THERE are many houses in Frensham with a story to be told but the story of Broomfields needs to be heard now, urge residents who fear the historic house which dates back to early 16th century may soon be demolished.

An application (WA/2016/0423) has been put forward for the demolition of Broomfields House, situated in West End Lane,, much to the dismay of neighbours.

The application proposes a complete redevelopment of the site, and the construction of a two-storey main house with attached garaging and staff accommodation above, and an indoor swimming pool.

A replacement guest cottage will replace the existing accommodation currently contained in the coach house.

The application proposes the buildings be re-sited to a position north-west of the existing buildings, providing an improved relationship with the adjacent road, Broomfield Lane/West End Lane.

The application is attracting a lot of interest locally and in the United States with more than 60 objections registered so far.

The house began as a medieval hall from the time of Henry VIII and has been evolving ever since. It was also the home of American artist Randolph Caldecott in the 1880s – the American Society of his admirers have visited the property in the past.

Perhaps forgotten to many now, Caldecott’s picture books were part of childhood for those born before Dr Seuss and The Gruffalo.

Just below Frensham Heights School, Broomfields is one of five houses on a three-quarter mile stretch of West End Lane, which are more than 450 years old. It can be seen for miles around and forms part of the scenery which makes Frensham unique.

One resident who refuses to let this application slide through so easily, said: “The proposed new dwelling is not only out of keeping and would involve not only the demolition of the associated house but also the coach house.

“It would be considerably higher (at least 26 feet) than the current buildings, set further back and overlooking historic listed Broomfields Cottage.

“It would dominate the local landscape instead of sitting quietly and appropriately in its site. It is very sad that people who only use this house as a weekend/holiday house should come into the village and wish to wipe out a significant portion of the village history with this act of vandalism.

“The parish council has strongly objected to this application as have the CPRE. It would be steamrollering over our history if this beautiful house were demolished, and would set a dreadful precedent for anyone buying what is a lovely historic village house from pulling it down to put in a new build, which is frankly totally inappropriate.”

The planning policies say that a new development should not result in the loss of buildings of historical interest, and a replacement house should not be more prominent than the house it replaces.