SOUTH West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt has pressed the case for the area’s Neighbourhood Plans in a meeting with his former cabinet colleague, and the new secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, Michael Gove, in Westminster.

The MPs’ meeting follows fierce lobbying by Farnham councillor Carole Cockburn, who fears current planning rules - and Waverley Borough Council’s struggles to meet government housing targets - could spell disaster for the town in 2022.

And while Mr Hunt has shared his views on the meeting in his weekly Herald column, Cllr Cockburn - awarded a BEM for her work on Farnham’s Neighbourhood Plan in June - has also shared her views.

She said: "The case I have made to both Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove is very simple.

"At present, newly-made Neighbourhood Plans, which allocate sites, have a period of two years’ grace from adoption.

"During that period, they cannot be overridden by national policy, if certain criteria are met.

"These are listed in paragraph 14 of the National Planning Policy Framework and include the need for the local planning authority (LPA) to demonstrate only a three-year housing land supply, rather than the normal five-year supply.

"Waverley cannot demonstrate a five-year housing land supply at present and Farnham will lose its protection in April 2022.

"This will leave the town at the mercy of developers.

"Already, developers at Hawthorns [off Hale Road], a site which was dismissed by the previous secretary of state, are preparing another application.

"I am seeking to extend the period of protection to five years. This is based on sound reasoning.

"The sites allocated in the Farnham Neighbourhood Plan (FNP) have been approved by the LPA and by an inspector at an examination in public.

"The FNP sits alongside the Local Plan and should be given more time for its allocations to be delivered.

"Any shortfall in supply should be directed to parts of the borough, which have not developed a neighbourhood plan which allocates sites.

"I have no idea whether the secretary of state will look kindly on the suggestion or act swiftly enough to benefit Farnham but I am grateful to those people, including Jeremy Hunt, who have helped me get the message to him.

"Mr Gove is new to the role and his priorities may well differ slightly from mine!

"However, I shall not let Farnham go down without a fight and am prepared to do what it takes to strengthen neighbourhood planning and to ensure communities remain at the heart of the planning system in general.

"Residents have worked hard over ten years to produce and review both a Farnham Design Statement and a Farnham Neighbourhood Plan. Their efforts deserve to be recognised and respected."