PLANS to extend the conservation area in Haslemere were given full support by town councillors at a planning and highways committee meeting last Thursday. The town council considered a report put together by The Haslemere Society which details the inclusion of Sandrock and Courts Mount Road in the protected boundary. As previously reported by The Herald, Courts Mount Road has been targeted by property developers on many occasions. This has encouraged residents of the area to obtain an extension of the conservation area, the report from Haslemere Society outlines. A selection of homes on the northern side of Courts Hill Road have been included in the proposed boundary revision as well as a number of other listed buildings in the surrounding area. The Haslemere Society believes that with ever- increasing housing demands, some parts of Haslemere need to be safeguarded from overdevelopment. "Haslemere has been required to fit many more houses into its romantic hillsides and our precious architectural heritage is threatened like never before," the report said. "It is these pressures which emphasise the need for a revision of the boundaries of the original conservation area agreed by the former Haslemere Urban District council in 1973." This has received the backing of Haslemere Town Council which hass endorsed the report. The proposal has also previously been considered by Waverley Borough Council's environment and leisure overview and scrutiny committee and is subject to further consultation before a final decision is made.
