CONSERVATIVES ruling Waverley Council are under the greatest pressure yet to delay the redevelopment of East Street.

Two key meetings this week each delivered the same message: delay the signing of a conditional contract next Monday so the public can have more say.

The meetings, both on Tuesday night, could not have been more diverse. In Farnham, an estimated 200 people packed Church House to the rafters for a public meeting called by town mayor Dr Penny Marriott.

After more than two hours of impassioned comment from the floor, 157 people voted for a motion proposing the delayed signing. Twenty-four people voted against the motion, six people abstained.

Meanwhile, in Godalming, a move to delay the scheme, tabled by Waverley Liberal Democrats, was passed by just one vote - Lib Dem leader Chris Slyfield's casting vote breaking a seven-all tie ( split on party lines) at a committee meeting.

Next Monday, Waverley's policy making executive committee is expected to recommend the whole council, which meets immediately after the executive, votes to approve the signing of a conditional contract.

The Conservatives outnumber their Lib Dem counterparts 31 to 24, and with only two Labour councillors on Waverley, the Tories could whip members to vote to sign the contract and win the vote. But with the council elections on May 1, such a strategy could cost them votes.

Liberal Democrats, and almost all of the speakers at the Church House meeting, feel the redevelopment proposed by the Sainsbury's Property Company and Crest Nicholson is too big and out of keeping with Farnham's small-town Georgian character.

Waverley insists that the signing of the conditional contract will not bind the council to any proposed buildings, but simply provide security to the developer partners who will be spending enormous sums of money to design a scheme.

In a printed statement placed on seats at the Church House meeting, the council's chief executive, Christine Pointer, said issues of mass, design and roads will be negotiated over the next few months, pointing out that Waverley, as planning authority, will have the task of approving or refusing consent at a later stage.

But doubts about how much room there is for negotiation resurfaced this week when a solicitor acting for Waverley, Roger Benson, again said "no major changes" could legally be made post conditional contract.

His comments at Tuesday night's corporate and overview scrutiny committee provoked concern and frustration from Liberal Democrat members.

Most vocal among them was Dr Anthony Newton, who claimed the council was "being bounced into signing an agreement before we have even seen it".

Becoming visibly more rattled, in response to planning officer Steven Thwaites' assurances the process was ongoing and could be modified, he muttered "b****cks" to a shocked chamber, then made a hasty apology.

Fellow Lib Dem Marie King Hele said the lack of information supplied on the conditional contract was "insulting to the intelligence of members".

She hit out at the committee agenda laying out key areas which are to be satisfied before signing the contract. These included site assembly, planning, road closure and the viability of the scheme. She complained this was inadequate information to make observations on.

In favour of pressing ahead with the plans, Conservative member David Inman said it was vital moves be made "or we will finish up with a Millennium Dome that no-one wants".

Michael Goodridge (Conservative) said the harsh commercial situation was that Crest Nicholson may pull out if the contract is not signed promptly.

The committee then voted in private on the Lib Dem motion to delay the scheme to allow consideration of the latest public consultation, the publishing of traffic assessments and further discussion of the overall project scale. They are also seeking the release of financial aspects of the scheme.

Speaking after the meeting, Dr Rosemary Thomas said: "The public meeting held on the same night confirms our feelings that we had to persist (with seeking a delay) as there is no clear understanding of what the council would be committing itself to."

She added the scheme was not the choice of the Lib Dems and was imposed by Waverley's Conservative Executive. However, her party would consider a modified version of it.

Having met privately with Crest Nicholson, she did not believe delaying the scheme would result in developers walking away from it, as they had an exclusivity deal which runs until July.