DEVELOPER Gleeson Homes has submitted an outline planning application for up to 254 new homes opposite the Hogs Back Brewery in The Street, Tongham.

The application, submitted to both Waverley and Guildford councils as it straddles the borough boundaries, proposes building the homes on a 32-acre greenfield site forming part of the Manor Farm estate known as ‘The Tongham Triangle’.

A large swathe of the 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.

Rupert Thompson, Hogs Back Brewery managing director said: “We knew when we leased the land for our hop garden that there was a chance it could be sold to developers.

“If this goes ahead, we have plans in place, made with the landlord of the existing hop garden, to lease a different plot of land, to the other side of the brewery, where we will relocate our hop plants.

“We’ve taken advice from our hop experts who tell us this will be reasonably straightforward, so we’re ready to move when required.”

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

The mix of housing proposed includes 72 one and two-bedroom flats, 27 two-bed houses, 103 three-bed houses, and 52 four-bed houses - including 89 reduced market rate ‘affordable’ homes.

It would also provide a community car park, open space including children’s play areas, green space, sustainable urban drainage systems and associated infrastructure on the site.

Gleeson has proposed its own area of Suitable Alternative Natural Green Space (SANGS) on a 44-acre field within walking distance of the housing site east of Tongham Road.

This will mitigate against the development’s impact on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area and promises improved access to the SANGS, a car park, pathways and associated landscaping.

A planning application for 50 homes (14/P/02398) to the north of the application site was approved by Guildford Borough Council earlier this year.

Gleeson has set out its case for the development in a design and access statement accompanying its application, emphasising the site’s potential to help meet local housing need.

The developer said: “In the current economic climate, central Government has been encouraging growth with the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes a presumption in favour of sustainable development.

“More specifically, the NPPF says that ‘to promote sustainable development in rural areas, housing should be located where it will enhance or maintain the vitality of rural communities.’

“The proposal is a short walk from the village centre and highly sustainable in a rural-urban fringe in terms of services and transport options available, therefore achieving the principal aim of the NPPF.”

Guildford borough residents can view and comment on the plans online at www.guildford.gov.uk/searchforaplanningapplication by searching for application reference 16/P/00222.

Waverley residents can do so via the website www.waverley.gov.uk/planning and searching for reference WA/2016/0339.