Tag Archives: development

News

Surrey County Council submitted detailed plans for the new school on Brookwood Farm and the associated new bridge to cross the Basingstoke Canal. (PLAN/2013/0856 and PLAN/2013 /0864)

COND/2013/0070

Discharge of conditions 18 and 25 of PLAN/2011/0160

Sainsbury’s Redding Way, Knaphill

We have received a notification letter from WBC with reference to Sainsbury’s plans to discharge planning conditions 18 and 25 these conditions have to do with extractor fans and other technical issues. In the letter from Sainsbury’s agents there is a request for additional plant equipment and this includes equipment required in conjunction with the proposed dentistry concession unit. This is of interest because when Sainsbury’s were given planning permission for their extension the Council included planning condition 9. This reads;

No part of the total floor space of the store shall be used for separate concessions including key cuttings/shoe repair, hairdressers, banking, photo developing studios, opticians, dry cleaners or any other concession, with the exception of ‘Explore and Learn’ unless where otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

PLAN/2013/0856

New primary school on land at Brookwood Farm, Coresbrook Way, Knaphill

When plans to build 297 new dwellings on Brookwood Farm Surrey County Council also received outline planning permission for a new school. This application contains more details of the actual building and the landscaping around the school. The new school, which will be linked to Brookwood School, will accommodate 8 key stage two classes, (240 pupils). One of the main concerns remains the impact the new school will have on the traffic on the A322, Bagshot Road. The new building will be behind the Telephone Exchange.

PLAN/2013/0864

New footpath and canal bridge.

To link the new school building to the school on Connaught Road Surrey County Council plan for a new bridge to cross the canal, at the rear of the Connaught Road school, to a footpath that will go across the Country Park to the new school building on Brookwood Farm.

PLAN/2013/0775

Demolition of a former library building and redevelopment with 9 residential units comprising of

3 X 2B3P flats and 6 X 1B2P flats and memorial garden. 20 High Street, Knaphill

Since the initial plans were published there has been a change. The building has been increased in size to accommodate a 3 bedroom flat suitable for 5 people. This change reduces the number of 1 bedroom flats from 6 to 5. More detail on this proposed building can be found elsewhere on the KRA web site. Two key points, there is no dedicated parking and the private amenity space at the rear of the proposed building does not meet the Council’s own guidelines.

The KRA has submitted a letter of objection.

PLAN/2013/0974

Convert a block of offices into 8 one bedroom flats

Highclare House, 5 High Street, Knaphill

A planning application has been submitted to convert Highclare House from offices into flats, this is the building next to Head Hunters, the hairdressers. At the time of writing this report no details of the proposed conversion had been made available.

PLAN/2013/0202

Variation of condition 6 to PLAN/1985/0686, Total (now ESSO) petrol station, 23 High Street.

Currently the petrol station and associated shop have opening hours of 07.00 to 23.00 hrs. The application was to be allowed to open from 06.00 to midnight.

In July the Planning Committee rejected this application but the owners have now lodged an appeal.

Appeal reference APP/A3655/A/13/2203626

PLAN/2013/0193

Proposed demolition of existing outbuilding and replacement with a detached 3 bedroom dwelling.

22A High Street, Knaphill

This is the site at the rear of the take-away and the old library.

The application was rejected by the Planning Officer, delegated responsibility, however the owners have appealed the decision and we must await the decision of a Planning Inspector.

Architects on behalf of the developer has pointed out to the Planning Inspector, in their final comments, that the Local Council did not refer to any parking or highways issues in the notice of rejection of the original application. Unfortunately that is a true statement, yet another example of the County’s Highway Authority ignore the actual facts on parking in Knaphill.

Appeal reference APP/A3655/A/13/2199725

PLAN/2013/0350

Erection of a two bedroom detached dwelling in the grounds of 48 Lower Guildford Road.

Pending a decision.

PLAN/2013/0453

Retrospective application for 2 fascia signs on the southern elevation of site.

This refers to the new signage especially those on the wall of the shop facing the High Street. The main objection is to the large banner advertising the fact that they shop is open late for the sale of beer and wine.

The application has been approved.

PLAN/2013/0632

Demolition of existing dwelling and outbuildings and erection of 4, 4 bedroom houses with garages, access, parking, bin storage, landscaping.

41 Highclere Road

The address 41 Highclere Road is misleading. The current bungalow that the developer wants to demolish cannot be seen from Highclere Road. All you see from Highclere Road is the long drive. The developer wants the access to the proposed 4 new houses to be from Lane End Drive.

This application has generated a lot of interest and the KRA has submitted a detailed objection.

The application is still under consideration by the Planning Office and Cllr. Saj Hussain has written to the Planning Manager asking for this application to be presented to the Planning Committee.

