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‘Twas the night before Christmas and all round the downs the people of Guildford were walking their hounds Taking a break from the festivities Enjoying the quiet, the air and the trees.   And up in the woodland, deep down in their sett, The badgers were wond’ring, “was it twlight just yet?” The dormice were… Continue reading ‘Twas the night before Christmas….

This nationally important landscape deserves better

Another summer, another LEMP. Version 5 (nearly lost count) of Tormead’s Landscape and Ecological Management Plan for the Urnfield development has appeared onscreen. The school is applying once more to get approval for what was, you may remember, a critical “pre commencement” condition. This was the condition the school pushed through a “deemed discharge” process… Continue reading Why attention to detail helps protect our wildlife

A little posse gathered in the sunshine at the Urnfield one Monday morning towards the end of July: the Tormead Headteacher; Surrey Police; the West Surrey Badger Group (WSBG); and a few concerned residents. The diggers and earth movers were busy across the site. The Tormead Head was reminded by WSBG that the badger protection… Continue reading Disturbing badgers and a planning breach: Tormead’s summer of fun

The arrival of badger exclusion gates on Merrow Downs and the Urnfield has generated significant public interest and concern on the Nextdoor social media site. It started when one local resident posted photos of the heavy metal gates and mesh carpet that has to be laid over a large area of ground around sett entrance… Continue reading It matters who speaks for you.

During the 2016 US election campaign FLOTUS famously coined a phrase, “When they go low, we go high”, referring to bullying and aggressive communications tactics being employed in the campaign. Some of the increasingly angry and puerile comments being made on Instagram (@savemerrowdowns22) in response to local residents’ legitimate concerns about the assumed discovery of… Continue reading Michelle Obama and the Urnfield

– but we’re not supposed to know about it

All quiet for now – time for other sorts of digging

Guest post: Merrow Downs Residents’ Group We have to start somewhere, even if it’s hard to know where the beginning might be. Perhaps we should begin with a simple question – when can a developer start on their development? The simple answer should be, when all the necessary conditions have been approved, and the magical… Continue reading Going round in circles . . . a tale of Guildford planning

Work started in the last week of March at the Urnfield site, beginning with tree felling and clearance of scrub. This was despite the plans submitted by Tormead stating that trees would not be cut down during nesting season, ie. March onwards. And according to the Arboricultural report signed off as part of one of… Continue reading Can the Urnfield construction legally start?