Levels of garden grabbing in South West Surrey have risen significantly over the past few years and now account for nearly half of all new housing, according to figures uncovered by local MP Jeremy Hunt. In official statistics released by the Government, the proportion of new homes built on existing houses and gardens in Waverley has risen by 3% since 2001 to 47% in 2004, the last year for which statistics are available.Jeremy is currently supporting Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark, who is pushing a Private Members Bill through the House of Commons in order to make it harder for such ‘garden grabbing’ actions. The pair will be joining forces on 30 September to host a series of protest marches in Godalming, Haslemere and Farnham. Jeremy said: “Domino-like garden grabbing developments are beginning to define our area despite the wishes of the overwhelming majority of local residents to protect and preserve the character of our towns and villages. ""It does not solve the affordable housing problem, but will spoil our area. I want Waverley Borough Council to do more to stop overdevelopment, including forcing developers to include a higher proportion of affordable homes in their plans.”Currently a developer must include affordable housing elements in their plans if they build more than 15 dwellings. Jeremy wants that figure reduced to 5.