Sir, – I refer to the article on the first page of last week's Farnham Herald. "Public will love East Street say developers." The "public" represented by United Voice of Farnham hate the East Street application. The United Voice of Farnham speaks for more than 25 organisations including the following: Farnham Society Farnham Building and Preservation Trust Farnham Independent Retailers Brightwell Bowls Club Eight residents associations The Chamber of Commerce (whose concern is the effect on trade throughout the construction period and the long-term effect of traffic and parking problems) East Street Action. The town council cannot be a member but has voiced the same criticism of East Street, very well expressed in their resolution to Waverley Borough Council which still stands. Crest Nicholson has declared "residents will love it just as much as they love the Lion and Lamb Yard". As chairman of the Farnham Society and architect of the Lion and Lamb, I would like the residents of Farnham to understand the comparison between the East Street proposals and the Lion and Lamb which demonstrates why we so strongly object to the East Street application. Lion and Lamb is approximately 100,000 sq ft of building. East Street is approximately 750,000 sq ft of building (including underground car parking). Lion and Lamb is 95 per cent two storey, East Street is more than 60 per cent four storey. Lion and Lamb is contextual or historic in design. East Street is modernistic in design. For these reasons, and particularly the size and height, for Crest to say "residents will love East Street as much as Lion and Lamb", is assuming a very low opinion of Farnham residents' tastes, intelligence and love of their town. The next hurdle the developers have to jump is to persuade Waverley to extend the long- stop date of December 31, 2006. Written into the contract for the East Street development is a clause that allows either party to walk away if certain conditions have not been met by December 31, 2006. The purposes of this clause is to avoid the agreement dragging on for years and years. Two of the conditions of the long-stop clause are that Crest Nicholson needs to have assembled all the land (which they haven't) and to have obtained satisfactory planning permission, building regulation and bye-laws approval, which is months and months away. The United Voice of Farnham, which includes the Farnham Society, begs Waverley Council not to extend the contract. The scheme is far too large and does nothing for East Street. If any residents support this plea please write expressing your support to me at The Grange, Old Park Lane, Farnham, GU9 8QP. Maximilian Lyons, Cricket Green, Hartley Wintney
