THE Marlborough Head pub in East Street will call last orders for the final time in November after Waverley Borough Council activated a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) this week - to the dismay of the Greene King-owned pub’s many loyal customers.

Waverley has long maintained the pub building - but not the pub itself - is a crucial element of its Brightwells regeneration scheme, and granted development partner Crest Nicholson planning consent in 2008 to convert the popular drinking house into a retail premises to provide an “attractive frontage” to the scheme.

However, following opposition by Greene King, the council was forced to seek the permission of a government inspector to undertake a CPO for the pub in 2012. This was finally undertaken for an undisclosed fee on Monday, just hours before the deadline set by the Secretary of State.

The council is now set to take possession of The Marlborough Head on December 2, with the pub reportedly set to close a month earlier on November 4.

Although the current pub building only dates back to 1929, there has been a public house on the site since the 1750s and Waverley’s actions have prompted an angry response from the pub’s customers online, with many taking to Facebook to share stories about the much-loved drinking hole and to express disappointment at its impending closure.

A number of people claimed to have met their future spouses, celebrated wedding receptions and birthdays in the pub, while many also bemoaned the loss of one of Farnham’s premier hubs to watch live sport.

Waverley’s reluctance to incorporate the “long established and successful” pub into its Brightwells scheme has also been questioned, with many fearing the pub will go the same way as the Redgrave Theatre and lie disused and derelict for years to come.

This opinion was shared this week by the chairman of The Farnham Society, Alan Gavaghan, whose organisation is backing an impending judicial review of Waverley’s handling of Brightwells in the High Court.

He said: “Some three years ago, at the CPO inquiry, the acquisition of The Marlborough Head was portrayed to the government inspector as an essential and urgent necessity for the shovel-ready development to begin.

“With a track record of 14 years waiting and the bowling green and club house prematurely closed and the tennis club moved out, it can only be assumed that Waverley are again removing a valuable community asset with indecent haste and creating yet another derelict building in the centre of Farnham.”

Waverley’s decision to activate the CPO has also been criticised as premature, after a High Court judge gave the Farnham Interest Group (FIG) leave to proceed with its judicial review just last month.

However, Waverley scored an early victory in its defence of the scheme last week, after its application for a preliminary hearing to determine whether FIG has the legal standing to challenge the council’s decision to proceed with Brightwells was approved.

It comes despite judge Geraldine Andrews ruling in August that FIG’s status and grounds for review “are plainly arguable” and allowing the claim to proceed to what FIG had hoped would be a full hearing at the High Court this October.

Instead, FIG must now prove that it has the right to challenge the lawfulness of Waverley’s recent decision to amend the Brightwells development agreement to the financial benefit of its construction partner Crest Nicholson.

This will likely involve persuading a High Court judge that it has the backing of a significant number of Waverley taxpayers, all of whom have a vested interest in the borough and county council-backed redevelopment of land south of East Street.

The preliminary hearing is set to be heard in the High Court on January 31, 2017.

Julia Potts, leader of Waverley Borough Council, said: “While it is good news that the court has agreed to allow a preliminary hearing, it is disappointing that council tax payers will have to pay for the council’s costs to defend the scheme which delivers jobs, homes and numerous community and financial benefits to Farnham and the borough as a whole. 

“The construction phase was due to start in autumn 2016; this will now have to be delayed, impacting on the delivery timetable. It will be upsetting for the residents who were so keen to see this scheme go ahead as quickly as possible.”

Explaining the council’s reasons for proceeding with the CPO of The Marlborough Head despite the delay, Miss Potts added: “Given the Brightwells Farnham regeneration scheme is a key corporate priority, the council will defend the judicial review challenge as strongly as possible and is proceeding with the compulsory purchase of the Marlborough Head pub to complete the site assembly.

“Notices have been served to action the compulsory purchase with the council taking possession of The Marlborough Head site on December 2. Waverley’s possession of the pub site creates the main pedestrian access to the new development from East Street and the building will be incorporated into the overall regeneration scheme.”