EAST Street developers Crest Nicholson labelled the proposed development site "an eyesore" and Brightwell House "a disgrace" while defending its plans against an onslaught of taunts and questions during a town council meeting last week. At the meeting of Farnham Town Council's environmental services committee on Thursday, Crest Nicholson gave a full presentation of its proposals while residents shouted and jeered from a packed public gallery. Jonathan Hill of Scott Brownrigg, managing director and architect of the scheme, laid out the plans in a 45-minute presentation that told the public again and again that developers were "obligated" to carry out their work. "Our obligations are to carry out development broadly in accordance with the original development proposals," he told the crowd. "It's difficult to attract visitors to the town and people prefer to jump in their cars and go to Guildford instead. Wouldn't it be nice to have that here in Farnham?" A resounding chorus of "no" echoed around the council chamber as members of the public battled to have their voice heard. "Rest assured that we complied with the development brief and we've been quite flexible in adapting the master plan." He sought to remind councillors that the site is an "eyesore" and that Brightwell House has fallen into disrepair. Its surrounding grounds, including tennis courts and the bowling green, were ridiculed for being accessible only by club members, leading to further shouts from the gallery. The Lion and Lamb yard, a previous development area, was mentioned as one of the only "public spaces" in the town while the scheme's town square was heralded as a place for alfresco dining, set to add a Continental element to Farnham. Throughout the presentation, slides were shown of the plans, intermingled with images of run-down areas, including the boarded up Redgrave Theatre. "This is not a scheme to fit just anywhere in the country, it's been designed for Farnham only," added Mr Hill. He went on to label Brightwell House a "disgrace" and outlined how the "contemporary" designs of each building in the plans had been sympathetically designed to blend into the town. Members of the public laughed out loud as the plans for building D8, an eight-screen cinema, were said to have taken their inspiration from the town's historic wooden-beamed architecture. Crest Nicholson director Paul Callcutt, said there was "no doubt" the scheme reflects the views that the council had at the time the original brief was set. "Our obligations are to carry out a development in accordance with the original proposals," he said. "If you weren't sure about the reasons for this scheme then you should be by now." He accused those present of allowing Farnham to turn into a place where only older people choose to live and that many young residents now cannot afford to live in the town in which they grew up. "You are becoming an old town," he said. Targets to meet carbon emissions were mentioned as necessary and in keeping with the Crest Nicholson scheme. The company also made a point of mentioning its three awards for building excellence, won for previous environmentally sustainable developments. Following the presentation, members of the public were given the chance to formally make their voices heard, and some stood to speak their mind directly to the developers. "I've lived in Farnham for 13 years now and I think this scheme is completely out of keeping with a town like Farnham," said one angered resident. "We're all quite happy to have East Street regenerated, but in keeping with the town and not with huge buildings and department stores. We don't need Debenhams and Marks and Spencer, we need small shops." Another resident stood up and said that Crest Nicholson was trying to create a "concrete Farnham". A report from town clerk Roland Potter, in which he claimed that the recent Church House public consultation was "not a clear indication of the true feelings of local residents," was also slammed from the public seats. His report on the meeting said it was "disappointing" to discover the event had been promoted on local radio as an opportunity to save the Redgrave. He replied in person to the questioning, saying that all of the comments from the Church House meeting will be passed on to Waverley regardless of the intentions of those who turned up. In the light of proposals to build predominantly one-bedroom flats on the site, councillor Victor Scrivens said: "I'm not convinced that single-bedroom flats are the right way forward. I'm not sure about small houses and small flats." Mr Callcutt replied by saying that there are "decent people" who can't afford to live in Farnham any more. He said: "This problem won't go away and Farnham needs more housing. Banish this development and another will come along in its place. If this doesn't go through, then where will those needed properties go?" Ken Kent, a previous Farnham developer, was present at the meeting and voiced his opinions of the scheme afterwards. "I know this town and I've built Borelli's Yard and Mews, Riverside Park, Clockhouse and Eastgate and when I did one-bedroom properties, it didn't work," he explained. "I was the one who had the idea of getting more houses in the town so that people can live in town. I'm all for it, but this development is just too big. The traffic in this town is bad enough as it is." Standing next to a scale model of the proposed development in the locality office in South Street Mr Kent added: "If somebody had come to me with this design, I would have sacked the architect." • Although today (Friday) is the target date for public comments to be received regarding the East Street planning application, Waverley Council says it will take into account all views received up until the application is decided. The earliest the application may be considered by councillors will be the end of January.