TEMPERS flared at Waverley Borough Council as an application to replace the former The Lobster Pot restaurant in Upper Hale with five new houses was agreed only by the chairman’s casting vote.

Last June, Waverley councillors rejected an application by developer Ressance Land No.11 Limited to knock down The Lobster Pot and build in its place a block of 11 flats, incorporating a smaller “modern” restaurant.

The developer returned with a new outline application for four three-bedroom and one two-bedroom homes, and no restaurant - and on Wednesday, March 29, was granted consent by Waverley’s western planning committee.

Permission was not given without a fight however, and with councillors split five votes each in favour and against, the application needed committee chairman Peter Isherwood’s casting vote to get over the line.

Addressing the committee, applicant Duncan Crook said amendments had been made to “soften” impacts on neighbouring dwellings, including providing 14 car parking spaces at the rear of the homes to limit on-street parking in Upper Hale Road.

He added each of the five new homes - four of which will be terraced with one detached - will be available under the government’s Help to Buy scheme.

He also claimed “strong local demand” for the type of housing proposed, citing the example of the four new homes built on the restaurant’s car park last year - three of which have already been sold with the fourth under offer.

Several councillors lamented the loss of yet another public house in Farnham, however, with Hale and Heath End member Mike Hodge commenting: “If this one goes it will be the fourth in three years in my area.”

Mr Hodge highlighted a policy in the emerging Farnham Neighbourhood Plan which states the loss of public houses should be resisted, and Upper Hale councillor John Fraser painted an even bleaker picture, insisting the count of lost public houses in Hale and Upper Hale is “by my count six in eight years”.

Mr Fraser also blamed The Lobster Pot’s difficulties on the persistent road works in Upper Hale Road, and expressed his belief that without this disruption, “a restaurant there could still be viable”.

Councillors also criticised the plans as “cramped”, and expressed concern regarding its access on the busy A3016 Upper Hale Road.

Wrecclesham councillor Pat Frost agreed the A3016 “is one of the most dangerous roads that we have in Farnham” and added the access was “an accident waiting to happen”.

But others took a more pragmatic view, expressing concern that a refusal on the grounds of access would be vulnerable to appeal, especially without the backing of Surrey County Council’s highways department which raised no objections to the scheme.

This point was reinforced by council lawyer Dan Lucas, who told the committee: “If you in your hearts understand that you may lose this appeal and yet run forward with reasons for refusal such as highways, perhaps not agreeing with the statutory consultee, it could be said that’s an unreasonable reason for refusal and to sustain that at appeal is going to be quite difficult.”

Bourne councillor Carole Cockburn also came to the defence of the developer, who she said “has worked carefully with officers to come up with something that sits within its site and solves many of the difficulties of a site in this area”.

Mrs Cockburn continued: “The Lobster Pot has gone, we can’t wish it back so we’re looking at a site to put some houses on. Regretting as I do the loss of another pub, I just don’t think we can turn the clocks back on this one.”

During the course of the meeting, leader of Waverley’s opposition Farnham Residents group Jerry Hyman was also accused of breaching the council’s code of conduct by publicly criticising both councillors and officers.

This centred around Mr Hyman’s contention that Waverley’s strategy for mitigating the impact of new development on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (SPA), by requiring developers to provide either their own Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) or funding towards Waverley’s own SANG at Farnham Park, is “unsustainable”.

Mr Hyman said: “The National Planning Policy Framework requires ‘convincing objective evidence’ that the avoidance strategy works. Can anyone give me convincing objective evidence that Farnham Park works as a SPA?”

Mr Hyman subsequently expressed “surprise” that some senior members of the committee “don’t know the basics of the main constraints” - comments he later withdrew following remonstrations by the chairman Mr Isherwood.

A detailed planning application covering the scheme’s appearance, landscaping and scale is anticipated at a later date.