WHEN new plans for The Woolmead were submitted to Waverley Borough Council (WBC) last week, the response from locals was always likely to be varied.

The revamped plans, to be determined in mid-June, consist of a mix of 138 new homes above 11 shops and restaurants.

Some locals viewed the plans as a positive step, such as Heather Preston who thought it would “be a lot better than what we’ve got right now”, and Andrew Thorp who commented: “Bring it on... Farnham needs it.”

Entrepreneur Penny Power OBE, shared the Herald’s Facebook post asking for opinions and wrote: “Very special to see this investment in jobs and homes and while it may cause some disruption, this is progress.”

But, not all comments shared such optimism, as Julie Roberts said: “Farnham used to be a lovely market town but now there are too many new houses, too many cars and any regeneration lacks any originality.”

Laura Pater said it was “an utterly boring and rubbish design”, is “not regeneration nor progression”, and even described it as “scandalous”.

The general consensus though seemed to veer towards the feeling that, although the plans were okay, there could still be improvements.

Clare Varndell said: “It’s a million times better than what is currently there (which was once considered radical architecture) but I’m sure they could come up with something a little more in keeping with our town.”

Stevette Brighty Potts also agreed that “the Berkeley homes design is much better than the original but could still be improved massively” and was hopeful that “they will tweak the designs a bit”.

Alice Nelson wrote: “Our beautiful town deserves better than this.

“Yes, of course it’s an improvement on the Woolmead (that wouldn’t be hard) but this is an opportunity to incorporate some really interesting and imaginative architecture that will stand the test of time.”