The Bookhams Residents’ Association (BRA) urges Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) to delay approval of the Bookham Masterplan, citing significant flaws in both process and content. The BRA argues the plan misrepresents community support, and approval would risk legitimising projects without adequate consultation or validation.
Key Concerns:
Insufficient Public Engagement:
Only 225 residents (2%) completed the online survey.
MVDC claims 443 responses, but the BRA alleges double-counting.
Engagement is too low to be representative of Bookham’s ~11,400 eligible residents.
Survey Design Flaws:
No “Do Nothing” options, biasing results towards change.
No distinction made between residents’ and businesses’ views.
Survey format was difficult to use; many residents gave up.
Misleading Representation of Support:
MVDC reported percentages based only on those who answered each question, not the total number of respondents.
Example: Artisan market support was reported as 61%, but that’s only 20% of total respondents.
Ignored Constraints:
Lack of co-ordination with Surrey County Council, despite projects requiring their approval.
Land ownership and infrastructure constraints overlooked.
Dismissal of BRA’s Concerns:
Officers minimized BRA objections as mere “divergence of views.”
BRA’s formal concerns are not included in the Cabinet briefing papers.
Weak Democratic Oversight:
The plan bypassed the usual Scrutiny Committee process, reviewed instead by a closed-door Working Group.
Decisions impacting the community are being made without public visibility or accountability.
The BRA believes the Masterplan, if approved on 16th April, would be based on flawed consultation and misleading data and calls for further community engagement and transparency, warning that the current approach undermines democracy and trust in MVDC.
