PLANS have been submitted for nine new homes on the former Park School playing field in St James Avenue following its sale by charity Challengers.

Challengers has operated a play centre for disabled children from St James Avenue in Farnham since purchasing the Victorian buildings and grounds in 2007.

The charity has reassured service users and parents it will continue to operate its play centre regardless of the outcome of the planning application.

However, Challengers says it has no use for the field, which has been sold to developer Shanly Homes to fund improvements to the former school building as well as bolster the charity’s reserves to meet new regulations introduced by the Charity Commission in the wake of the Kid’s Company scandal.

Shanly Homes propose a mix of two, three and four-bedroom two-storey houses on the 0.7 acre site, fronting onto Adams Park Road with a ‘parking courtyard’ to the rear accessed from St James Avenue.

Waverley Borough Council is expected to determine the application in early December, and the latest date for public comments is October 20. Three objections have been received to-date, with none supporting.

Explaining the reasons for the sale, Challengers’ chief executive Laura Sercombe said “After 10 years of being used seven days a week, our beautiful Victorian buildings in Farnham are in desperate need of some TLC.

“After the closure of Kids Company, new regulations also require charities to have a higher degree of reserves than before, so as an organisation we need to think about our future sustainability.

“It was decided that for a field that we don’t ever use, when Farnham has a massive housing need, that we should work with a local contractor to sell the plot of land so that they can build houses, and we were delighted when Shanly bought the plot - a local firm with their own charity foundation that does a lot in their local community.

“We’re a service delivery organisation for disabled children, not land managers, and so looking after that land is a lot of work for a charity that needs to focus on children.”

Mrs Sercombe added Challengers has worked closely with neighbours of its Farnham centre throughout the process, and is hopeful that Shanly Homes will maintain that relationship, adding: “Shanley have been wonderful actually, really sensitive and really supportive”.

Keen to reassure families who rely on Challengers services, Mrs Sercombe continued: “We’re not losing our play space at all - we’re just losing a field that at the moment is hard work to maintain.

“The first thing that families worry about is there is going to be an impact, but there will be no impact to services.”

To view and comment on Shanly Homes’ application before the October 20 deadline, visit the website www.waverley.gov.uk/planning and search for reference WA/2017/1692.