The Surrey Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has welcomed the decision by the Government to dismiss an appeal against the refusal of planning permission for Dunsfold Park New Town. The Department for Communities & Local Government has announced that it agrees with the conclusion of the Planning Inspector that Waverley Council was right to reject the scheme for 2,600 new homes at Dunsfold, as the scheme was “environmentally unsustainable” and went against local, regional and national policy. CPRE Surrey Branch Director Andy Smith said: “We are delighted that...

BAA has proposed that Heathrow be connected directly to Waterloo, Guildford and Reading BAA has proposed that Heathrow be connected directly by train to London Waterloo, Guildford and Reading by means of a new southern link – Airtrack – running between Staines and Terminal 5. The track would run in a tunnel from the airport to the northern part of Staines Moor. Trains would then travel on the surface around the western side of the Moor to join the existing line to Windsor. In Staines, a new station would be constructed off Staines High Street, together with a new link to the Virginia Water railway...

The perennial problem of aircraft noise has been highlighted by people in Surrey/Kent who live under the westerly flight path approach to Gatwick Airport expansion is always a contentious issue, and here in Surrey we are faced with the appalling prospect of a third runway at Heathrow leading to yet more aircraft over-flying our county. BAA, which currently owns and manages both Heathrow and Gatwick, recently cited a low-emission “green jumbo” to help clinch its environmental case for a third runway – but its argument was shattered when it was discovered that neither Airbus nor Boeing, the...