THE CHAIRMAN of the Haslemere Society has backed calls for a "masterplan" to control development in Hindhead. David Smith also called on Waverley Borough Council (WBC) not to grant planning permission for developments in the Hindhead crossroads area until a plan had been drawn up. The Haslemere Society aims to protect and enhance the town, surrounding villages and countryside, by challenging changes which could be detrimental to the area. Mr Smith's comments come after repeated calls for a comprehensive scheme to manage the future of Hindhead, as work begins on the £371 million A3 Hindhead Tunnel Scheme. Last month, members of Haslemere Town Council's planning and highways committee, strongly objected to outline plans by luxury bathroom company Drummonds, to demolish its existing Hindhead base to make way for 95 new homes and 280 metres of retail space. At the time, town councillors made a desperate plea for Waverley Borough Council to draw up plans to help manage the future development of land around the Hindhead crossroads. These calls were supported by John Gibson, who is campaigning to save Undershaw, author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's, former home, which is also in the Hindhead crossroads area. In a letter to The Herald Mr Smith argues the transfer of traffic, as part of the A3 Hindhead Tunnel Scheme, which is due to be completed by 2011, will "improve and transform the area near the Hindhead crossroads and provide it with excellent access to the trunk road". In his letter Mr Smith goes on to highlight recently submitted large-scale planning applications for the Hindhead crossroads area, including Drummonds, Undershaw and Expedier House. Mr Smith told The Herald: developers and landowners were "well aware" of the potential for the land around Hindhead and were "looking to profit from this transformation". He went on to express concern that developments in Hindhead were being considered by Waverley Borough Council on "an ad hoc basis and without the benefit of a comprehensive development plan for the area". Although Waverley Borough Council last month announced it would prepare a 'Planning Statement' to act as a "development control tool" for the area, Mr Smith believes action should have been taken earlier. In his letter Mr Smith said: "WBC has had plenty of notice of these impending changes and should have been 'ahead of the game'. We are now faced with a reactive instead of a proactive exercise". He called on Waverley Borough Council to ensure permissions for developments in the Hindhead crossroads area would not be given until "options for the area are identified and subjected to full consultation and a masterplan". In his letter Mr Smith goes on to say that a "quick planning statement by WBC without consultation is not acceptable". He added that the need for the Hindhead masterplan was "urgent" and said if WBC did not have the expertise for the "vital task" planning consultants should be used. In his letter Mr Smith said; that despite Drummonds stated intention to open new showrooms in Haslemere, the luxury bathroom company would find "difficulty in achieving this" due to the lack of any industrial floorspace and small amount of office space in the town. In his letter Mr Smith said: "Over the last decade the town has lost a considerable amount of commercial space to housing which deprives the town of local employment and local services that a modern community requires. "WBC has allowed this to happen but it must stop the relentless replacement of commercial space by housing and give proper consideration to sustainability when identifying the planning options". Mr Smith felt that although Haslemere town councillors were right to highlight the "recreational possibilities" for the area they were wrong to call for the development to be "limited to recreation". In his letter to The Herald Mr Smith described the building of the A3 Tunnel as a "unique opportunity to transform Hindhead into a breathtakingly attractive destination with strong historic connections" but warned allowing development in the area could "imperil this vision".