PLANNING officers will be recommending the green light be given to detailed plans for 134 homes on surplus land at the Farnham Hospital site when Waverley's development committee meets next Wednesday. Outline proposals for the development, including also a nursery building that the Primary Care Trust plans to provide, were approved by the council in December 2005. The current detailed plans, however, follow the rejection last August of a previous application by Bellway Homes South East for detailed planning permission. Key grounds for refusal included that the design, mass, height and layout were out of keeping with the character of the area and amenity of neighbouring homes. Another reason was that Bellway had failed to demonstrate that the development could achieve 10 per cent renewable energy on site. Such difficulties have been overcome by the new plan, according to the officers, and in particular there are no longer any four-storey buildings. Farnham Town Council is unconvinced, however, finding the buildings "bland and lacking variety" and expressing concerns about the implications for traffic. Town councillors also echoed the fears of nearby residents that car parking would spill over into the already strained hospital car park. The scheme, a mixture of one to four- bedroom homes including 65 two-bedroom flats, includes 40 per cent "affordable housing", with 27 key-worker flats, 22 homes for social renting and five shared equity flats. The proposal now allows for a piece of public art to be positioned where it will add interest to both the housing scheme and the neighbouring hospital and it is suggested that the developer should contribute £15,000 towards it.
