Blackwell Farm and Manor Farm is an area of significant landscape character (comprising AONB, AGLV, Green Belt land and ancient woodland) and development should not be allowed on any part of this land

• The parcel of land includes AONB and AGLV, and therefore has to be built upon as a  very last resort (and only in special circumstances)

• The strategy put forward in GBC’s own Landscape Character Assessment (2007) supports this view, yet little is made of the AONB/AGLV designation in the Green Belt and Countryside (Pegasus) Study.

• The fields within the site that are not AONB/AGLV-designated form the remarkable open views that can be seen from the AONB and therefore make the AONB what it is.

• The whole site forms the panoramic vista from the top of the Hogs Back – a historical and geological feature which contributes to Guildford’s special character. This, too, is recognised in the Landscape Character Assessment, which describes the Hogs Back as the ‘iconic spine to the borough’.

The Hogs Back forms important part of Guildford’s landscape heritage and the views from the top of the ridge are  fundamental to the character of Guildford

• The site in question forms the views from the Hogs Back –  an important part of Guildford’s landscape heritage. This is recognised in Guildford’s Landscape Character Assessment (2007), which describes the Hogs Back as the “the iconic ‘spine’ to the borough and rural backdrop to Guildford”.

• The Hogs Back is the road with the longest history in England – carrying tradesmen and pilgrims for centuries. It was used by worshippers travelling to Stonehenge; Phoenician, Greek and Gaul traders; Julius Caesar on his way to London; William the Conqueror on his way to Winchester; and thousands of pilgrims, including Henry II, who made their way along, and beside, the ridge towards Canterbury.

• Writers such as Daniel Defoe and Jane Austen, among others, have marvelled at the beauty of the landscape that can be seen for miles in all directions from the Hogs Back.

• The whole area is rich in history, Blackwell Farm was one of the very earliest model farms and Down Place is believed to have been landscaped by Capability Brown.