AN olive branch has been extended to The Haslemere Society after a row developed over its membership numbers. Surveyor John Gibson – a leading campaigner to save Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's former home, Undershaw, in Hindhead – made the offer of a £900 cheque, through the letters page of The Herald, if the Society agreed to an independant audit to clarify membership numbers once and for all. But it is not clear, as The Herald went to press, whether the society will take up the offer. Mr Gibson, who lives in Bookham, near Leatherhead, says he plans to move to Haslemere and insists he has no axe to grind with the society. He said: "The gesture is made in the spirit of the season of goodwill, I have nothing against the society. I have suggested an independant audit in the interests of transparency and I would cover all the costs myself. "I can see no reason why they wouldn't take the money." The Haslemere Society president Robert Serman, said: "The committee talked about the offer and did not feel it appropriate to comment on it." Mr Serman said the society, which aims to protect and enhance Haslemere and surrounding villages by challenging changes detrimental to the area, had worked with Mr Gibson when trying to save Undershaw. He added : "I have tried to speak to him (Mr Gibson) several times recently, but without success and so yesterday I posted a letter to him suggesting that we meet and have a chat." In reply to Mr Gibson's letter, published in The Herald last week, society chairman David Smith said: "We do not need a second audit. The Haslemere Society is a charity registered with the Charity Commission. "As such it complies with the strict code of practice in its administration and accountability. Annual accounts are prepared in June and examined by an independant auditor." Earlier this year, Mr Gibson, a retired chartered surveyor stepped in with a £1,250 donation after The Haslemere Society withdrew its sponsorship of the Waverley Design Awards. He also pledged to sponsor it for the future. The society backed out in protest when Waverley planning officers raised no objections to designs for 43 houses on land at Midhurst Road, Haslemere. At the time members said they had become so frustrated at the "remarkable lapse in standards" at Waverley Borough Council. Councillors later threw out the application, but it was later allowed on appeal. Mr Gibson told The Herald: "Personally, I didn't like the way they (The Haslemere Society) criticised public servants who had no right of reply, but I have no axe to grind with them, they are all volunteers and give their time freely." He said the £900 offer represented the 180 membership difference between the figures quoted for membership of the society – originally 350 and then 530 – at £5 per head. Membership numbers had sparked off a debate, via The Herald letters page, between Mr Gibson and the society after a letter to The Herald from the would- be developer of Sturt Farm, Anthony Lawson, who questioned whether the society represented Haslemere's population. Mr Lawson had also attacked the society, saying it represented only those with established homes and interests in the town, whereas the Sturt Farm homes would have been for key workers such as teachers, nurses, firefighters and police officers. l A decision on whether Undershaw, the house built by the Sherlock Holmes creator, will be upgraded to Grade One listed building status is expected next month. The Victorian Society appealed against the Department of Culture, Media and Sport's decision not to give it listed status after English Heritage said it was a Grade Two building.
