A PUBLIC inquiry into the East Street redevelopment scheme has become a stronger possibility, with the news that Waverley Council is attempting compulsory purchase of part of the site. Waverley's negotiations with the owners of the former cinema site - a privately-run car park where the facilities have just been upgraded - have so far failed to secure agreement to include it in the scheme. Interestingly, the site is controlled by F & C Asset Management, the property arm of Friends Provident, which owns the much- maligned Woolmead buildings and was one of the would-be developers who missed out when Waverley awarded the redevelopment contract to Crest Nicholson/Sainsbury's. Also covered by the compulsory purchase bid will be the adjoining Malborough Head pub, which likewise has not been secured for the redevelopment by Waverley. "As a precaution, the slow process of moving towards a CPO has been commenced," the council's corporate overview and scrutiny committee will be told on Monday. "The work needed in the lead up to an application for a compulsory purchase order inevitably takes several months. If there are sufficient or substantial objections to the application, it may lead to a public inquiry," a council spokesman commented. A battle with F & C over the land, which Crest Nicholson has earmarked for an "anchor" store, could prove an expensive operation. And with the months ticking past, the nine- month extension to the contractual long-stop date granted by Waverley to the developers could prove too short. Council leader Gillian Ferguson told The Herald this week that she very much doubted if Crest Nicholson's outline planning application would be determined before the council elections on May 3. "The planning application still stands without any traffic assessment and environmental assessment and cannot go through without those being dealt with," she said. And she gave an assurance that if the design is not considered right, the scheme will not be approved. The public's battle to prevent Farnham becoming "a clone town" has continued to gain national exposure, following the recent article in The Guardian. Last Friday, as Meridian TV filmed at Brightwells, including in its coverage an interview with Miss Ferguson, a Daily Mail photographer was also busy on the site. And earlier that same day, Radio 4's Today programme gave the subject an airing, with Waverley's portfolio holder Chris Mansell putting the case for the scheme. "There are a number of people that think that councillors should act as mouthpieces for people that shout the loudest. That is not the job of a councillor," he declared, going on to refer to the thousands of objections as "round robins". Arguing the case against the development were David Wylde, Max Lyons and Brian Davey. Mr Wylde spoke of following the example of farnham's battling son, William Cobbett. "If they had given the choice of a small-scale community development or a large-scale commercial scheme we would have chosen and we would have got on with it," he said. Max Lyons termed the scheme "like dumping an aircraft carrier in the centre of Farnham". And Brian Davey accused Waverley of unwarranted secrecy, claiming he even had to make an application under the Freedom of Information Act to see detailed drawings.
