MORE of Haslemere is set to be given extra protection against development thanks to plans to extend the town's conservation area. Proposals have been put forward to extend the conservation area further south to include much of the Courts Mount Road area which has been targeted by property developers. On Tuesday, Waverley Borough Council's environment and leisure overview and scrutiny committee is due to consider a report put together by the Haslemere Society. "Over the past year a number of residents in the Courts Mount Road area of Haslemere have expressed an interest in obtaining an extension to the Haslemere conservation area boundary," the committee report said. "The Haslemere Society has investigated the proposal and has produced as case for the extension." The society's report outlines the areas it would like to see included in the extended conservation area. The first area the report turns its attention to is Sandrock, which it describes as "the ancient drove road along which Shepherds drove their Sussex flocks to market in the town". The next area is Courts Mount Road, which leads off from Sandrock. "Until the end of the 19th century, Courts Mount Road was a farm track leading only into Courts Hill Farm," the society's report said. "The first editions of the ordnance survey of 1873 show clearly the cluster of farm buildings which originate from the Tudor period. "The house names generally give little clue to their previous use but they are adapted buildings of a farm which was a working entity less than 100 years ago." The society's report talks about a number of the listed buildings in the road as well as the other important Arts and Crafts' style homes. The same is said of a handful of the homes on the northern side of Courts Hill Road, which is also put forward for inclusion in the extended conservation area. In its case, the Haslemere Society emphasises the importance of extending the conservation area. "Haslemere has been required to fit many more houses into its romantic hillsides and our precious architectural heritage is threatened like never before," its report said. "It is these pressures which emphasise the need for as revision of the boundaries of the original conservation area agreed by the former Haslemere UDC (Urban District Council) in 1973. "It is the view of the Haslemere Society that the case for adopting an extension to the present conservation area is fully justified and should be progressed with all possible speed." Analysing the society's report the borough council's officers are largely supportive of its case as being "justified". However, officers recommend that some houses north of Courts Mount Road are not included within the extension. "It is recommended that a group of modern houses to the north side of Courts Mount Road be omitted from the extension to the conservation as proposed by the Haslemere Society as they do not make any contribution to the character of the area," the committee report said. If councillors back the proposals they will be subject to formal public consultation before a final decision is made.
