A battle to build dozens of homes close to Farnham Castle is being played out in the council chamber as an appeal hearing has begun.

Gleeson Homes has turned to the planning inspector after draft plans for up to 83 homes between Old Park Lane and the UCA were rejected by Waverley Borough Council.

The outline application was rejected last summer amid concerns about the impact the development would have on spatial strategy and the character of the area.

But there’s a shortfall of housing in the borough with the applicants arguing that WBC needs to allow more development around Farnham to meet targets.

The appeal hearing chaired by Johanna Ayres begun on Tuesday at the WBC offices in Godalming with more than 20 witnesses and interested parties likely to speak over the following days.

An artist's impression of Gleeson's plans for more than 80 homes south of Old Park Lane in Farnham
An artist's impression of Gleeson's plans for more than 80 homes south of Old Park Lane in Farnham (Gleeson)

The application only seeks to establish the principle of development on the site with the figure of 83 homes being a guideline, rather than a succinct target.

Thirty per cent of the housing built would be “affordable” while 8.7 hectares of open space is proposed with access coming via an extension to Cascade Way and Keepsake Close on the Abbey View estate.

Leading the line for the appellants is John Litton KC, who began by highlighting Farnham’s greater ability to absorb more housing than more “limited” Waverley towns like Godalming and Haslemere.

Mr Litton acknowledged the site next to the UCA is outside the built-up area of Farnham and is agricultural, with the loss of greenfield land being cited by opponents.

But he quickly made the inspector aware of WBC’ housing shortcomings and the authority’s own policy of releasing “select sites” to meet demand.

He said: “There is not enough suitable land for housing within existing settlements to meet the need for new homes in Waverley.

An artist's impression of Gleeson's plans for more than 80 homes south of Old Park Lane in Farnham
An artist's impression of Gleeson's plans for more than 80 homes south of Old Park Lane in Farnham (Gleeson)

“Therefore the council’s strategy for housing delivery includes making select releases of greenfield land around settlements. Most of these will be directed to Farnham and Cranleigh.”

Mr Litton claimed that demand for housing is stripping supply in Waverley with the council failing to demonstrate a five-year supply of sites. He also suggested the shortfall in housing land supply is likely to persist, before saying that WBC has “no plan how to address the shortfall”.

Steven Tilbury, representing Farnham Town Council, was one of the early speakers. He reiterated FTC’s objection in asking the inspector to refuse the appeal and highlighted the conflicts between the scheme and the neighbourhood plan.

He said: “Farnham Town Council supports the reasons given for the refusal of this application.

“It’s a full-on conflict: the site is outside of the built-up area boundary and lies in open countryside. It’s also not an allocated site.”

Waverley councillor, Carole Cockburn BEM, also stressed the “robustness of the neighbourhood plan process” to the inspector after saying: “I am against the proposal.”

She added: “This area is a setting for the castle and we want to keep these views because of that.”

Readers can watch the hearing through WBC’s Youtube page.