JUDGEMENT Day has seemingly arrived for the Brightwells regeneration scheme in Farnham town centre after Waverley Borough Council has laid bare the details of its controversial development ahead of two crucial meetings to decide its future.

The council has published a comprehensive report updating members on the long-delayed regeneration of land south of East Street on Monday lasy week. It comes in the build up to two special meetings of the council’s decision-making executive committee and full council on the evening of Tuesday, May 24 - in which councillors will be asked to approve the proposed funding arrangements for the scheme as well as a raft of further concessions to Waverley’s development partner Crest Nicholson.

This has apparently been motivated by an independent financial appraisal of Surrey County Council’s recent offer of funding for the commercial element of Brightwells - estimated at around £58 million - and a looming threat of legal action by the Farnham Interest Group, of which the council now concedes there is a “high likelihood”.

As a result, the meetings will prove a pivotal moment for the council-backed project. Among the report’s key recommendations to be determined by councillors next week are:

• A dramatic reduction in the land value of the Brightwells site, with Crest now offering just £3.19 million as an up-front land payment for a 150-year lease of Waverley’s land, down from the £8.7 million ‘minimum land value’ written into the 2009 development agreement. The council’s independent property and valuation advisers GVA Grimley Ltd describes this figure as “appropriate”, and blames the reduction on the deflated commercial property market post-recession with Crest also having to accept higher risk and lower profit than envisaged in 2009.

• A commitment to share the costs of “robustly defending any legal challenge” with Crest. Solicitors acting on behalf of the Farnham Interest Group - led by planning watchdogs the Farnham Society, the Farnham (Building Preservation) Trust, and East Street Action - wrote to councillors in March threatening a judicial review should members endorse further amendments to the scheme, and Waverley’s report includes legal advice for councillors from legal counsel and the borough solicitor.

• The go-ahead for Waverley officers to execute the compulsory purchase of The Marlborough Head pub ahead of the September 19, 2016 deadline - with the report acknowledging that failure to do so “would place a major risk on the delivery of the whole scheme”.

• A change to the proposed mix of ‘affordable housing’ to comprise 72 shared ownership apartments part-owned by Thames Valley Housing Association, instead of 36 shared ownership and 36 ‘affordable rent’ homes, which Waverley has again blamed on changing market forces. In total the development proposes 239 flats.

Further amendments set to be determined at a later date include the removal of the new Brightwells Gostrey Centre to the Memorial Hall and the removal of a combined heat and power unit to allow a 1,100 square ft increase to the proposed extension to Brightwell House, with the lost energy savings to be compensated by the use of eco-friendly materials elsewhere on site.

If agreed, these changes will allow Waverley and Crest to achieve an ‘unconditional’ development agreement, meaning all the necessary conditions to allow development have been achieved and a price representing value for money for the council has been reached. The alternative presented to councillors in the report is to strip Crest of the development brief and re-tender the project, as demanded by the Farnham Interest Group.

Waverley’s report also reveals the council has spent £5.9 million in taxpayers’ cash on the Brightwells scheme to-date, including £2m on the Riverside tennis club and new car park, £2.5m on land acquisitions, £400,000 on demolition and other site works, £500,000 on legal and consultancy costs and £500,000 on staff salaries.

Despite the aforementioned drop in Crest’s proposed land payment, the council believes these costs will still be repaid within five years of Brightwells’ completion, with the development set to boost Waverley’s revenue by between £700,000 and £900,000 per annum through ground rents and business rates from the commercial units, increased car park income, New Homes Bonus and additional council tax.

The report adds the scheme will also deliver additional funding for the redevelopment of the Farnham Memorial Hall to incorporate the Brightwells Gostrey Centre as well as providing more than £2 million towards community projects, supporting infrastructure and compensation for the loss of car park income during construction.

Speaking to the Herald this week, Waverley’s new leader, Upper Hale councillor Julia Potts, also revealed Odeon Cinemas have been replaced in the development by Reel Cinemas, a smaller art deco-themed and “community-focused” chain. Odeon’s withdrawal from the project has, according to Miss Potts, come as a result of a consolidation of its business nationwide and does not reflect poorly on the Brightwells scheme. The cinema will retain its promised six screens despite the change of operator.

Miss Potts also confirmed restaurant chains Carluccio’s and Byron Burgers have also signed pre-lets for Brightwells, adding to anchor tenant M&S Food as well as Ask and Wagamama restaurants.

And dispelling fears that a future amendment could see Crest avoid building the temporary construction access bridge over the River Wey to the A31, secured as a condition by councillors in 2012 to limit the impact of construction traffic on Farnham town centre, Miss Potts added the bridge remains a “red line” for the council.

Waverley’s full report can be viewed online at www.waverley.gov.uk.