PLAN/2013/0756

Change of use from A1/A2 (retail or office) to A3 restaurant and café and A5 hot food takeaway including internal alterations and installation of new filtered extract system.

8, Anchor Crescent, Knaphill

These are the premises last used by Garrett, solicitors.

Do we need another food outlet?

The KRA has submitted a letter of objection.

If you have any questions or points on the above please feel free to contact the KRA.

Phil Stubbs

Sainsbury’s win planning appeal

Sainsbury’s plans for the Clifton’s Site

12 Replies

UDPATE: APPROVED!

The planning committee debated last night and have agreed to a temporary variation of opening times as per Sainsbury’s request.

Sainsburys will be able to open from 07.00am to 10.00pm Monaday to Saturday and 08.00am to 8.00pm on Sundays for 18 months starting today, even though the store is yet to be built! The Council’s legal officer felt that this was the only way the agreement could be worded, whereas the committee itself wanted a trial for 12 months from the date the store opens.

During the next 18 months, the council has said it will gain evidence of noise and traffic concerns. What this will mean in practice is unknown as once the store is built and operating it would be exceptionally hard to close down.

A few points worth mentioning

There were no Knaphill Councillors at the meeting [although Melanie Whitehand did submit a letter prior to the debate (link to letter)]
No Councillor suggested rejecting the request from Sainbury’s
The Council blame Surrey Highways for lack of assistance with the original request [caution: buck passing…]

14/10/11

The application is due to be debated on the 18th October according to Melanie Whitehand.

Please see Phil Stubbs’ comment below for the KRA’s observations and commentary, as sent to all local councillors and the planning committee.

You may also like to browse through the Knaphillian forum topic on the subject here

25/9/11

The planning officers have recommended the application for a change of trading and delivery hours to be APPROVED despite a mass of objections and commentary from Melanie Whitehand.

The application is on the agenda for the forthcoming planning committee meeting on the 27th September at 7pm in the council chambers. This meeting is open to the public and anyone who registered their objection should have received a letter offering the opportunity to speak at the meeting. Anyone wishing to speak should register their intent with the council prior to the meeting.

History

Early in February local people became aware of Sainsbury’s plans to lease the premises to be re-developed on the site of Clifton’s, 15 High Street, Knaphill: PLAN/2011/0062 (See KRA’s earlier article and comments). There seems to be a growing momentum of opposition to this Planning Application.

Last year The Clifton family submitted a Planning Application PLAN/2010/0085 (which received planning approval) to re-develop the Clifton’s site: For the Erection of a three storey building containing A1 (retail) use at ground floor and 7 x 1 bedroom and 5 x 2 bedroom flats at first and second floors following the demolition of the existing shop and workshops at 15 High Street and 6 Fosters Lane.

Also, on the 2010 Application, on the section for the retail premises there was ‘Condition 7’ that: “The premises hereby approved shall not be open to customers and have no deliveries between the hours of 8.00 pm and 8.00 am Monday to Saturday inclusive, comply with Sunday Trading Restrictions and have no deliveries on Sundays unless agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.”

This latest 2011 Appliction proposes changes to Condition 7. Before taking up the Lease, Sainsbury’s want: “The premises shall be open to customers between the hours of 7.00 am to 11.00 pm Mondays to Saturdays and 10.00 am to 4.00 pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays”.Residents can see the detail of both Applications on the Woking Borough Council (WBC) website http://caps.woking.gov.uk/online-applications/ then key in the relevant Planning Application Number (as listed above).

People from all sections of the community are registering their Comments on the WBC site in relation to the lastest Plan/2011/0062 and most of them seem to be expressing opposition. There seems to be growing concern and calls for a Public Meeting to discuss the impact this kind of development could have on the centre of the village.

The original Application was opposed by some residents, especially those who live close to Cliftons, but many people may not have been aware of the project and for whatever reasons did not get involved in the discussion at that time. This latest Application has raised wider questions and made more people aware of the issues…….Many people are saying this strikes at the heart of the viability of many of the small businesses in Knaphill, who are already fighting for survival because of the Big Sainsbury’s Store down the road, and of the life of the Village Centre.

Objection forms are circluating in the village and are available in many local shops. They raise concerns regarding:
* Increased Traffic within the village
* Parking Problems on the High Street adjacent to the new development & surrounding streets
* Increased anti-social behaviour
* Increased noise and light pollution
* Reduced competition, as there is already a Sainsbury’s within close distance to the village
* Damage to the sustainability of existing local shops

Whatever your views, please don’t just sit back and ignore this. Check the Planning Applications, think about the implications and register your comments. Since the Application was submitted over 300 comments have been added to the WBC site and most are strong statements of OBJECTION. (KRA is checking the Comments each day…..as at 26th Feb. over 300)
Have your say!!

