ONE OF three ‘live’ schemes concerning the future of a 19th Century Haslemere mansion, Longdene House, was the subject of a presentation to the town council planning committee last week.

Planning consultant Ian Rhodes outlined a hybrid application seeking full consent to convert Longdene House, Hedgehog Lane, from office to residential use and outline permission to demolish two existing semi-detached cottages, glasshouses and outbuildings and replace them with three large detached dwellings.

Mr Rhodes said two modern extensions to Longdene would be removed to “frame the front of the house” and conversion to residential from office use “can only reduce the amount of traffic”.

At its last planning committee on February 28, the town council agreed to write to the Planning Inspectorate objecting to a second ‘live’ scheme for Longdene House now out to appeal, which would see the mansion converted from office to residential with 29 houses built on an adjacent field.

Also at the February meeting, committee members agreed to express “grave concerns” to Waverley Borough Council about a third application due to go through ‘on the nod’ as a general permitted development order to allow the change of use from office to residential.

Former town mayor Michael Barnes, who heads a 250-strong Longdene Action Group that objects the redevelopment of the site as ‘unsustainable’ on grounds including highways concerns, urged committee members before the meeting to recommend Waverley refuse the scheme for four homes on site - including Longdene - and to ask the borough council not to determine the application in isolation.

But town councillors voted not to submit an objection to Waverley. Committee member Libby Piper, who is also a borough councillor, said: “There have been so many variations on the applications for this site.”