THERE was upset among councillors over new height restriction barriers being put up in some Farnham car parks.

Councillors present at last Thursday’s Farnham Town Council meeting were frustrated by the lack of consultation there had been from Waverley Borough Council over the barriers.

The question asked by councillor David Beaman was whether the town council had been consulted or advised in advance on the issue.

Responding, town clerk Iain Lynch said: “I have been asked to pass on an apology that [consultation] hadn’t taken place earlier.”

Mr Lynch added the barriers were a response to the traveller incursions last year - but the borough council “accepts that there should’ve been some discussion” and is discussing possible “adjustments” to the barriers.

The barriers are being put up in several Farnham car parks, including Waggon Yard opposite the New Ashgate Gallery, St James and Upper Hart.

There was a mixed response from locals, with one resident describing the works as a “necessary evil”.

However, councillors believe the current half-completed barriers, painted bright yellow, fall below the standard set out in The Farnham Conservation Area Management Plan (FCAMP).

The FCAMP was adopted in October 2012 and requires “a high standard for any new development within or adjoining conservation areas, to ensure that the design is in harmony with the characteristic form of the area and surrounding buildings, in terms of scale, height, layout, design, building style and materials”.

Town council leader Carole Cockburn said: “The plan makes it very clear that materials used in conservation areas have to be of excellent quality and by any definition what is going up at the New Ashgate Gallery is not of excellent quality, there’s just no way you can say that.”