SURREY County Council’s handling of a £5.5m residential complex for adults with autism being built in partnership with a Farnham-based charity has been criticised for being “underhand” and “autocratic”.

Independent councillor Ernest Mallet hit out at the council’s social services department saying it had “deliberately excluded” members in the discussions about the building of Linden Farm, a flagship new venture designed to bring 10 disabled young adults back into the county and nearer their families.

He said he very much regretted a redesign of the “much-needed” residential home for adults with complex special needs, which charity The Simon Trust, founded by Peter and Sally Lawrence from Farnham, has also blamed for depriving vulnerable autistic adults of “what they need and deserve”.

Work has already begun at Linden Farm in Rosemary Lane, Alfold, after planning permission for the five self-contained units with overnight staff quarters and an activity centre was granted in January 2017.

But changes to a horticultural plot, the size of the activity centre and material used for the roof were put forward by the council in October.

Councillors were unhappy with the changes being submitted and the lack of involvement with The Simon Trust which had raised £360,000 to fund the development but had not been given the chance to hand over the money to the council. They deferred the decisions for more talks to take place.

Mr Mallet was unable to make the October meeting but aired his frustration this week when the application was approved by Surrey’s planning and regulatory committee on Wednesday, November 21. He said he was involved in discussions with the project when it “hit difficulties” with social services two years ago, but felt it had been resolved and nothing had been said since.

Mr Mallet said: “Then suddenly the planning committee has a partly-retrospective planning application which involves different buildings and deletion of the site’s external recreational facilities.”

He added he never received replies to his communication from the officers in charge about the changes proposed.

“Unfortunately for those of us concerned with social issues, these policies cannot deal with the social provision and in themselves are relatively benign,” he continued.

“I very much regret the way the social services have run and are running this project but this is largely outside planning. I have no scope for arguing with the planning reasons.

“The problem here is members like myself and those on the social services side, who are concerned with these matters, have been deliberately excluded from any discussion on this side of the council. We haven’t had an opportunity to determine a way forward on this project and the whole history and whole handling by social services has been totally autocratic and really quite underhand.”

Councillors voted seven for the amendments, two against with Mr Mallet abstaining.

Committee chairman Tim Hall said: “Members of the committee feel there are a number of issues that are not planning issues that really could do with being handled better and sorted.”

A Surrey County Council spokesman said: “We’ve made every effort to keep councillors and residents informed throughout this process and we’re pleased the planning committee has approved these plans which will provide a suitable new home and dedicated support for 10 disabled people.”

Founded in 2015, The Simon Trust has raised funds specifically to finance the new facility, and has called on the county council to revert to the originally-approved plan for Linden Farm with appropriate onsite facilities.

Surrey initially approved a 272 square metre activity centre on the six-acre site in Alford, but passed a revised application reducing this to just 150 square metres in October – despite objections by The Simon Trust and Waverley Borough Council, the latter in response to the centre’s “less than significant harm” on the setting of the Alford Conservation Area.

The revisions include an internal rearrangement, while originally-planned horticultural facilities have also been removed, as has a cycle track, food technology kitchen, enlarged sports area and a chicken coop. The sensory room has also been “reduced to an unusable small size”, according to The Simon Trust.

One of the 10 autistic adults due to move into Linden Farm next summer is 25-year-old Simon, son of The Simon Trust founders, Peter and Sally.

Speaking to The Herald in September, Peter outlined the need for the new facility. He said: “Facility opportunities for children are extensive, there are schools and charities – it’s a sort of nice area of autism. As soon as they hit adulthood, no-one wants to know about them. Once a week the trust gets desperate families saying their son or daughter is back and they’re asking us ‘what do we do?’”

“This is why Linden Farm is so important. It’s the first of its kind in Surrey, but Surrey County Council is making a complete mess of it.”