NUTFIELD CALENDAR 2021

The 2021 Nutfield Calendar is now available for purchase at Holborns Store and at Priory Farm Shop at cost of £5 each. We were pleased to receive a number of excellent wildlife photos this year to use for many of the calendar pages.  See some of the photos below which were selected:

Redhill Aerodrome - Planning Application for widened Taxiway C/D

Redhill Aerodrome submitted a retrospective planning application (20/01430/F) to Reigate & Banstead Council in respect of works completed in 2015 to widen and straighten the hard-standing on Taxiway C/D. NCS have been in liaison with Salfords & Sidlow Parish Council to ensure a consistent approach is adopted with any response. NCS replied expressing concerns regarding any perceived intensification with the number of flights possible from the modified taxiway being used as a runway. 

See >NCS comment on 2015 Taxiway works

We await the planning decision regarding these retrospective works.

Tandridge Local Plan - Transport Queries

We are advised that, following the decision on the failed HIF bid relating to the Godstone Garden Community, the Inspector raised some queries with Tandridge Council regarding the adequacy of a suitable transport network. 

It may be possible for TDC to show that there is sufficient capacity to secure an adequate supply of deliverable housing sites, prior to the necessary transport mitigation being put into place.  Links to the latest exchanges between TDC and The Inspector are: 1) Initial Inspector queries (ref ID12)   2) TDC initial response     3) TDC Follow-up response  4) Inspector latest response (ref ID13)

Of course the Inspector may consider that the existing transport evidence is not adequate for such conclusions to be drawn or, if it is considered necessary to determine the level of housing development which would lead to the transport effects becoming severe, then further transport modelling work may be required. We await deliberations by the Inspector on soundness of the Plan or otherwise what further actions are required by TDC

Surrey Hills AONB Boundary Review

 

The Surrey Hills AONB was only the second landscape to be designated in England and the boundary had not been reviewed since its original designation in 1958.  Significant parts of the adjacent countryside outside the AONB had been designated as Areas of Great Landscape Value (AGLV) and the Surrey Hills Board felt this area was now worthy of review.

The AONB Partnership commissioned landscape consultants Hankinson Duckett Associates (HDA) to conduct a search for areas that might be considered for re-designation as AONB.  The first stage was to review the Surrey Landscape Character Assessment ‘The future of Surrey’s landscape and woodlands’ from 1997. This would bring it in to line with current Natural England character assessment guidance of 2002 and create a framework for evaluation as recommended by the earlier consultants Alison Farmer Associates. Landscape character assessment is a systematic way of analysing the elements that make one area of landscape different in character to another, but makes no judgment on landscape quality.

The second stage was to conduct a search within this framework, looking for candidate areas that met the criteria which contribute to natural beauty as set out in the current Natural England Guidance published in March 2011.

In November 2013, the Surrey Hills AONB Board formally submitted a request that Natural England (NE) consider a modification to the AONB boundary based on 38 candidate areas recommended by HDA. Nutfield Ridge was included in the suggested boundary revision. In February 2014, the NE Board agreed to consider the evidence submitted on the candidate areas.

The formal process for seeking a modification requires an assessment by NE to determine if the candidate areas submitted meet the statutory criteria of an AONB. There are various stages to go through, including regulatory assessments and, ultimately, the decision rests with the Environment Secretary. Unfortunately, NE had already committed to deliver the Suffolk Coast & Heaths AONB boundary review at the time of their Board’s decision to review the Surrey Hills situation.  Due to the complexity of the process they were therefore unable to commence the Surrey Hills review until completion of the Suffolk review.

The NE Board finally approved the Suffolk Coast and Heaths (Designation Variation) Order 2019 on 22 July 2019 and the legal paperwork was submitted to the Secretary of State for confirmation. The Secretary of State confirmed the Order on 7 July 2020, which clears the way for the Surrey Hills AONB boundary review to proceed to the next stage.

See > Surrey Hills boundary-review with recommended additional areas