THE current East Street planning application, provisionally scheduled to be determined on June 11, is the most unpopular of Crest Nicholson's schemes for the site by a clear margin. So it was claimed this week by leading opponents of the proposal, as they posed for a photograph outside Brightwell House brandishing the figures 5200 to illustrate the scale of objections so far. "Earlier this year Waverley put out a small brochure about their proposals, to which 754 replied in favour -5,200 is seven times that number!" The Herald was told. "Claims by councillors that the town's message is that the scheme should go ahead are an insult to their constituents and fly in the face of the reality these numbers represent." The highest number of objections to any of the previous applications for the site was 4,406 and very many of those who have written in about the current application have done so for the fourth time. "Warmest thanks and congratulations are due to them for their stamina and determination," said the group, representing the various organisations opposing the scheme. "Their willingness never to give up and the emphatic scale of the numbers reveals the depth and extent of the opposition to this deeply unpopular scheme." Farnham Theatre Association chairman Anne Cooper said that almost half the total objections to the main plan were from people objecting to the loss of the Redgrave Theatre. And she added: "I would like to point out that this type of demonstration would not be possible on the Brightwells site - or town square - in the future without CNS's management company giving permission first. The site will be privatised and any activity on it will have to be sanctioned by the management company who will be funded by the tenants of the development. "Out go all the public rights of freedom of speech and protest!" The objectors claim Waverley is "desperate" for the scheme to go ahead through fear of financial penalties in its contract with Crest Nicholson. "Having failed to consult us originally on what sort of scheme we wanted; having taken nine years to get thus far; having lost in those nine years the £20 million it was due to receive; having brutally and unnecessarily destroyed the bowls club; having ignored every representation by the public that does not chime with its preferred option... Waverley still shows every sign of intending to vote the scheme through." The council has this week countered fears in the minds of some residents that the outcome of the planning application has been predetermined. Campaigner Eric Boyle told The Herald that he has written to Waverley chief executive Mary Orton and of particular concern was a guidance note to councillors issued by Waverley's monitoring officer. This ended with the sentence "There are potential hazards along the way, but if councillors follow the advice in this note, then the risk of a successful challenge should be reduced to a minimum level". "Mr Boyle's letter refers to the East Street planning application and so will be passed on to the planning team so that his comments can be included with the application," said a statement from Waverley. "The planning application has not been predetermined. "The committee to determine the application has not yet sat and the application will be considered exclusively on its merits as a planning application, as with any planning application. "Councillors on the planning committee have been briefed on how to avoid bias and predetermination in accordance with the code of conduct for planning, and the chief executive has full confidence in the ability of councillors to consider this planning application." • Crest Nicholson this week stressed that it remains committed to the East Street project, despite the fact that 10 per cent of its staff are being made redundant as the housing market crisis intensifies and the company scales back on land acquisitions and new building. "While other areas around the UK are feeling the pinch of the current market, Farnham remains a strong retail and residential demand area," said project director Greg Vincent. "The scheme that Crest Nicholson is taking forward has enormous benefits for Farnham and the planning process will continue to progress as normal."
