Mole Valley MP calls on newly elected Guildford Councillors to right the wrongs in the Local Plan. The Guildford Conservatives in the Mole Valley Wards of Guildford Borough Council have fought the threat of the Local Plan against the lost of Green Belt status of the villages in those wards and of Wisley. For many years this campaign has been led by Paul Beresford along with the Mole Valley GBC Councillors and candidates.
“Over the last few years I have been consistently opposed to several aspects of the GBC Local Plan, including the astonishing way it was pushed through an emergency full council meeting during the purdah period just before the GBC elections earlier this month. I have pushed my opposition consistantly to the now former leader of GBC and his Deputy, to the Secretary of State both in letters and through a number of debates in the House of Commons, as well as at various public meetings locally. The aspects of the plan that particularly concern me are the removal of Green Belt status for the Mole Valley GBC villages and Wisley ” he stated.
“I have now written to the new GBC Council Leader, the Executive Member for Planning and the Planning Chairman requesting this wrong is corrected. I have also written to those Councillors still at GBC who did not support the Local Plan being rushed through and also to those newly elected GBC Councillors who stood on a platform which would be supportive of my and very many of my constituents wishes on protecting our villages and our GreenBelt”
He added, “I have sought, and received, verbal assurances from the Department for Housing Communities and Local Government that GBC can bring about a reversal of this with a ‘Local Plan Revision’. Such action is now in the hands of the new Leader of GBC, the new Executive Member for Planning and the new Planning Chairman. It is a chance for these Councillors to prove their stated position of the election campaign earlier this month.
I have been informed that since such a change would not reduce the housing numbers below the minimum number required, it could be achieved without consultation or referral to the Secretary of State. A motion to full council may be suffiient. Obviously such action would have the advantage of removing the threat of judicial review of the GBC Local Plan, which is apparently in the offing.”
