WAVERLEY Borough came under fire from eight parish councils this week for conducting a consultation process on Dunsfold Park’s application for 1,800 new homes that was “not fit for purpose”.

Speaking out on behalf of Chiddingfold, Hambledon, Dunsfold, Busbridge, Alfold, Hascombe and Wonersh, Hascombe parish council chairman Charles Orange took the borough’s leaders to task at Waverley’s Full Council meeting, on Tuesday night.

During the pubic questions session, Mr Orange told the committee all eight parish councils were concerned about the viability of the consultation process.

Firstly, because the plan to build 1,800 houses arose from Waverley’s consultation in 2015 on where to build 8,500 new houses over 17 years, to which only three per cent of residents had responded.

Secondly, because three “essential” impact reports commissioned by Waverley to inform the process had not been made public by the deadline for responses to the application of February 5.

“How do you propose to proceed now to ensure that following receipt of the reports, meaningful consultations can take place across all aspects of this application, with all level of consultees?” he said.

Dismissing the claim, Waverley’s planning portfolio holder councillor Brian Adams, from Frensham, responded: “Waverley consulted extensively on 1,800 houses for Dunsfold Park.

“Any impacts and the means to mitigate them will be an assessment for officers taking advice from statutory consultees and additional experts.”

Mr Adams said the weight given to Waverley’s proposed spatial strategy report due in April would depend on the stage it had reached prior to the application being determined.

He also said the Mott McDonald transport assessment would be published prior to determination but had more bearing on the new Local Plan, and that Surrey County Council’s infrastructure plan had only limited relevance to the application.

He added: “To say there has been a lack of pre-application discussion is incorrect. The developers received advice from officers and had discussions with councillors.

“I am confident councillors have adequate access to advice to ensure the application is undertaken in a timely manner.”

The eight joint councils were originally advised by Waverley their formal responses on the application did not have to be in by February 5 and could be submitted up to the eve of the planning committee meeting. But Mr Adams advised any interested parties that had not yet responded should do so “as soon as possible so they can be properly considered”.

The Herald was told by WBC after the meeting that parts one and two of the Mott McDonald report relating to the impact of the development on the A281 had been completed and circulated to borough councillors and would be published on its website “shortly”.

A spokesman said: “The council has consulted extensively on the planning application for houses and infrastructure at Dunsfold Park. The main purpose of the Mott McDonald report is to inform progress on the Local Plan rather than individual planning applications. The developer has submitted a transport assessment of the scheme which is currently being considered by Surrey County Council, and which will inform the outcome of the planning application.”

The detailed transport assessment by Vectos commissioned by Dunsfold Park has already been condemned by the parish council group for not taking into account the increased traffic it will trigger via country roads through Chiddingfold, Hambledon, Witley and Milford to access mainline train stations at Witley and Milford and the A3.

The parishes joined forces last year to commission their own expert transport assessment, which supported their objections that traffic movements towards Milford had been underestimated.

They are now commissioning a further transport impact assessment.

Chiddingfold Parish Council chairman Richard Hogsflesh said: “It will specifically examine the transport assessment submitted by Dunsfold Park in its planning application as it has been changed from the report we previously examined. This will take a few weeks. Chiddingfold has many concerns about this planning application.

“Firstly, there has not been enough time to gather and consider all the evidence before submitting a response within the required time limit, which has now passed.

“We, along with the other parish councils have been assured by Waverley responses will be considered if they are received before the planning application goes to committee so we have held off from responding until we have been able to consider all the evidence.

“However not all the evidence is yet available, not least of which is Waverley’s own transport assessment report from Mott McDonald which has yet to be published.

“Questions were asked in council as to how Waverley is intending to fully consult on this report before considering the Dunsfold Park application – questions to which we currently have no answers.”

He feared traffic from such a development would have a devastating affect on the parish’s countrry lanes – many of which are single-track – as residents would take short cuts to the nearest railway stations and the A3.

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It would not solve the village’s own housing needs attracting people from outside of the area instead, he claimed.