EAST Street developers have dismissed thousands of official public objections to their scheme, suggesting "only 30 per cent, or much less than 2,000, are actually valid". With objections now topping 5,700 and campaigners claiming the scheme is flawed and disliked, Greg Vincent, a development director at Crest Nicholson Regeneration, has asserted 50 per cent of the opinions lodged can be discounted because they concern the Redgrave Theatre. Representations from people living outside the Farnham area should also be ruled out, according to Mr Vincent. His bid to diminish the weight of opposition, delivered in a statement to The Herald, has not, however, cut any ice with Waverley Council, which is recording the ever-increasing objection figures on its website. "The level of comment from the public on this planning application reflects its importance to residents of Farnham and to the wider community," said the council this week. "It is unfortunate that Crest Nicholson have taken it upon themselves to declare large numbers of honestly held views about this scheme as 'invalid' - the council certainly does not hold this view." Anne Cooper, one of the campaigners, asked: "Who is Mr Vincent trying to convince? Obviously not the public, as they have already given their opinion on the unsuitability of his development." As The Herald went to press, the council's website recorded 5,709 objections to the application and 24 letters in support. But according to Crest Nicholson, feedback from its month-long public exhibition indicates this to be "a discrepancy" and Mr Vincent went on to accuse the campaigners of feeding "misinformation" to the people of Farnham. Crest Nicholson has claimed a 65 per cent response in favour of the scheme from those who attended the exhibition and a further 10 per cent "generally supportive". The developers say that of 603 objections sampled, 30 per cent were from postcodes outside the area and eight per cent were duplications. "The biggest distortion of the figures has come from the Redgrave Theatre Association, with around 50 per cent of the objections coming from pro- formas distributed by the association." Said Greg Vincent: "To object to the scheme on the basis of the removal of the theatre is grossly unfair. The Redgrave Theatre is not operational, and hasn't been for almost a decade. "To start complaining about it now is only delaying what will be a positive development for the future of Farnham. "We knew, after having undertaken the public exhibition, that 5,200 objections (the figure recorded a fortnight ago) couldn't be right. When we actually looked at the objections I couldn't believe what we discovered – and this is only from a sample. "In fact, we believe that only 30 per cent, or much less than 2,000, are actually valid." Anne Cooper, of Farnham Theatre Association (FTA), has replied to the allegations, strongly denying feeding any misinformation to the public and pointing out that the association relies on legal advice. "It is disappointing to find that Crest Nicholson Sainsbury's, who have claimed to want a 'community led scheme' which meets the aspirations of the local people, are belittling the representations of so many of this community." Mrs Cooper stressed that the bid to rescue the theatre came to prominence in 2000 and had been running ever since: "The campaign to save the Redgrave is not a new idea, dreamt up just to thwart Mr Vincent's plans." The main planning application deals with the change of use of Brightwell House and the loss of the theatre and the listed building consent application is concerned with its demolition. "Both are legitimate subjects for public comment, whether on proformas or as letters. It is the impact of the proposed development as well as the content of the scheme which is open to criticism."
