COUNCILLORS have called for the Brightwells regeneration scheme to be “put down humanely” amid fresh concerns over the viability of Waverley Borough Council’s long-delayed project to revitalise Farnham town centre.

Waverley’s joint planning committee agreed on Wednesday, January 17, to renew listed building consent for the demolition of the Redgrave Theatre to make way for two new restaurant units in the Grade II-listed Brightwell House at the centre of Waverley’s scheme.

However, the decision followed impassioned pleas for Waverley to “take back control” of the redevelopment of East Street to avoid another “10 years of messing around”, should developer Crest Nicholson Sainsbury’s (CNS) be granted yet another extension.

CNS was awarded a contract to undertake the regeneration of the so-called ‘East Street Area of Opportunity’ in 2003 and was granted planning permission for the project in 2008.

But a decade on from that decision, Farnham residents still have “nothing yet to show for it” according to opposition councillors, after a succession of amendments, extensions, legal wrangling, public inquiries and false dawns. Listed building consent to demolish the Redgrave has itself been granted on three previous occasions.

Surrey County Council came forward as a possible funding partner in 2016 in the absence of a private backer for the commercial element of the project, and questions over the scheme’s viability are nothing new.

But fresh doubt was cast on the development at last week’s meeting, with councillors expressing concerns over the commitment of several key partners in Waverley’s scheme - namely Marks & Spencer, Reel Cinema, Wagamama, Ask, Carluccio’s and Bryon Burgers.

“M&S and Byron Burgers are in deep financial trouble and the latter is closing 30 restaurants - they are our alleged pre-lets - and the others aren’t doing particularly well either,” said Farnham Residents councillor Andy MacLeod..

“Ask is struggling, and Wagamama have pulled out of the scheme, so in fact there is every reason to believe that this scheme might not actually happen. If M&S pull out of this scheme it will be killed stone dead.”

The situation at M&S is of particular concern for Waverley and CNS. An M&S Food store has long been hailed as the key “anchor” tenant of Brightwells, intended to draw shoppers into the development much as Waitrose does for Lion & Lamb Yard.

But the Daily Mail reported in December that M&S is “poised to pull the plug” on up to 60 local authority development schemes across the UK.

Responding to The Herald, M&S refused to back Waverley’s scheme, commenting: “We have not made any announcements about the proposed new store in Farnham, we will update when the time is right to do so.”

Mr MacLeod, who is also the ward councillor for East Street, added: “This has been going on for 10 years now and the committee should be thinking seriously, are we going to keep renewing this?

“In 2013, we were told the project was shovel ready, and that was one reason why the permission was given by the inspector to compulsory purchase The Marlborough Head, which has now been boarded up and nothing appears to be happening.

“This application is an opportunity for the committee to show some backbone and draw a line under this project. It would actually be a mercy killing of this project. It’s time this project was put down humanely and brought to an end and the whole thing was re-thought.”

Paul Follows, the newly-elected Lib Dem member for Godalming, also didn’t waste time in asking Waverley to explain how leaving East Street “to deteriorate for an unknown number of years is beneficial to the town and residents of Farnham?”

He added: “The fact this scheme has not yet died or in fact started and been finished by now is itself fairly scandalous and I dread to think how much time and money has been spent, with absolutely nothing yet to show for it.”

At the outset of the meeting, Waverley’s head of planning Elizabeth Sims warned councillors that the only matter up for discussion was the listed building consent application, which she advised was “identical” to the previous accepted proposal and so would be “very difficult” to refuse.

This riled Farnham Residents councillor Jerry Hyman, however, who bit back: “We are told we have no choice, but we’ve been told that for nearly 10 years. We’ve seen nearly 30 planning applications come forward for this scheme, and we heard the same thing every time - and look where it’s got us. I don’t think I am obliged to support and perpetuate the errors of the past.”

Anne Cooper, chairman of the Farnham Theatre Association, shared the view that the application offered Waverley a “golden opportunity to demand a better future for Brightwell House and the whole regeneration project”.

Citing the example of Bishop’s Stortford’s new 500-seat theatre, she also called on the council to place “community and culture at the heart of struggling retail centres”, and claimed a theatre would prove a bigger draw to visitors than “two more restaurants in a town that already has plenty”.

“This is the third time you have been asked for a time extension on this consent. It must lead one to question the viability of the scheme,” Mrs Cooper said.

But David Maddox, of CNS planning agents Maddox Associates Ltd, described the renewal as mere “housekeeping” to keep the listed building consent “aligned with the extant consents” for Brightwells.

He added CNS remains committed to delivering the scheme, which he said will deliver “an improved retail offering, 239 new homes including 72 in shared ownership, significant income to Waverley Borough Council, significant section 106 contributions and most importantly many job opportunities for the local community”.

Councillors eventually voted through the listed building application - 16 in favour, two against and two abstentions - condemning the Redgrave Theatre to demolition for a third time in 10 years.