A FARNHAM town councillor is calling for the strategic open gap around Weybourne and Badshot Lea to be designated as replacement open space for developments. The site falls within English Nature's exclusion corridor around the Thames Basin Heaths, and is home to rare ground-nesting birds such as the Dartford warbler. Liberal Democrat councillor Mark Norris feels that the heaths in the area should be purchased for public use, with a view to preserving the site. "Designating the strategic open gap between Farnham and Aldershot as replacement open space would help conserve local wildlife and provide more space for people to walk and ride," said Mr Norris. "Waverley has got some short-term plans to deal with English Nature's objections to any further developments within three miles of the Thames Basin heaths, but this would provide a longer-term solution. "It would provide more green open space in Farnham for people to use, thereby protecting Farnham Park by making more space available for local wildlife and outdoor activities." "Some of the land around Weybourne and Badshot Lea is already being managed and conserved as part of the Blackwater Valley. "When Farnham quarry finishes it'll also be managed in the same way, so that local wildlife and people both benefit. "Adding this area under this plan would not only mean that local residents and wildlife win, but Farnham as a whole does. It would help preserve the open space between Farnham and Aldershot, ensuring they remain distinct communities, rather than end up as one conurbation." "The plan would see developers in Farnham - and possibly further afield - putting money into a pot which would be used to buy up the open land in the strategic gap as and when it became available. "This would be added to land already being opened up for public use, such as the Farnham quarry site once it is dug out. The land would then be held in trust for the local community. Some of it could be conserved as areas for wildlife and the remainder opened up for outdoor activities such as riding and walking," said Mr Norris.
