NEWS

Gosden Hill

Martin Grant homes will shortly submit their outline plans for Gosden Hill which were shared with the public in November.

BCA responded to the plan which will create 1800 new homes on the land bounded by the A3, the railway and Merrow Lane (Burpham end). Initial plans include schools, shops and a railway station.

The plan is not without its attractions: it will include a large woodland park in Cotts Wood, ease Guildford’s chronic waiting list, and introduce a southbound slip onto the A3 a little way up the A3 at the main access to the estate, and introduce a nearby railway station.

Naturally, our main concern is about the traffic it will bring down adjacent roads as the estate fills up over a 10 year period. 1800 houses means 3400 extra cars which will make their way down London Road to get to the town centre and our shops.

In a last-minute change, the developers added a southern exit at the corner of New Inn Lane and Merrow Lane by the railway arch. Yes, it’s already a pinch point. It will only work if they take a very large bite out of the protected woodland next to it and box in the cottages there. In its favour, it would allow some cars to avoid Burpham altogether if they were heading into Merrow.

The most contentious thing – at least immediately – is that construction traffic looks set to go up existing roads – that’s London Road (adjacent to current slip road), New Inn Lane and Merrow Lane during the first phase of building. If you know these roads, you will understand why we find this unacceptable.

We have other concerns which will crystallise as plans become more detailed. Most of them involve securing adequate infrastructure to take onboard the extra demand for local services, school places and health care, and upgrading pipes and cables careful for the extra sewage, water demands, drainage, energy and so on. Like every other community association before us, we say:

Infrastructure in place first, please.

For the full text of our response, drop us a line at secretary@burphamca.org.uk

Winter lectures

Our popular winter lectures are back and you can attend for free every Friday night in January starting 7.30pm at the Village Hall.

3 January 2025
King Ludwig II of Bavaria and his famous castles (Andrew Plumridge)

10 January 2025
Picking up the pieces: a short history of the jigsaw puzzle (Matthew Plumridge)

17 January 2025
Sidney Sime: local artists and illustrator (Mary Broughton) 24 Jan The Zulu Wars (Chris Hopper)

31 January 2025
Family Mysteries (Dinah Bisdee & Sue Hackman)

Winter walks

We will be taking a leisurely winter walk on two days this month, hopefully catching winter at its crisp, dry and sunny best.

Walks start at 10am. If you send your email to secretary@burphamca.org.uk, we will send you a stand-down notice on the morning if the weather or underfoot conditions are too poor.

Saturday 8th February
Over the downs to Clandon
Meet on the sharp bend on Merrow Common Road. There’s a pub at the far side if you are keen to stop.

Saturday 15th February
Newark Priory to Pyrford Lock
Meet by Grayshott Farm on Newark Lane (A367) just outside Ripley for flat a riverside walk. Poetry fans will enjoy John Donne’s love nest. Pub fans will enjoy the pub at Pyrford Lock at the far end of this walk.

Walks in your own time

Following the paths of popular short walks we have undertaken in the past, we now have eight walk guides which we distribute free at our events. They include both direction and commentary:

1. Burpham Greenway – the quick, traffic-free walk into town
2. The sights and sounds of the wetlands – a guided ramble round the Riverside Nature Reserve
3. Stoke Park – a circular walk to introduce you to all the best bits of Stoke Park, the pleasure gardens on our own doorstep
4. The Sutton Stretch of the River Wey – to look at the less-visited riverbank.
5. Jack’s Copse – a mini-walk to see Burpham most secret small woodland
6. Deadman’s Wood – a tour around the woodland and village pond that covered the land of Burpham before we did!
7. Historic Buildings of Burpham – a guided history tour of Burpham’s heritage.
8. Whitmoor Common via the Boardwalk – a tour of the eastern side, yes, there is a pub at the end!

Update: London Road and Boxgrove Roundabout

The proposals for the London Road Active Travel Scheme have been in play since the large public meeting at George Abbot School in January 2023.

Finally, it seems to be settled after safety considerations were felt too difficult to resolve:

• To proceed with the redesigned Boxgrove roundabout to make it safer for cyclists and pedestrians;
• Not proceed with the segregated cycle lanes from Boxgrove to York Road;
• Not to proceed with the segregated cycle lanes and additional pedestrian crossings between New Inn Lane and Boxgrove roundabout.

The Cabinet of Surrey County Council reconsidered its controversial at the Cabinet meeting in November, and upheld the decisions listed above.

Although we are relieved that a decision has been reached, we do think there is work to do to fix the on potholed, puddled and overgrown pavements, and we will relay this message to the council.