Wisley Inquiry – Send Parish Council

Overview

In May 2023 Taylor Wimpey appealed to the Secretary of State against Guildford Borough Council (GBC) for ‘non-determination’ of application 22/P/01175, a new settlement comprising 1,730 dwellings on the former airfield. Under S319A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the application would be determined by the planning inspectorate by way of a public inquiry.

Send and Ripley Parish Councils are conscious that this development will have major implications for local infrastructure and our local road network. In June 2023 Send and Ripley Parish Councils joined forces to participate in the inquiry as a joint Rule 6 party. This meant that both councils had a seat at the inquiry table to give evidence and cross-examine the appellant’s witnesses. A Statement of Case and Proof of Evidence was compiled over the Summer ahead of the inquiry start date, with great assistance from former Clerk to Ripley Parish Council, Mr Jim Morris.

The inquiry opened on the 26th of September 2023 and on behalf of the team, Cllr Julia Osborn, Chair of Send Parish Council, and lead member of the Send & Ripley Rule 6 team at the inquiry, gave the Opening Statement.

Witness statements were given on behalf of the Rule 6 party by RPC PC Cllr Richard Ayears, Chair of Ripley Parish Council, on traffic impacts for Ripley High Street; Ripley PC Cllr Paddy McLaughlin on wastewater and existing capacity of the Ripley Sewage/ Treatment works; Ms Catherince Bremford, on the Ripley Primary School; Send PC Cllr Debbie Hurdle, Vice-Chair of Send Parish Council on the cumulative impact of windfall development in the parishes; and by SPC PC Cllr Julia Osborn, Chair, Send Parish Council on lack of sustainability of Send and Ripley villages to accommodate this development. Contributions were also given by GBC Borough Cllr Pat Oven and Mr Mike Hudrle, former GBC Borough Cllr in support of the Rule 6 case.

During the inquiry, Cllr Osborn was cross-examined by the appellant’s barrister James Maurici KC. Cllr Osborn cross-examined the appellant’s transport witness and the lead planner of Savills, on the impact of the development on the local road infrastructure.

In December 2023, Cllr Osborn and Cllr Ayears took part in the roundtable discussions on planning conditions relating to the development and Section 106 obligations. They made points about the lack of a viable bus service and raised concerns about the time it would take to deliver a new secondary school to serve the development which would now be built off-site.

The Closing Statement was given on the 19th of December. All documents of the Rule 6 party including, the Statement of Case, Proof of Evidence, Witness statements, and the Opening and Closing statements of the Send & Ripley Rule 6 party can be found below.

The inspector Ms Christina Downes BSc DipTP MRTPI, will announce her decision in early-mid April 2024.

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Statement of Case