WOULD-be developers of Farnham sites may find themselves paying a sum to Waverley Council on being granted planning consent, so that the council can encourage more people to walk their dogs in Farnham Park. Under the bizarre arragement, amounts changing hands would vary, according to the proximity of the development site to heathland north of the Odiham Road and Sandy Hill estate. That area - haven of the endangered Dartford warbler - has been designated as the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (SPA). English Nature has ruled that there will be restraints on development within five kilometres of the SPA, unless a developer can provide "mitigation" for the pressures on the species that an increased number of dog walkers and cat owners will bring. Waverley officers this week unveiled their "mini-plan" for dealing with the situation, relying on attracting more visitors to Farnham Park. "The intention is that by providing additional open space for dog walking and walking, new residents will be attracted to the mitigation sites and not to the protected areas," Waverley's environment and leisure overview and scrutiny committee was told. "Despite the problem of constraint on development in Farnham, it will, in fact, be possible to provide enough mitigation up to 2018 through the enhancement of Farnham Park." The proposal is that developers will pay Waverley £800 per head of new population within two kilometres of the SPA and £400 in a five kilometre zone, which will include the East Street redevelopment. The funds would be used to pay an on-site ranger, information facilities, pedestrian access points and car park improvements. "If we don't have this mitigation, then all applications for housing development have to be refused," said planning officer Peter Hartley. "We are very fortunate in Farnham that we do have Farnham Park. Other authorities that do not have the large extents of land that is there for recreation purposes are not able to do this mitigation." Mary Hunt, however, was appalled at the thought of encouraging people to get in their 4 X 4s, making more pollution in the town to travel to the medieval deer park. "All the traffic going up there, all the people walking their doggies and going to these information points, they are going to spoil the very facilities that they want to avail themselves of." And she visibly winced as Mr Hartley referred to "measures to ensure that the damage to Farnham Park is properly controlled". Anne Mansell pointed out that there were plenty of other areas where mitigation could be provided, for instance on the North Downs Way footpath. "You can't just point people in one direction." Mr Hartley said that other proposals would come forward, but that could take two years. "What we have got with Farnham Park is a resource we can use now. There will be others in future," he said. "Without the mini-plan, all development will stop. This is an interim solution that will get us out of the impasse." The mini-plan will now be considered by Waverley's executive.