Following a meeting with residents of Tuesley Lane, Godalming, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Jeremy Hunt has strongly spoken against a proposed development of 16 flats in Tuesley Lane. The development, which involves two houses being knocked down and replaced with a multi-storey development of apartments, is being strongly opposed by local residents.Mr. Hunt said “This development is typical of the kind of infilling that is ruining our a towns. It sets an extremely dangerous precedent when one person is able to sell their house to developers for a profit, but with huge cost to their neighbours. Waverley needs to tighten its local plan to prevent this happening.”Waverley’s Local Development Framework, which will be finalised next year, provides policy guidance to Waverley’s planners deciding whether or not to grant planning permission to new developments. It is also used by the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol when deciding on appeals to planning decisions.However the draft of the new plan is of great concern to Mr. Hunt, as he believes it tips the balance much too far in the direction of development. “Currently Waverley is building more than 200 new dwellings every year and no one is asking whether this rate of development is sustainable. The assumptions behind the draft suggest that there is no alternative to continued large-scale development, despite the enormous pressure this puts on local roads, schools and hospitals,” he commented.“We live in a beautiful part of the country, but it has never been more under threat from government housing targets. Waverley’s local plan needs to be quite explicit about what development will and will not be allowed, and the current draft fails to do that. Ducking this decision will dangerously compromise the ability of local people to fight for what makes the area special,” he warned.