Sir, – Mr Prescott asks some questions in a way that enables him to present the developers as saviours of a run-down site. His solutions are questionable and hide the price we are being asked to pay. Salvation is not at hand from CNS. Yes, there should be new houses, but in smaller numbers and varied to suit a wide range of occupants, not 194 flats in four- storey block, unsuited to families because there are no play areas and only chosen because they are the cheapest and most profitable to build. Yes, there should be shops, but in scale, individual and characterful, complementing the day and evening economy of the Redgrave Theatre, not in two monolithic blocks, of the characterless sort you'd find anywhere, one of which is as big as the sports centre, though higher. Yes, there should be the chance for young people of all ages to go to the cinema, but to one of three screens, not one of eight in a block that looks like a 1930s TB sanatorium.Architectural sensitivity, please, not architectural vandalism. And there is no reason at all for Brightwell House to "slide into disrepair". This is being done by Waverley to make people believe that Redgrave is only fit for demolition when all its seats are in place and it is structurally sound. When Brightwell House was part of the Redgrave, it was abuzz with activity all day long, mainly as a restaurant. That's how it should be again. We already have a town square – it's called Brightwell Gardens, green and attractive, with the bowling green beyond; if a vista to the river is added, so much the better. If those gardens can sustain six weeks of the NFRAC summer season without damage or repercussion, they can easily play welcoming host to all the activities Mr Prescott suggest: farmers' markets, summer and Christmas events, and civic functions. And the Cobbett clock could, indeed, be incorporated. NFRAC is in the early stages of developing a new play about William Cobbett and I have heard it suggested the Redgrave should be renamed after him. What a gala reopening that would make – inside, a play about Farnham's favourite son in a theatre named after him, outside his own clock facing gardens and vistas beyond. Heritage and environment combined, cultural connection not cultural vandalism. Meanwhile, as the crunch approaches, the promises are being abandoned. Gostrey Club would only be improved at private expense; the tennis club will only have five courts, not the six they asked for, and the poor bowls club have been given notice to quit, without assurances for an alternative. Do bully the vulnerable while you're about it, community vandalism. I met someone in the Lion and Lamb Yard the other day, with a friend from Reading who said: "What lovely shops you have here, it's doing my credit card no good at all." Think how appealing this historic market town would be, with and East Street scheme that complemented Lion and Lamb Yard, with the additional bonuses of a theatre, a cinema and views – we would genuinely love that. When I talk to people in Farnham, they sometimes say this scheme is awful, but their tone implies "they" are bound to prevail in the end because "they" are so rich and powerful. Not so. We are rich and powerful in our sense of this town and it's history and heritage, and for us to prevail, this is what you do: 1. Look at the plans in the South Street locality office and into the book called Environmental Statement find the drawing called Perspective View 13. It makes Brightwell House look like a child surrounded by heavyweight thugs. http://www.waverley.gov.uk">www.waverley.gov.uk might tell you some things, too. 2. Go again to the same locality office, to the exhibition planned by CNS in the next fortnight or so, and question the developers searchingly about the scale, height and density of the buildings and about architectural, cultural and community vandalism; pretty pictures can be cosmetics on a dunghill in artfully-designed exhibitions. 3. Look out for information coming soon through 16,000 doors about how to object to the planning application and then, 4. Write in and object. We know planning inspectors take heed of well-argued objections in large numbers. The only way for what is not good to prevail is for good people to keep silent. David Wylde, St James Terrace, Farnham
