South Farnham residents have expressed concern about the removal of trees and hedges along Waverley Lane in preparation for a new housing development on both sides of the road.

In October 2024, the High Court ruled against Farnham Town Council and in favour of developer Wates in their application to build 146 homes in Waverley Lane, including 37 percent affordable homes and public open space. Residents, however, have continued to voice their opposition and are claiming that too large an area of hedgerow has been removed and that this will affect the birds which should be nesting.

Cllr Michaela Martin from the town council responded, saying that though the council had worked hard to prevent the development because of its location on the edge of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

She said: “There is nothing we can do about it. It has been taken out of our hands. It was agreed that the hedgerows would be removed before the main nesting season and that has happened.”

Pamela Pownell from the South Farnham Association said: “The developer has been granted outline permission for this site under which he is allowed to create an access with specific sightlines for safety purposes. This would obviously require some removal of hedgerow.

“An application has since that time been submitted for Reserved Matters, covering the detailed design of the development. This shows a wider opening in the hedgerow to allow views into the site, quite contrary to the picture that was painted for the Planning Inspector when she approved the outline application at the appeal hearing.

“If the Reserved Matters application is approved by Waverley planners, it would permit a larger removal of hedgerow. Whether what has now been done to the hedgerow is a breach of planning is a matter for the planning officer and the enforcement officer to determine.”

A Waverley Borough spokesperson responded to the concerns: “On the site’s northern side, the outline permission granted approval for a two-way main vehicle access along with a smaller access to facilitate a pedestrian crossing to the south of the main access and another pedestrian access to the north opposite Abbot’s Ride along with identified visibility splays for each access. The Inspector noted: ‘Up to 28 metres of hedgerow would be removed to the north of Waverley Lane and up to 36 metres would be removed to the south. The existing hedgerows would also need to be cut back either side of these access points.’

“Under this submission of Reserved Matters, the design concept of a central green has developed as a central feature of the proposed development (on the northern site) and the hedgerow between the proposed main access and the pedestrian access to the south is now proposed to be removed in the area shown in the picture.

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“The Inspector clearly acknowledged that the existing hedgerow would need to be cut back to enable a safe access to be created – the Inspector is not limited to the amount of cut back of the existing hedge.”