COUNCILLORS have dismissed expert advice in refusing plans to convert The Waverley Arms pub into a children’s nursery - after new figures revealed Farnham’s air quality is deteriorating, contrary to previous claims by Waverley Borough Council.

In a meeting brimming with anger at officers’ perceived lack of support for elected members, Waverley’s western planning committee unanimously refused consent for Perfect Start’s plans to change the use of the pub opposite Farnham Station to a nursery catering for up to 80 children on Wednesday, February 28.

Planning officers had recommended councillors approve the application after independent air quality consultants and Surrey County Council’s highways department found no issue with Perfect Start’s plans - advising councillors that a refusal would be hard to defend at appeal.

However, after new figures released this week showed an upward trend in concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in Farnham, councillors blasted as “very wrong” the recommendation to permit a children’s nursery at one of the most polluted corners of the town.

It comes after Waverley re-issued its 2016 Annual Air Quality Status report this week, revealing that rather than a steady downward trend in NO2 emissions as hailed by the council last year, levels of the pollutant have in fact risen across Farnham.

When issuing its now discredited report last May, Waverley reported “an overall improvement in air quality” - noting that just three locations in Farnham, two in The Borough and one in Wrecclesham Road, breached the national mean objective for NO2 in 2015.

But the reissued report reveals pollution is on the rise in the town, with an additional location in Station Hill - just metres from The Waverley Arms - now deemed to also be exceeding the national objective.

NO2, which is emitted by diesel cars, has been linked to a number of adverse health impacts including respiratory disease, strokes, cardiac, vascular and kidney diseases, and particularly affects children and older people.

Concerns over air quality dominated the 45 objections to Perfect Start’s application, represented on the night by chairman of the South Farnham Residents Association Zofia Lovell and independent air quality expert Catherine Powell.

Addressing councillors, Mrs Lovell expressed her “shock” at officers’ recommendation, adding the “notorious” traffic congestion and air pollution at the site will both be increased as a result of the proposed increased train service to Guildford from Farnham.

On air quality, Mrs Powell said the council’s reports on The Waverley Arms are all based on data “from 2014 or longer ago”, adding “the data presented yesterday shows a very significant upward trend [in air pollution]”.

But supporting the application on behalf of Perfect Start, Farnham-based air quality expert David Harvey said there is currently “no evidence” of exceedances of the national NO2 objective at the application site.

“Sufficient data is currently available to be confident that air quality at the site is acceptable - and yes I would be happy for my granddaughter to attend the nursery,” Mr Harvey concluded.

This held little sway with councillors in light of the latest figures for Station Hill, however, with Jill Hargreaves (Tory councillor for Farnham Firgrove) setting the tone for the debate declaring “the whole thing appalls me”.

“The pub has been like that for many years, and it needs to be replaced by something - but not by a school for small children, at one of the most dangerous points in our town,” she continued.

“It can’t be right, it’s illogical and it’s dangerous too. I cannot believe that officers think it’s acceptable for young children to breathe in that air, it just can’t be. There must be something very wrong if you want to put children there, at risk.”

Councillors also took umbrage at the perceived lack of parking at the site, with just 14 spaces proposed for staff and none for parents dropping off their children, as well as the lack of outdoor play space and loss of the pub.

Consequently, members unanimously voted to refuse Perfect Start’s change of use application - albeit limiting the grounds of their refusal to inadequate parking and an “unacceptable intensification of the site” rather than air quality, amid ongoing uncertainty about the scale of Farnham’s air pollution issue.

Commenting on the re-issued 2016 Annual Air Quality Status report, a Waverley spokesman said: “Monitoring data for 2015 has shown that NO2 concentrations at five monitoring locations (Farn 1, Farn 1b, Farn 12, Farn 14 and God 7) exceed the 40µg/m3 objective limit.

“Two are already located within the Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) in Farnham and Godalming. However, three monitoring locations are outside of the designated AQMAs.

“Subsequent years’ monitoring data will be assessed to determine the trends for NO2 concentrations and whether a further detailed assessment is required.”

The aforementioned air quality expert Mr Harvey, whose complaints led Waverley to commission an independent review of its annual status report last year, added: “The updated report shows that there is an ongoing air quality problem in Farnham which new developments such as Brightwells and Woolmead will exacerbate.

“It is time that central Farnham was pedestrianised to improve the air quality and enhance its appeal, we have a lovely town which is blighted by traffic and associated pollution.”