FARNHAM councillors have issued a passionate plea for Waverley Borough Council to listen to the 10,000 people who voted in favour of the Farnham Neighbourhood Plan on May 4, after rejecting a former Mayor of Farnham’s latest bid to build nine homes in the historic Farnham Old Park.

In a watershed moment for Farnham’s community-led planning blueprint, Waverley’s western planning committee went against the advice of council planning officers on Wednesday, May 10, in ruling that the application at Knowle Farm in Old Park Lane conflicted with the policies of the Neighbourhood Plan and should be rejected.

It is the first time an application in Farnham has been determined at committee since the Neighbourhood Plan was voted through a referendum with a resounding 89 per cent in favour earlier this month.

The Old Park area, west of Farnham Park, forms part of the former Farnham Castle deer park founded in 1138 by Bishop Henry of Blois. The kings and queens of England hunted there until around 1700, and the area is still 98 per cent undeveloped.

However, in the centre of the Old Park lies Knowle Farm, a former brickworks and modern-day horse stables owned by town councillor and former Mayor of Farnham, Jeremy Ricketts.

Since 2015, Mr Ricketts and his wife Debbie have proposed replacing the existing commercial buildings with a mix of nine two to five-bedroom barn-style homes - including remediating around 6,000 tonnes of contaminated soil left over from the brickworks.

Their plans have faced intense opposition from neighbouring residents and councillors, however, and while their latest application received 37 letters of objection and just four supporting, a petition against the development has also mustered some 342 signatures.

Key to the residents’ objections, as set out by Lion and Lamb Yard architect Max Lyons on May 10, is the fact Knowle Farm is accessed from Old Park Lane, a narrow, privately-owned bridleway forming part of the historic St Swithun’s Way.

The residents have commissioned their own professional transport study, and believe the decontamination of the brownfield site alone would involve up to 7,000 trips by 20-tonne lorries - irreparably damaging the bridleway.

But Surrey County Council highways department has stated the lorry movements predicted by the residents is a “worst case scenario” and believes the impact on the bridleway could be mitigated by a condition requiring the developer to repair any damage caused.

Both residents and councillors have contested this point, arguing that the lane is not structurally sound enough to take one large HGV let alone a possible 7,000, and that Surrey’s proposed mitigation methods are “impossible” as they rely on the compulsory purchase of neighbouring land.

Despite these reservations, Waverley officers recommended Mr and Mrs Ricketts’ application be granted on the basis that an identical scheme was only dismissed by an appeal inspector in January over the lack of a legal agreement to mitigate against the “likely significant effect” on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area.

Officers have also warned that the appeal inspector took the policies of the emerging Neighbourhood Plan into consideration in reaching a decision in January, and did not consider that the application would have a negative effect on the character of the Old Park countryside.

Councillors strongly disagree, however, remarking that policy FNP10 of the new Neighbourhood Plan clearly protects against “inappropriate development” in the Old Park while policy FNP11 resists development outside the newly established Built-Up Area Boundary of Farnham to prevent the coalescence of towns and villages.

Councillors also expressed frustration at Waverley’s decision to delay the adoption the Neighbourhood Plan until after a judicial review by a consortium of developers challenging the plan in mid-June. Because of this delay, the Neighbourhood Plan does not currently carry full weight.

Jill Hargreaves, another former Mayor of Farnham, said: “Here we have an application that is completely against the Farnham plan and are you going to tell me we are going to fall at the first fence and let this through? The Neighbourhood Plan distinctly says it is not acceptable.

“Why have we been spending all these years putting together a plan if we’re not going to use it?”

Ward councillor John Williamson also warned officers against “ignoring” the views of 10,000 Farnham residents. He added: “I’ve listened with interest to the officers’ comments on the weight that is placed on the Farnham plan - but if the fact 10,000 people voted for it is not enough of a reason to reject this application then I don’t know what is.

“To do anything else would be an absolute betrayal of the people of Farnham and the trust they have put in this committee.”

Committee chairman Carole Cockburn, who as a town councillor was instrumental in developing the Neighbourhood Plan, added the plan is in a far stronger position now than it was in January, and “should therefore be tested again”.

This resonated with the committee, which refused Mr and Mrs Ricketts’ application by eight votes to three.

Speaking to The Herald after the meeting, Mr Ricketts confirmed his intention to appeal the decision, and said: “We are inevitably disappointed that the western planning committee overturned their officers recommendation to approve planning permission.

“The officers made it clear in their report to committee and in their advice during the meeting itself that the Neighbourhood Plan does not preclude development on previously developed land.

“Furthermore, the recent appeal decision also confirmed the scheme was in compliance with the Neighbourhood Plan and would not cause harm to the local landscape or Old Park.”