AS one battle ends, another war begins for South Farnham residents fighting to halt the progress of the developers they have come to call "the garden grabbers". News arrived this week from the Planning Inspectorate, that an appeal by Reside Developments Ltd for consent to build nine homes on garden land at Old Compton Lane has failed. But residents, already marshalling their forces to speak out at an appeal next month against the replacement of nearby No 52 Waverley Lane with 12 flats by Premier Properties, have had no time to celebrate. For yet another planning application has been submitted, this time by Millgate Homes, to build 15 flats following the demolition of Waverley House, No 54 Waverley Lane. Another development of 10 flats is already half constructed at No 58, adding up to the prospect of 37 residences where once stood just three houses. According to Zofia Lovell, secretary of the Abbots Ride Residents' Association, residents are bombarded daily by estate agents and developers offering to either buy their homes to redevelop or their gardens to build more flats. "The pressure to sell is compounded by the fact that neighbours may do so first and you will be left surrounded by blocks of flats. "The effect that it has on the community is that everyone becomes afraid when a 'For Sale' sign up, or that a neighbour may sell to developers." She believes developers are seizing the opportunity supplied by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's policy on housing to extract maximum profit without involving themselves in addressing the real housing shortage among the young and key workers. "Developers will apply to Waverley Borough Council to develop a plot where one house stands and replace it with a block of never more than 15 flats. "In doing this they do not need to provide low-cost (key worker) housing, which would erode their profit margin." Mrs Lovell accused Surrey County Council of not viewing the extra traffic generated by such developments to be a consideration when commenting to Waverley Borough Council's planning department on the safety and access issues. And she pointed out that should Waverley Council turn down any such application, it could still be approved on appeal by the non- elected Planning Inspectorate in Bristol. "What is happening in Farnham and nationwide is that the problem of the housing shortage is not being addressed at all. Developers have seen the loophole in the system and are exploiting it to the full." Mrs Lovell claimed that two-bedroom flats being built at present are being sold "off plan" for £300,000. "How is this addressing the housing shortage for those in need?" Roger Steel, of South Farnham Residents' Association, said that within the last nine months, two residents' associations have been formed in the area, representing nearly 400 houses. "The two shall work together in South Farnham and we shall fight every application. We might not win them all, but we will make sure we give every developer a huge headache and hurt them where it matters most - in their pocket." Mr Steel pointed out that with good schools and within walking distance of the railway station and town, the area is a very desirable place to live. "The developers are therefore like bees round a honey pot! Unfortunately there is always someone who succumbs to their advances with a view to cashing in on their asset, despite the fact that the very features which attracted them to live in the area would be ruined for the other residents by their actions." Mr Steel said that more than 90 letters of protest were written against the plan just turned down on appeal, which involved developing part of the rear gardens of four houses in Old Compton Lane with nine houses ranging from two-bedroom terraced to four- bedroom detached. "They would have been sited just one metre away from the boundary fence of the houses in Lynch Road. There would have been just room for one parking space per residence and parking for visitors would be in Lynch Road, outside the current residents' houses," he explained. "It was a victory for common sense and for once the 'good boys' won. We owe a big thank you to all those who took the time to write and express their feelings. "The moral of this story is twofold. In a close community there are a great many talents and by working as a team with the support of a large number of people, one can defeat builders who care only to make a large killing and then move on. "The second lesson is that we must say 'no' to any more, developments that are proposed just to make money. We need houses yes, but Waverley Council has to stop infill development on an ad hoc basis. "This is madness. Our roads and infrastructure cannot cope with this explosion.' Mr Steel said the same concerns were shared throughout Farnham. "Soon we shall have another 130 residences on the old hospital site and Waverley is in partnership to build a further 294 flats in Brightwell Gardens. "It is up to Waverley Council to say 'stop – we have done our bit in helping to concrete over the south of England'. Further, Waverley Council should strictly control development from now onwards and not accept that any back garden is a 'brownfield' site and that developers can build to a density of 30 residences per hectare wherever they like. "Waverley councillors must start fighting the battles of their electors and learn that a 'discussion forum' is just a longer way of saying 'compromise' when just saying 'no' is what is required more often than not."