WRECCLESHAM residents have expressed fears for local wildlife, after a planning application was submitted for 61 homes - 26 of them "affordable" - and a block of five business units on land off Wrecclesham Road. The application submitted by Crownhall Properties Ltd is for Spooner's Yard and surrounding land - a three-and-a-half acre plot opposite a row of around 20 Victorian cottages just above Passmore Bridge. The would-be developer is the same company that secured planning consent on appeal for a development of 23 homes, currently under construction overlooking the river meadow on the opposite side of Wrecclesham Road. In a letter to The Herald, one of the residents of the cottages urged that there should be no more houses built in Wrecclesham until there is a traffic-calming scheme or a relief road, "otherwise we are very close to gridlocking Farnham". She also claimed the development would demolish a protected area, which has bats and newts, to name just a few of the inhabitants. "What a dreadful shame" wrote another resident, who recalled the land as allotments, with children playing in the field. The resident went on to give a long list of birds seen on the site daily, from blackbirds to sparrowhawks and wrote of being lucky enough to hear nightingales and grasshopper warblers. In a statement accompanying the planning application, the applicant acknowledges the potential existance of protected species including reptiles, bats and breeding birds It states that demolition of the buildings would be carried out between November and March, as it is less likely that bats would be present. The site would be surveyed for reptiles, and amelioration works carried out, while tree clearance would avoid the bird nesting season. A "Safe Routes to School" solution for children using Wrecclesham Road on foot to reach Weydon School is currently being finalised by Surrey County Council. The developer is prepared to contribute £120,000 towards the scheme, which will include a signal -controlled pedestrian crossing to the east of Coxbridge roundabout. Among other community benefits flagged up in the application are the 26 affordable homes, representing 42 per cent of the development, which would be maintained by a housing association.
