Just a quick reminder that if you want to support Natural England’s proposal to include as AONB the area titled Wey Valley ( which includes the Waverley Lane fields), your consultation response needs to be in by the 13th June.
The valley of the River Wey itself was proposed a while back for inclusion in the AONB, though not formally confirmed. This is the first time that Natural England have recommended that the Waverley Lane fields be included within this WEY VALLEY boundary. We must not allow other interested parties to chip away at this recent appraisal by Natural England. They, the Government’s own experts, believe the fields are of Outstanding Natural Beauty !
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If you would like to say something in support of your approval, perhaps the pictures above will inspire you. The first shows the area of ANCIENT WOODLAND which extends up from Waverley Abbey and frames the central and southern fields to the south of Waverley Lane (Where B3001 is shown in pink). Ancient Woodland is an irreplaceable habitat which supports all manner of flora and fauna. A stroll along the Public Right of Way between these two fields will also reveal the ancient bank dividing them, with very old trees ( some designated as “VETERAN”, and so protected the same way as Ancient Woodland is) and also native bluebells, an ancient woodland indicator. Looking downwards into the Bourne Valley from the path – it is hard to understand why the land beyond Monks Walk is designated as AONB and the fields currently are not. These are all part of the wooded sides of the Wey Valley river and its tributaries.
Waverley Borough Council also believe we have special areas of woodland in the fields – in 2016 they designated a very extensive area of woodland to be protected - see TPO4/16 with the green shaded areas W1, W2 and W3 enclosed by a darker green border. It is unusual to have an area of woodland protected by a TPO (rather than individual trees) , but Waverley tree experts obviously thought this needed doing. The deep wooded gulley between these protected woods and Compton Copse, through which Waverley Lane passes as it descends to the stream, is a classic feature of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and should also be recognised as such.
The final photo shows the Waverley Lane hedge just beyond Abbots Ride, forming the boundaries of the northern and the central field to each side. Evidence shows that these are Ancient Hedgerows, having existed in that location since the era of tithes. They form the green corridor which is so important to the character of the southern approach to Farnham.
The link to the consultation is shown below.