THE group charged with using the construction of the £371m A3 tunnel to plan a 'new vision' for the future of Hindhead, set out its priorities at a meeting in Haslemere on Monday. Poul Christensen, chairman of the Hindhead Together Joint Advisory Committee and deputy chair of Natural England, set out the key points for the group, at the first formal meeting of the committee in Haslemere Town Hall. He said: "This is a hugely exciting project and we are now starting work on creating and delivering a vision of the future, exploiting to the maximum the economic, social and environmental gains that derive from the Hindhead A3 tunnel scheme. "Hindhead Together is a wide partnership but we are clear about our aims. "Now that we have been formally constituted, we will seek to ensure that development is appropriate to the needs of local people and businesses and we will make sure everyone is aware of what we are doing and can have an input to our work. "We will work closely with local communities, as the needs of local people and businesses are critical to the success of the work. "An initial step is to appoint a co-ordinator to drive this work forward and we will be advertising this post soon. "We will work with everyone concerned to build the 'Vision and Plan' for Hindhead for the years following the construction of the tunnel. "One of the best things about this group is the strong commitment everyone shows at working together. "The core members of the committee represent Surrey County Council, Waverley Borough Council, the National Trust, Natural England, Haslemere Town Council and the South East England Development Agency, but we also draw on other local councils and organisations as needed, including the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty partnership. "There is lots of enthusiasm amongst the partners for what we can deliver and I am keen to push the work forward, now that we have a proper structure." David Harmer, Surrey County Council's executive member for resources, said: "It is tremendous that we have everyone together working on this vision for the long term future of Hindhead after the tunnel is complete. "We are also delighted that Poul is chairing the partnership. He will strengthen the work of the Hindhead Together partnership with the wider vision he has as deputy chair of Natural England and as a board member of the South East England Development Agency, as well as adding his own personal and business skills." Mr Christensen added: "The A3 Hindhead tunnel scheme is of enormous public benefit and a fantastic opportunity to restore this internationally recognised area of lowland heath. "This is one of the most dramatic and inspirational landscapes in the South East for nature conservation, recreation and tourism." "It is environmentally sensitive due to the ground nesting birds that depend upon it and this is one of the defining forces behind the work. "Our task is to make the most of the opportunities whilst protecting and improving the ecology and historic landscape character of the wider Hindhead Commons."
