A FORMER Mayor of Waverley and a Haslemere town councillor, Michael Biddiscombe, who chose the name for the town's newest mini-shopping mall, has called on all sides to find a solution to the continuing access problems to Charter Walk.

Completed almost a year behind schedule, Charter Walk in West Street was officially opened in November in a blaze of publicity by Waverley's mayor Michael Goodridge. On the same day a bust of Queen Elizabeth 1 was unveiled by town mayor Michael Barnes.

But since then, although the walk-through from West Street and the central car park was completed many months ago, the public have been barred from using it and the mall has bseen firmly barricaded by metal railings.

This week vandals pushed down several railings at the car park side of the mall, damaging the fences.

Traders' frustration and constant complaints from customers over what has been described as Haslemere's "Berlin Wall" have led to a call for a compromise solution.

Mr Biddiscombe has called on Watford-based mall developers Chelsworth Leisure and the owners of the "ransom strip" of land on which the access problems centre, the Gibbs Trust, to "find a way forward for the sake of the town".

Mr Biddiscombe told The Herald this week: "I think it is very sad that Haslemere is unable to see Charter Walk fulfil its complete purpose.

"I can't help feeling that if the trustees thought carefully about it they would see that by agreeing to open the whole area up, the town would be delighted.

"Let the town benefit. One has to respect people's rights and I would be over the moon if the way was opened up.

"I think if there was a nice gesture from the trustees it would be welcomed and I appeal to them to think about the town moving forward," said Mr Biddiscombe.

But some traders in West Street were more forthright about the access problems in Charter Walk.

Sarah Miles who runs the Cheese Box delicatessen in West Street said that everybody in the town was asking about it.

"They all want to see it open and people are getting frustrated.

"The town has become a complete laughing stock. A lot of people who can't walk very far have lost their disabled parking bay in West Street and the disabled parking spaces in the car park are too far away," she said.

She branded the mini mall not as Charter Walk but "Charter Dead End".

"Personally, I think Waverley Borough Council should make a compulsory purchase order on the land in question," said Richard Royds, who runs the Haslemere Cellar.

An angry Martin Burt from ironmongers Miles and Son complained: "I think it is disgraceful. The council should be able to do something about it,."

"It's ridiculous to hold the town up to ransom and, combined with the derelict and eye-sore properties in the town, it is no good to anybody.

"I was told that the builders handed the building over at the beginning of the month and still nothing has been done. I've a good mind to take the matter into our own hands and take the barriers down," he warned.

The president of the Haslemere Chamber of Trade, Melanie Odell, echoed the views of many traders: "We would invite all interested parties to come to an amicable agreement for the sake of Haslemere.

"There is the opportunity for new traders to become a vibrant part of the town in a lovely development and we would like to see Charter Walk open as soon as possible."

Luisa Hodgson is the latest beneficiary of the Gibbs Trust, following the death of her grandmother Poppy Rhodes. The bust of Queen Elizabeth 1 in Charter Walk is dedicated to Poppy Rhodes' memory following a gift from the family. Luisa Hodgson told The Herald: "There is going to be a meeting of the beneficiaries in the near future to discuss the future of the Gibbs Trust."

Simon Hodgins, the managing trustee of the Gibbs Trust, a family trust which owns both land and properties in the town centre, did not wish to be quoted and the director of Chelsworth Leisure, Jeremy Stevens, was unavailable for comment.