THERE are fears that a lane closure of the A31 Farnham bypass could extend into the Christmas period after councillors sounded the alarm to a potential planning breach this week.

An 11-week lane closure of the A31 eastbound between Red Lion Lane and the Shepherd and Flock roundabout was due to begin on Monday, to allow for the construction of a temporary access bridge serving the Brightwells site.

This has been delayed, however, after Farnham Residents councillors Jerry Hyman and Andy MacLeod pointed out discrepancies between the scheduled lane closure as set out in a leaflet distributed to residents, and Crest Nicholson’s planning consent for the works.

The leaflet states the lane closure will be in place 24 hours a day for the duration of works, while Crest’s consent outlines a closure between 9am and 5pm daily.

Crest has subsequently applied to Waverley Borough Council for a ‘non-material amendment’ (NMA) to its planning consent for the bridge works to “regularise the situation”.

However, Mr MacLeod has expressed concern that the delay could extend the lane closure, and resulting congestion through the town centre, into the crucial Christmas trading period.

The Farnham Residents councillor told the Herald: "I find this all quite disturbing in the sense that the leaflet says this will go on for 11 weeks, unlike the notices on the bypass which say 10 weeks, but in either case it goes up to almost immediately before Christmas.

“We all know how anything happening on the bypass, when they cut the grass for instance, clogs up the whole time because people start diverting through the town.

“And this happening at the time of the Christmas trading for the retailers, pubs and restaurants, and for people wanting to do their Christmas shopping, it seems to be to be a pretty bad idea.

“I have suggested in an email to Waverley that there really ought to be a period where they stop the works at the beginning of December at the latest, and possibly earlier when the Christmas lights are turned on in November, to give the town a break, and then start again in mid-January.

“I’ve heard people say well let them get on with it and they may finish earlier, but I’ve seen nothing that tells me Crest Nicholson will do anything faster than they say because everything they have done so far has taken longer than they said.

“They really should have done this over the summer holidays, that was the obvious time to cause disruption to the traffic in the town, well away from the Christmas shopping period, when things are relatively quiet.”

Responding, a spokesman for Crest Nicholson said the 24-hour lane closure was agreed with SCC’s highways department “to minimise the period of the lane closure”, adding it is working with Waverley “to prevent the works spanning the Christmas period”.

“Our previous submissions and agreement with the Highway Authority were based on a 24hr lane closure for the duration of the works," said the Crest spokesman.

“This was done both to minimise the period of the lane closure which would take significantly longer were we to remove the cones traffic management daily, and critically to ensure the safety of the workforce.

“We are working with Waverley Borough Council to regularise the situation as quickly as possible in order to prevent the Works spanning the Christmas period.”

A Waverley spokesman confirmed Crest’s planning permission states the lane closure “can only take place between 9am and 5pm”, and added the application for an NMA will be “carefully considered”.

“Crest has not breached any of its planning conditions for the works," added the council’s statement.

“The current planning condition states the lane closure can only take place between 9am and 5pm. Waverley Borough Council was made aware of the leaflet and investigated to make sure no breach of planning condition occurred.

“Crest has submitted an application for a non material amendment (NMA) and the council, as the local planning authority, will carefully consider whether change to any condition is significant in the context of the overall scheme.”