Mole Valley Councillors met on Thursday 25 January to discuss whether to pause their new local plan adoption process. The Secretary of State’s office had previously intervened to prohibit any pause.
Some Councillors, such as those representing Bookham, attempted to propose amendments which would have tried to remove strategic greenbelt sites from the plan. These sites were earmarked for development which include the proposal for 200 net-zero homes at Preston Farm of which 40% are at affordable rates.
This proposal was defeated with 18 Councillors voting against and six in favour. One of those six was Cllr Paul Kennedy – Liberal Democrat candidate for the Mole Valley parliamentary seat in 2019 and a candidate for the Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner election taking place in May.
Mole Valley District Council’s Local Plan was adopted in 2009 – making it one of the oldest development plans left in use. Due to years of no-overall-control and political dithering, the council now has outdated planning policies. Housing affordability is a serious issue with the stark inequality between average wages and average house prices in the area.
Liberal Democrat Cabinet Member for Planning, Cllr Margaret Cooksey, urged her colleagues to vote against the amendment brought forward by the Liberal Democrat Councillors representing the Bookham area. One Councillor made the point that the Mole Valley local plan has taken longer to resolve than Brexit.
The Liberal Democrats in Mole Valley, as in dozens of other rural districts, are clearly split on how to deliver new, quality housing.
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