The Chairman to respond to the following questions received from members of the public for which notice has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 10:-
i. from Mrs Anne Cooper of Farnham
“Taking into account the recent cold wet weather, it would be good to hear the Portfolio Holder for East Street give a report on the current state of Grade II Listed Brightwell House. The Redgrave Theatre, built by public subscription, is attached to Brightwell House and although this extension is scheduled for demolition, it currently remains part of the principal building under the protection of the Grade II Listing. These buildings have been left in a derelict condition since 1999 and reportedly contain bat roosts. In the intervening 17 years both buildings have been vandalised, subject to thefts of valuable items and to water penetration. There have been plans for the renovation of Brightwell House since 2006 as part of the long delayed Crest Nicholson redevelopment of East Street, but there is still uncertainty about when this might happen. Please could we have the dates of all previous and any expected structural surveys of the fabric of Brightwell House and the Redgrave?”
ii. from Mr Jerry Hyman of Farnham
"My question relates to Farnham’s town-centre road system and the Air Quality Action Plan, and asks whether anyone knows what we are doing, as there are conflicting Plans in place.
For instance, the consented plans for the almost-completed development on the old Police Station site indicate that a new pedestrian crossing will soon be installed in Longbridge, whilst the consented Crest Nicholson plans show traffic lights and three new pedestrian crossings at the Longbridge junction; the Council’s Farnham Area Conservation Management Plan proposes a shared-space solution, and the Herald recently reported that Surrey are planning a mini-roundabout there.
We appear to have a similarly confused situation regarding the main Royal Deer junction, for which the Council has repeatedly approved CNS’s reconfiguration proposals to more-than-double both pedestrian and traffic waiting times - resulting Crest being tasked with finding a different ‘solution’ - whilst our MP and Surrey Highways have together been pursuing and claiming public approval for entirely contradictory proposals. We now find that the Woolmead planning application proposes yet another different design for the junction. However, Mr Hunt’s recent ‘update’ in his End-of Year Letter informed us that a practical solution is still being sought.
Hence it’s difficult to know what the Plan is for our gyratory system, with at least seven different Plans either agreed or being pursued, and it’s unclear quite when the interesting process of continually installing, uninstalling and replacing them all will commence.
Our Local Plan, our AQAP and numerous major developments depend upon this, so if anyone knows what we are doing, can you please describe the current Plan for Farnham’s gyratory system, and the likely timescales ?”
[NB. Questions from members of the public express personal views of the questioners and Waverley does not endorse any statements in any way and they do not reflect the views of Waverley Borough Council].
Minutes:
The Executive received the following questions in accordance with Procedure Rule 10:
i. from Mrs Anne Cooper of Farnham
“Taking into account the recent cold wet weather, it would be good to hear the Portfolio Holder for East Street give a report on the current state of Grade II Listed Brightwell House. The Redgrave Theatre, built by public subscription, is attached to Brightwell House and although this extension is scheduled for demolition, it currently remains part of the principal building under the protection of the Grade II Listing. These buildings have been left in a derelict condition since 1999 and reportedly contain bat roosts. In the intervening 17 years both buildings have been vandalised, subject to thefts of valuable items and to water penetration. There have been plans for the renovation of Brightwell House since 2006 as part of the long delayed Crest Nicholson redevelopment of East Street, but there is still uncertainty about when this might happen. Please could we have the dates of all previous and any expected structural surveys of the fabric of Brightwell House and the Redgrave?”
Mrs Cooper was not present at the meeting to ask her question and the Chairman undertook to send the response to her question in writing.
ii. from Mr Jerry Hyman of Farnham
"My question relates to Farnham’s town-centre road system and the Air Quality Action Plan, and asks whether anyone knows what we are doing, as there are conflicting Plans in place.
For instance, the consented plans for the almost-completed development on the old Police Station site indicate that a new pedestrian crossing will soon be installed in Longbridge, whilst the consented Crest Nicholson plans show traffic lights and three new pedestrian crossings at the Longbridge junction; the Council’s Farnham Area Conservation Management Plan proposes a shared-space solution, and the Herald recently reported that Surrey are planning a mini-roundabout there.
We appear to have a similarly confused situation regarding the main Royal Deer junction, for which the Council has repeatedly approved CNS’s reconfiguration proposals to more-than-double both pedestrian and traffic waiting times - resulting Crest being tasked with finding a different ‘solution’ - whilst our MP and Surrey Highways have together been pursuing and claiming public approval for entirely contradictory proposals. We now find that the Woolmead planning application proposes yet another different design for the junction. However, Mr Hunt’s recent ‘update’ in his End-of Year Letter informed us that a practical solution is still being sought.
Hence it’s difficult to know what the Plan is for our gyratory system, with at least seven different Plans either agreed or being pursued, and it’s unclear quite when the interesting process of continually installing, uninstalling and replacing them all will commence.
Our Local Plan, our AQAP and numerous major developments depend upon this, so if anyone knows what we are doing, can you please describe the current Plan for Farnham’s gyratory system, and the likely timescales ?”
The Portfolio Holder for Planning, Cllr Adams, responded as follows:-
“Waverley’s Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) has regard for traffic management and this has resulted in traffic management modelling being undertaken. We are also of course monitoring air quality in Farnham every day. The modelling work has identified some options that will work in traffic management terms, but has also produced some unexpected results that require further modelling work to assess the impacts and potential outcomes. SCC, the authority for addressing air quality issues, Highways Team are currently conducting modelling in line with previous WBC work to ensure future decisions produce the most appropriate solutions. WBC will continue to work alongside SCC to develop options that will work to improve air quality within the Borough but as yet no definite decisions have been reached in regards to traffic management.
There is an extant planning permission for Brightwells regeneration which includes off site highway changes at the Royal Deer junction and elsewhere in the town centre. We are not currently aware of any other significant plans for changes to the highway network in the town centre which have reached a level of agreement.”