AN advert implying Waverley planning officers would back an application for 56 new homes at Andrews of Hindhead caused a furore this week.

The borough council moved swiftly to distance itself from the advert in the Estates Gazette, which invited interested parties to get in touch if they would like to buy the 1.3-acre site on the Portsmouth Road, where Andrews sells garden machinery.

Apparently placed by an agent acting on behalf of the freehold owners – understood to be the Andrews family – it stated: "Pre-application consultation with Waverley Borough Council with a possible figure of 56 residential units indicated support in principle (naturally without commitment) to residential development."

Stating its clients did not want to carry forward the development and sought a buyer for the site, it also claimed there was scope for a much larger development.

For full story, see this week's Haslemere Herald.