Approval granted for "road to nowhere" in Woking

PLANNING approval granted for access to a proposed 400-home development in Woking has been described as "a road to nowhere".

Woking Borough Council (WBC) has renewed planning permission for access through Westfield Common to the Moor Lane land where it hopes the homes can be built.

The planning committee has given permission for three access points to Newlands Avenue, Quatermaine Avenue and Westfield Way to the Moor Lane site.

The access routes link with Balfour Avenue and Westfield Road.

However, despite approval for the route, no planning permission has yet been granted for any of the new homes.

And the WBC's plan was dealt a blow in August when a Planning Inspector decided the authority could not swap the common land to make way for the homes.

Will Forster, Lib Dem borough councillor for Westfield, said the failed exchange proposal and the absence of any planning approval for the Moor Lane homes meant the route plan was pointless.

Writing in his blog, he said: "This application is effectively a road to nowhere as there is not planning permission to build a single house in the Moor Lane site, yet alone the 400 odd the Council wants to put there.  So this application doesn't mean much – what's more is the Council cannot even use this access route as their Common Land exchange proposal failed."