In the new chancellors’ constituency email, Jeremy Hunt admitted the proposed Constituency Boundary changes were a real challenge. He said:
“This week, the proposals for new parliamentary constituency boundaries in England, Scotland & Northern Ireland have just been published by the relevant Boundary Commissions.
I need to understand the implications of the report, which are terrible for me personally. After proudly representing Godalming, Farnham & Haslemere (and their surrounding villages) for over 17 years, it looks like I will have to choose between two halves of a constituency that is basically being cut in two – a frankly impossible and heart-breaking choice. There is now a 4-week consultation, and I will not be rushing this particularly difficult decision.”
Oh, dear! Now poor old Jeremy has something else on his mind other than filling that big black hole in the nation’s finances. Hanging on to his seat?
Here is the proposed split of South West Surrey:
Godalming and Ash Constituency :
This includes Godalming, splits Haslemere in half, and adds Shalford, Shamley Green, and Cranleigh and Ash from Guildford. Ash? Really? Not sure going over the North Downs is something we ever do in Waverley!
Farnham and Bordon Constituency: Farnham adds Headley, Lindford, and Whitehall and Bordon new towns and retains Haslemere East. A whole new growth area and a very different constituency area!
A University town and a new town – may not bode well for a true blue candidate.
It would appear that poor Annette is not the only disgruntled purchaser of the new A2 Dominion Homes at Amber Parkside in Alfold Road, Cranleigh.
There are more -many more! Because defects abound and the whole place is lit up like a Gatwick Runway and the residents will psy the bill! The only place that remains in the dark – is the entrance sign on Amber Park where the lights don’t work!
Our comments page and our mailbox have been groaning under the weight of further complaints and suggestions on how to bring developers A2 Dominion and Waverley Planners to book. However, we understand from an expert that it isn’t a planning matter.
Don’t developers have to adhere to the conditions on their planning consents any longer?
The WW has been researching this developer. It appears that A2 Dominion has permission to build over one hundred homes on the other side of Alfold Road. It had planning consent for 110 homes and has just increased the number by another 36. So maybe we can prevent this misery from happening to other poor souls in the wanna-buy market.
The Waverley Web has stirred up a stink in the village, which, we understand from past newspaper articles, boasts the title ‘Cranleigh Cares.’ Judging by the number of comments sympathising with poor Annette – some still do care.
Perhaps the publicity that has been generated will prompt the three Cranleigh men behind this shocking fiasco to stand up and be counted.
Shame on you, A2Dominion – give them their money back or put these defects right and compensate Annette for all the misery you have put her through!
This is just a sample of the comments we have received. Others we have with-held as some recent purchasers are terrified the value of their homes will have dropped by many thousands.
Our property still has outstanding snags, and we moved in March. Nothing is properly built, and twice, the shower has broken. One time it fell on me in the bath whilst heavily pregnant; the second time, it fell on my 3-year-old and cut all his face and the top of his head. We still can’t put blinds up downstairs due to outstanding work. The front door doesn’t shut properly, the weep vents are fake, there are hundreds of things still wrong, and we were initially lied to when buying as 2/3 of the toilets aren’t suitable for my husband’s disability. It’s been awful from start to finish. Even the other day, I was blocked in from driving to our house by the builders on each end (with three year old and a smelly 4-month-old that needed a change). When I asked them to move, they said,
‘It’s not my problem’.
It’s a shame as we have really loved the new area.
I really hope the lighting issue gets resolved to better the environment and residents’ requests… I can’t imagine the havoc it must be wreaking for the local fauna.
Very much a shameful oversight whilst building a nice eco park right next door! The vision just isn’t matching up!
You should’ve seen the fantastic wildflower beds. Ok, so one bed was wildflowers sown too heavily, but the rest were 4ft high weeds that the developers were insisting were, in fact, wildflowers.
Very interesting reading. Perhaps Angela Richardson could get her teeth into this as well – she is our MP. That personnel involved in the development, I.e. Bamford, Vrijland and Leahy via A2 Dominion, once they’ve got their planning approved, seem to “disappear”! SOMEONE is responsible – perhaps Angela could do a title digging to find out WHO!
There are many more complaints on our Comments Page, and we have given up trawling through all the e-mail messages from disgruntled purchasers of these homes.
PS. since writing this post we have had even more shocking revelations! Watch this space.
Over a few hours a week ago, Farnham resembled the Wild West as vandals with catapults went on the rampage around the town.
Between 4 am and 6 am on Sunday, 25th September, businesses and private residences in Farnham were damaged. Officers are keen to speak to the person in this CCTV image, who they believe may be able to help their investigation.
Now Police are appealing to the public for help.
MP Jeremy Hunt said he was appalled at the wanton destruction of premises, including Farnham’s treasured Maltings.
“This is devastating: two vandals smashed up the huge glass panes at the entrance of the Maltings with a catapult, then went on to damage 13 other places, including Lizzie’s Sweet Shop in Downing St.”
The rampage occurred in the early hours when a host of homes and businesses were targeted.
