WAVERLEY councillors next week face the critical decision of whether to grant new landlord sanction for the East Street redevelopment - 22 months after giving the go-ahead to the masterplan that fell apart with Sainsbury's decision not to build a new store. Before them will be a new Crest Nicholson Sainsbury's (CNS) plan, including a mall of shops, cafes and restaurants on the current Sainsbury's car park site where formerly a new Sainsbury's was planned. Special meetings of Waverley's executive and full council next Wednesday are being recommended to grant landowner sanction for the revised scheme and to encourage CNS to submit a planning application within its stated timescale of late July. In a leaflet promised to all Farnham householders, the developers have stated their belief that planning permission can be achieved by November, with construction beginning next March. However, The Herald has learned that site acquisition could still pose a major hurdle for the redevelopment. The need to purchase the site of the existing Sainsbury's store from unwilling landowners has been avoided by Sainsbury's decision to refurbish its existing store. But a more critical part of the scheme - the former cinema site, where CNS have indicated they have been negotiating for a major national chain to site a store - is also far from in the bag. Paul Herrington, managing director of F and C Property Asset Management, which manages the cinema site for Friends Provident, said the company had received no approach from the developer about the land. "We have no intention to sell it," he said, qualifying it with the statement that the options would be considered "at the appropriate time". As to whether the site might end up part of the East Street redevelopment, he remained firmly on the fence. "I would not rule it out and I would not rule it in," he said, not discounting also the suggestion that the owners might develop the site themselves. Friends Provident, owners also of the universally disliked Woolmead buildings, were among those who bid unsuccessfully to secure the East Street redevelopment contract from Waverley in 2002, including a comprehensive proposal for the refurbishment of the Woolmead in its bid. At the time, Mr Herrington attacked Waverley's selection process and described the chosen scheme as "unsympathetic to Farnham's heritage". This week he described the current plan facing Waverley as "a whole different proposal" from that which it selected. He stressed that the company will want to see a lot firmer and more detailed proposals before deciding the future of both the cinema site and the Woolmead buildings, where the current leases end in 2008. A brief outline of the new plan was presented to Waverley's corporate overview and scrutiny committee (O and S) last Thursday by Miller Stevenson, the council's property and development manager. Mr Stevenson explained to councillors that the cinema site was subject of "an ongoing dialogue, but the present view of F and C is that until they see a clear way forward, they will not commit themselves". Turning to the owners of the Sainsbury's site, Mr Stevenson said: "There have been a number of discussions with St Martin's but the raw truth is they have achieved nothing." Waverley Council's hopes that the site could be assembled with the help of a Compulsory Purchase Order have also been dashed. "During the period of the discussions, it became clear that we were not going to achieve the indemnity that we sought from Crest Nicholson to cover all the costs," said Mr Stevenson. The O and S committee, after discussing some of the issues in public, went into private session. Chairman Richard Gates said the issues to be covered included whether landlord's consent was required for the new plan, whether the new scheme met the contractual conditions and what the consequences would be of refusing landlord's consent. The outcome of the private discussion was that the committee accepted that an updated landowner sanction was needed for the new draft masterplan and felt that it would be reasonable for Waverley to grant it. They also requested more information at next week's meeting on various issues, including analysis of car park demand and the proposed increase in the numbers of spaces above the current provision. Opponents of the scheme believe that a shortage of car parking will be a major failing and claim that, with just 400 spaces proposed in the new underground car park, there will be 118 fewer than at present. Mr Stevenson's explanation to the committee was that "there was originally a net gain but we have probably ended up with a net loss". • News that Aldershot's Westgate development, including a seven-screen cinema, could begin by the end of this year, has fuelled suggestions that an eight-screen cinema would not be viable. The owner of Alton's two-screen Palace Cinema, Raj Jeyasingam, said: "If they think they are going to have an eight-screen cinema and survive, they haven't done their homework. My gut feeling tells me it might be a white elephant." Mr Jeyasingam says half his custom comes from Farnham and fears both his operation and the new Farnham cinema could go under. He told The Herald he has reported the proposal to the Office of Fair Trading and the Competitions Commission, which recently instructed Vue - the intended operator - to sell one of its two cinemas in Basingstoke, to avoid lessening competition, increasing prices and reduced choice for customers.