Yesterday I submitted my response to the Surrey County Council consultation on the proposed incinerator at the Silvermere Haven Pet Cemetery and Crematorium in Byfleet Road in the Weybridge St George’s Hill ward.
Following meetings and correspondence with councillors and residents regarding the application, I have raised a number of concerns about the proposals. These include:
-
the justification for ‘very special circumstances’ exemption for green belt land
-
the impact of increased use, traffic, odour and pollution levels for local residents
-
how this would be monitored in the future if the application was successful
-
the nature of the late withdrawal of the original application and re-submission, and whether this gave local residents sufficient opportunity to respond to the application
It is essential that any proposals do not unnecessarily damage our local environment or impact unduly on residents. A copy of my submission is available below. Further information about the application for this site is available here.
I am delighted Elmbridge Borough Councillors Charu Sood, Harrison Allman-Varty, Ananya Banerjee, and Hilary Butler have joined me in signing this letter, and I have consulted throughout this and the previous application with Weybridge county councillor Tim Oliver, who has submitted his own objections.
While most planning applications are determined by the local borough council as the designated planning authority, applications for minerals or waste-related developments are determined by Surrey County Council. These applications are assessed against policies in the Minerals and Waste Development Framework, which includes the Surrey Minerals Plan and Surrey Waste Plan, the policies in the relevant borough or district Local Plan and any Neighbourhood Plan.
For more information on the Surrey planning process, please visit here.
Planning has a huge impact on our local communities and it is essential that decision are made, both locally and on national policy, which protect our communities. In addition to this response I also recently submitted my response to the Government’s planning policy consultation.
As residents will know, strengthening planning policy has been an ongoing campaign of mine. I am delighted the Government is already taking forward my suggestions to strengthen planning enforcement. In addition to planning enforcement, this consultation sought views on how to deliver greater protection for key characteristics, including the Green Belt and flood plain, how to ensure delivery of key environmental aims the planning system, ensure greater engagement with communities and deliver the homes we need both now and in the future.
You can read my full response to the Government’s consultation here.
