Latest news with #SurreyHillsNationalLandscape
BBC News
30-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Pierrepont Farm accessibility improved thanks to funding
New accessibility improvements at a Surrey farm have been completed thanks to nearly £60,000 of improvements at Pierrepont Farm near Frensham are being launched on Wednesday following a project by the site's owners, the Countryside Regeneration Trust (CRT).The work, which began in January, included making a historic carriage track an accessible pathway to a picnic area, installing interpretative signs including braille, disabled parking and improvements to Darragh, head of conservation at CRT, said: "Opening up Pierrepont Farm to more people has always been our goal, and this new path ensures more people have the opportunity to experience it." The project, which received money from Surrey Hills National Landscape's Access for All Fund and a legacy donation, was developed in collaboration with partners including the Surrey Coalition of Disabled People and the Royal National Institute for the Lewis-Jones, who is a coalition member and set to cut the ribbon, said: "The changes mean it will make it much easier for so many people, including me, to visit and benefit from everything that the countryside has to offer."When accessibility for all those with impairments, whether mobility or sensory, is addressed such as here, it means true inclusivity and a greater enjoyment of all that nature has in abundance."The Surrey Hills Access for All Fund, provided by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, supports initiatives that improve access to natural spaces.
BBC News
10-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Government will not review decision on solar farm near Guildford
The government will not review the approval of plans to build a solar farm on green belt land near University of Surrey was granted permission to build the facility on a 43-hectare site west of Blackwell Farm, Hog's Back, in and Ash MP Jeremy Hunt, who requested the approval be reviewed by the government, said he was "disappointed" by the Secretary of State's decision not to call it Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been contacted for comment. Hunt said in a social media post he was "disappointed" to receive confirmation that Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner had decided the application would not be called in for said he, along with Compton Parish Council, had requested the review due to the prominence of the site and because some of the land had been recommended for inclusion in the Surrey Hills National Landscape as a part of an expansion letter from the government department said Rayner was content that the decision should be made by the local planning authority, Guildford Borough added that the deadline for the Surrey Hills National Landscape ended in December and he was awaiting confirmation of next steps from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. A spokesperson for the University of Surrey said the application "was never likely to be called in" and that the council's decision came at the end of an "extensive and consultative" 18-month planning added: "Our project is firmly in line with local and national planning policy priorities. "We regret the three-month delay, but now look forward to proceeding with our plans to deliver clean, green energy for our campus." The Students' Union submitted a letter of support for the application, but about 100 local residents and 15 other groups had sent letters of Borough Council has been contacted for further comment.
