BCA Bulletin - March 2014

THE PROPOSED SARP DEVELOPMENT

Although the Slyfield Area Regeneration Project is outside Burpham, it would have an adverse impact on our village. The plan below shows the nature and location of the development. This is what is proposed:

1. A new link road between the Slyfield Industrial estate and Clay Lane (1 and 2 on the plan).
2. Moving the existing sewage works from its present site (17) and rebuilding it much closer to Burpham.
3. Building 1,200 houses on the present sewage works site.
4. Building additional industrial and business amenities.
5. Building new facilities for Merrow Highways Department (SCC) and the relocated Guildford and Stoke Park premises (GBC).

This plan has been on the drawing board for about 10 years. Progress has been slow, due mainly to the high cost of relocating the sewage works. The BCA has two main concerns:

• The proposed link road could become the main access to the industrial estate, resulting in a considerable increase in traffic (including HGVs) through the village.
• The extensive development on the flood plain (which was only recently flooded up to a depth of 1 metre) will seriously reduce the capacity of the flood plain to absorb future floods. This could cause a major increase in the depth and seriousness of future flooding, both in central Guildford and the lower parts of Burpham. The second plan below shows how the present floodplain would be reduced by this proposed development to a small fraction of its present area.
  

The BCA has written to GBC expressing these concerns. Do please come to the meeting on 17th March and take advantage of the opportunity to make your views known.