Surbiton floating homes developer "reaches agreement" with conservation group

Seething Wells Filter Beds

Portsmouth Road

See larger map

Surbiton.com: December 17, 2012 - 11:08am

A property developer planning to build floating homes on the Surbiton filter beds site has finally reached an agreement to bring in a conservation group.

Hydro Properties boss Phillip Wallis told a planning committee on Wednesday that the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WTT) will help run the site, if the firm pushes through their planning application. Hydro announced the deal with WTT back in August, but was forced to backtrack after the eco-charity insisted no deal had been struck.

In a letter handed by Hydro Properties to spectators at the meeting WTT confirmed it had stopped short of adding its voice in support. WTT said there was no formal agreement in place but admitted to a deal with Hydro “in principle”. Battle lines were drawn between developers and opposition group FOSW with each handing out marketing material in a bid to win over the packed meeting hall. Both groups had turned up to have their say and discuss a report presented to the committee from the council’s eco company Baker Shepherd and Gillespie.

First up were residents linked to the FOSW who disputed the findings, claiming the scheme would have a detrimental effect on wildlife, specifically the roosting Daubenton bat. Mr Wallis went next, though barely audible through a chorus of boos and heckles, pointing to the lifting of a Natural England objection and the deal with the WTT as proof the scheme was “right for Surbiton”. He got little support from councillors either, who took it in terms to condemn the scheme, often followed by rapturous applause from the audience.

http://www.surreycomet.co.uk/news/10112072.Surbiton_floating_homes_developer__re...

SurreyComet.co.uk

Comments

Post new comment

By posting content on Surbiton.com, you agree to adhere to the following guidelines.

Your username and password must only be used by you, keep them safe. If a posting is made using your username and password it will be considered to have been posted by you. If you have a friend who wants to use our site and post messages on the site, show them how to register.
Be courteous at all times, inciting racial hatred, posting abusive, obscene, threatening, harassing, defamatory, libellous or sexually explicit material or any material that is found to be offensive is not acceptable and we may suspend your username and password.
Retaliating to offensive posts causes more problems for other users on the discussion boards. Just report such messages to us using the Feedback link which is available at the top of every page or the 'report this' link associated with individual postings. We will act on every report we receive.
Please respect other people's work and do not post material that infringes copyright.
Do not post information that you know to be confidential or sensitive or otherwise in breach of the law. You should only post material that you know to be public knowledge. If you have any doubts do not post it on the site.
Never attempt to gain unauthorised access to any area of the site. This is known as hacking and is illegal.
Content posted represents the opinions of the author, and does not represent the opinions of Surbiton.com or its affiliates and has not been approved or issued by Surbiton.com. You should be aware that the other participants are strangers to you and may make statements which may be misleading, deceptive or wrong.
Spoofing or posing as another user is unacceptable. Anonymous users' postings should always be considered with suspicion.
Help keep Surbiton.com a safe place for information and opinion. Please alert us of any anti-social behaviour as described above.