THE WOOLMEAD may not be a pile of rubble for much longer – but the development will move ahead with just under half of its proposed parking spaces.

Despite councillors’ unanimous refusal of Berkeley Homes’ proposal to halve its car park in June 2020, the Planning Inspectorate has now overturned the ruling.

This means just 80 parking spaces will be available at The Woolmead’s 138-home development.

David Howell, former chairman of The Farnham Society’s planning committee, said the decision was a “travesty of the first order”.

He said: “The inspector skipped over the issue of on-street parking in the adjoining roads and said highways could sort out the problem away from the currently controlled road.

“I really do despair.”

And Waverley borough councillor Andy MacLeod, portfolio holder for planning policy and services, said the decision comes “at the expense of the local community”.

He said: “Clearly we are disappointed, as we don’t believe the inspector’s decision represents the best outcome for the people of Farnham.

“In June last year our planning committee resolved to refuse the application, on the grounds there would be insufficient parking, and this would have a detrimental impact both within the scheme and on surrounding areas.

“Once again, government policy has facilitated a developer in misusing the planning system to reduce their costs, at the expense of the local community. While we agree with the inspector’s assessment that this location is quite sustainable in terms of access to public transport, we felt this had already been ‘priced in’ by allowing the scheme to proceed with parking provision at Surrey County Council’s minimum guideline.”

But looking ahead, he said the town should look to “take some positives from the situation”, as it means the developer will hopefully “now get on and build out the scheme”.

He added: "While we agree with the Inspector’s assessment that this location is quite sustainable in terms of access to public transport, we felt that this had already been ‘priced in’ by allowing the scheme to proceed with parking provision at Surrey County Council’s minimum guideline.

"Looking to take some positives from the situation, we are hopeful that this means the developer will now get on and build out the scheme. This will deliver new housing required to meet the housing need set out in the Waverley Local Plan and the Farnham Neighbourhood Plan. It will also provide valuable commercial and retail space, additional local employment and help to regenerate a particularly underutilised part of Farnham.

"We will also ensure this is raised with our partners on the Farnham Infrastructure Programme, so that their plans can take the reduced parking provision within the scheme into account, and work can be done to mitigate any potential impacts as much as possible.”

Cllr Carole Cockburn – of Waverley borough (WBC) and Farnham town councils – said she was “not surprised the appeal was allowed in the current circumstances”, but praised the dismissal of Berkeley’s application for costs, which “shows the committee acted responsibly”.

She added: “The proposed parking falls well below the provision in both Waverley and Surrey County Council parking guidance and the committee was right to defend its own policies.

“However, the inspector felt the proposed development on the highly-accessible Woolmead site would not create any significant additional parking in surrounding roads. Only time will tell, of course.

“It is disappointing but we do need to see development on that site. The town is certainly not looking its best at present.”

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