoughton Community Association would like this area to be used as a drop-off point for Northmead School to ease the congestion in Grange Road. Further work in this location makes the eventual cost higher.

 

3)   There is no proven evidence of health risks from phone masts and the telephone company will produce evidence to support this. Nevertheless if there is a perceived risk, this could have an effect on the prices of properties in the proximity.

 

4)   This application is by Vodafone, who are about to sign a deal with Orange to share networks making this mast redundant.

 

Deadline for submitting objections is 20^th April.  Please help us by objecting NOW quoting the reference 07 /P/ 00510.  GBC web-site