Memory Lane – Knaphill History, The Brookwood Hospital

50 Replies

When we look back over the history of Knaphill we find that the ‘Brookwood Hospital’ played a vital part in the development of the village. In the 1850’s local settlement was at the bottom of Anchor Hill, near the thriving nurseries, but the building of the ‘Brookwood Lunatic Asylum’ (completed in 1867) brought major changes.

The initial hospital population was 650 patients: 321 males and 329 females. It was built in 150 acres of land in an isolated part of the country as the trend at that time was to house those deemed to be ‘lunatics’ at a distance from ‘normal’ people. Over the next hundred and twenty years it was a major employer, recruiting doctors, nurses, ancillary staff, maintenance and support workers and the life of Knaphill flourished around it.

From the early days the hospital expanded and by 1903 the patient population had risen to 1,265. In 1919 the title ‘asylum’ was dropped and replaced by ‘Mental Hospital’. With so many patients and staff to care for them, Knaphill grew. The brick works were busy and so were the builders and developers. We can still see the many different styles of houses that were constructed for the growing population of the village. Shops of all kinds, public houses and churches thrived too, catering to the earthly and spiritual needs of the bustling community. At the time of The National Health Act in 1946, the hospital was the home for 1,900 patients.

For our Memory Lane articles in the Knaphill News we have spoken to many local people who still remember the hospital in its hay-day; and they have clear personal recollections of this aspect of our local history. Many local people worked at the hospital and have vivid memories of the years when it was a major local employer and played a key role in the treatment of mental health in South Eastern England.

Marion Healy started her nursing career here in 1948 and stayed until 1990. Marion told KRA about her memories of the Hospital and changing attitudes to ‘Mental Health Care’ during the years that she worked there. Marion remembered Brookwood’s high standards of care and training, but also the locked wards, many geriatric patients and the T.B. Unit. As a Nursing Sister she saw how the gradual advances in medicine helped to bring patients’ symptoms under control by drugs. Change continued so that in 1974 the NHS was being reorganized again and it was decided to close all large mental hospitals and from 1986 a programme was underway for the closure of the Brookwood Hospital in 1994.

Marion’s recollections were of the tolerance of local people; of nurses from all over the world coming there to train there; of the range of social events that entertained patients, staff and locals and that made it a very happy place to live and work. For so many Knaphill residents the hospital was the source of employment. It attracting people from all over the county and many of them settled down and got married, had families and those families continue to live locally.

June Harding was born in Knaphill. Her parents met when working at the hospital and later married. “My father came here in the 1920’s and worked mainly in the high security unit. My mother left home in Wales aged seventeen to come to work there because her father was so strict.”

“The farm had cows, sheep, and shire horses and where the Vyne Car Park is now was the piggery. The hospital driveways were lined with beautiful rhododendron bushes, kept in immaculate condition, largely by patients working under supervision.” June recalled Christmas parties, annual coach outings to the seaside and Saturday Dances. “That was the highlight of my week as a teenager! And the highlight of the year for everyone was the August Bank Holiday Fete on the main playing field. There were marquees exhibiting flowers, fruit and vegetables, handicrafts; side-shows, swinging boats and stalls. It was a wonderful event for everyone attracting people from miles around.”

Willi Jost came to work there in 1956 as a ‘drain man’, keeping the sewage etc clear. Over the years he was promoted and eventually came to be in charge of the staff restaurant. (Yes, an interesting career path!) Willi remembered Brookwood as a good place to work. Staff lived in the ‘hospital cottages’ on Oak Tree Road, Sparvell Road, The Spur; everyone lived locally and worked locally, people were good neighbours, all helping one another.

In the hospital there were workshops for boot-making, printing and all manner of repairs. Brookwood even had its own Fire Station and Willi worked as a Volunteer Fireman for extra income. The good social life was important to Willi too: the cinema shows, weekly dances (old time and modern), and Willi mentioned that quite a lot of ‘courting’ was done on those famous dance nights!

Since the hospital closed in 1994 the area has changed dramatically. The clock tower and the central building around it were converted into expensive apartments and named Florence Court (acknowledging the ‘Florence Wards’ originally named after Florence Nightingale); but most of the buildings were demolished, trees and flower beds etc removed. New houses were built, creating Redding Way, Percheron Drive, Barton Close, Florence Way, Tringham etc, again being given names that had links with the ‘Brookwood Hospital’. These are reminders that, for so much of its history, the life Knaphill was interwoven with the life of ‘the Hospital’.

myKnaphill

From the Knaphill Residents Association