COUNCILLORS have deferred a decision on plans to build 254 new homes opposite the Hogs Back Brewery in The Street, Tongham, to seek further information.

Developer Gleeson Homes submitted an outline planning application earlier this year for up to 254 new homes on a 32-acre greenfield site forming part of the Manor Farm estate known as ‘The Tongham Triangle’.

The application requires the support of both Waverley and Guildford borough councils as it straddles the borough boundaries, and came before Waverley’s joint planning committee on August 15.

Waverley planning officers recommended the plans be granted consent and the council’s head of planning be given delegated powers to finalise several “relevant conditions” in consultation with Guildford Borough Council.

However, councillors took a different tack and requested more information on these conditions prior to giving the scheme the go-ahead.

It is believed the conditions relate to the provision and management of an on-site Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) to mitigate against the development’s impact on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area, as well as financial contributions towards improving the area’s transport and education infrastructure.

If granted planning permission, Gleeson’s new development would be accessed from The Street with an additional emergency access link from Grange Road.

A large swathe of the application site is currently occupied by the Hogs Back Brewery’s hop garden which was only planted in 2014 and produced its first significant yield last year.

Waverley residents can view the application in full online at www.waverley.gov.uk/plan

ning by searching for the reference WA/2016/0339.