DEVELOPER Bargate Homes has returned with a fresh application for up to 46 new homes in the countryside between The Bourne and Frensham after its first scheme was dismissed on appeal this April.

Waverley Borough Council refused Bargate Homes’ initial outline planning application to build on the greenfield site at 35 Frensham Vale in January last year citing its detrimental impact on the countryside south of Farnham and high risk of flooding.

The developer appealed this decision, but a government inspector agreed with the council that the proposed access in Frensham Vale would indeed carry a medium to high risk of flooding warranting its refusal.

Bargate Homes’ new application addresses this issue by relocating the access to a section of the site deemed to have a low risk of flooding, sharing 35 Frensham Vale’s existing entrance.

It also addresses concerns that the initial scheme’s housing mix would fail to meet local needs, reducing the number of four-plus bedroom homes in favour of more smaller two and three-bed dwellings.

At the request of the borough council, Bargate Homes has also increased the quantity of ‘affordable’ housing proposed by 10 per cent from a total of 14 homes to 18, including eight one-bedroom flats.

However, although not yet rivalling the 297 objections the first application received, the new scheme has met early resistance from neighbouring residents, The Bourne and Rowledge residents associations, and Farnham Town Council.

In its formal response, the town council states the site “is still evidentially at risk of flooding” and repeats concerns regarding its distance from local facilities, impact on the character of the area and pedestrian safety.

It also highlights several key changes to the planning environment since the initial application was refused, namely the submission of the Farnham Neighbourhood Plan - which considered and rejected the application site’s potential for housing - for examination, and Waverley’s securing of a five year housing land supply, reducing the pressure on the borough council to consent to less favourable development.

A spokesman for the town council said: “At appeal the inspector unequivocally concluded that the previous proposal did not represent sustainable development. This is also true of this application.”

Bargate Homes’ proposed scheme is just half a mile from CALA Homes’ 43 home development at Baker Oates Stables in Gardener’s Hill Road, granted planning permission on appeal in December, and directly opposite another developer, CEG’s proposed 120-home ‘hamlet in the woods’ currently pending a decision by Waverley.

To view and comment on the application, visit www.waverley.gov.uk/plan

ning and search for reference WA/2016/1534. The deadline for comments is Friday, September 9 with the council’s decision likely to follow in October.