The most high-profile offence saw the front atrium of the Farnham Maltings shattered, leaving the venue with a clear-up bill of around £5,000 – with the repairs expected to cost as much as four times that figure.
Other premise hits included Laly’s chemist, Loaf and Sweet Lizzy’s in Downing Street and Guitar Village and The Prial on West Street.
The Police have come under fire from some for not responding to the incident fast enough. But Police say many of the victims did not report incidents, leaving officers to trawl through Facebook pages to find out which properties were affected.
As a result, Sgt Michael Knight pleads for businesses and the public to work with officers to track down those responsible.
Inspector Sam Adcock, Borough commander, confirmed five incidents were reported over the weekend, and officers have since found another six, potentially linked to a seventh being investigated.
“We would encourage anyone who has been a victim to report these incidents to us either online or through our live chat function.
“My team are committed to investigating these incidents and will do everything we can to identify the suspects and take appropriate action. We would ask that no images of the suspects be circulated on Social media now.”
CCTV footage from the Maltings clearly showed two male offenders, aged around 14 to 17 years old, attacking the building with a catapult at 4.45 am.
Waverley Borough Councillor Carole Cockburn and MP Jeremy Hunt are pictured here with Sergeant Mike Knight, who says the Police have good CCTV footage of the two young men.
Anyone with more information, please call 101 or for the fastest response, use the live chat function on:
Last year ‘Your Waverley’ announced that the future of Farnham Museum and Woolmer House, the town’s Grade-1-listed building, was in doubt.
So how about filling all those vacant retail shops in Blightwells Yard with a Farnham Museum?
Waverley Executive Portfolio Holder Cllr Mark Merryweather looked sombre as he told the Full Council last year that the treasured property (above) needed an estimated £1.1m spent on repairs. An options appraisal commissioned by the council had been unsuccessful in acquiring grants despite pursuing every possible funding stream.
The WW heard from Farnham resident Clifford Jones saying.
In early November 2021, there were just six contractors on second fix work at Brightwells and one commented it didn’t look as if anyone was in a hurry to finish any of it. Why would anyone be? The World had moved on long before the first concrete had been poured.”
Another Farnham resident David Wylde said on his recent visit to Sainsbury’s through Cambridge Place, he asked workers when they believed Blightwlls would be finished?
Workman 1: Two or three years; the buyers of apartments in the completed block that butts onto Cambridge Place were due to move in last October, but can’t because there is no water or electricity.”
Workman 2:
“Five years,” he said very assertively!
Workman 3:
“2025” (three years time) “and they’ll have to drive it along, because there’s still a lot to do.”
Crest Nicholson: Whose mouth has always been bigger than its trousers, according to Mr Wylde.
has taken five months not to tell us how many retail options have been taken up.”
In the meantime, Mr Jones has his cunning plan. He believes moving the Farnham Museum and other public facilities into the empty Blightwells units would take the town forward. Why? Because it’s cheaper for the council to say it will use the space themselves and effectively have built new facilities for the community. Then write off the debt over an extremely long repayment plan.
He would rest control from The Farnham Maltings at the earliest opportunity. Put the collection into the hands of the Town Council. Form a charitable trust that will rent the collection from the Town Council for a nominal sum and move it into Brightwells.
The debtor retail can be swallowed if the Council uses the space. I realise this sounds simplistic, but sometimes it’s better to think that way rather than the highly professional peple who seem to have created this disaster. If the Museum and Library were moved to Blightwells you have two valuable assets , ideal for conversion into residential to sell?
Then there are the numerous social and charitable institutions that if housed together, sharing space, would offer a central administrative hub for their activities. Thus cutting costs.
You can fill Brightwells, cut the debt and give Farnham residents something they can be proud of.
Let us be frank. Farnham retail is hanging on by a thread. Car parking charges are withering custom away. People have less spending power. The public infrastructure needs updating to modern standards; Surrey County Council’s ineptitude plays right into Farnham’s hands.
Let’s see if, just for once, some good can come out of the mire.
Both the present and former council administrations have battled with the problem of how to fund essential works to the important public building, operated by Farnham Maltings, to ensure it remained in good condition.
Looking visibly sad, Cllr Merryweather said:
Here in Waverley, we believe that Woolmer House and the Museum are essential assets, and the museum is giving sterling service. Specialist repairs, including fees and VAT amounting to around £1.2m, and the added threat of inflationary pressure presently hitting the building profession, would further impact the rising building costs.
He warned: “Waverley borough council does not have the funds or capacity to fund the whole thing alone – we have to look for third party grants.”
The WW also understands from Farnham mutterings that the Museums collection is in a dire state. We will be revealing more in future posts.
In the new chancellors’ constituency email, Jeremy Hunt admitted the proposed Constituency Boundary changes were a real challenge. He said:
This includes Godalming, splits Haslemere in half, and adds Shalford, Shamley Green, and Cranleigh and Ash from Guildford. Ash? Really? Not sure going over the North Downs is something we ever do in Waverley!
Farnham adds Headley, Lindford, and Whitehall and Bordon new towns and retains Haslemere East. A whole new growth area and a very different constituency area! 
