£1m east street mall

East street development was given the green light by council officials last night, but locals are still not convinced with the scheme, which could dramatically alter Farnham's public image.

The meeting between council representatives and locals began with Greg Vincent of development team Crest Nicholson who are in a partnership with Sainsbury's managing to sway some people's opinions. When questioned by one councilor: "There is nothing for Farnham's youth to do here, will you change that?" Mr. Vincent replied: "Our anchor store is potentially New Look.î As on looking students gave some applause there concerns may have been lifted.

Yet some were not easily persuaded as a member of the public said after the meeting: "What am I going to do when the roads are blocked with building works?" As the town is set for change it would seem most are still worried that house prices will be slashed as Mayor Fleming expressed her concern. But Mr. Vincent said: "Market values are on the up."

Plans include the development of an 8-screen cinema in Farnham, as councilor Chris Mansell previously said: "People are calling out for the project. We have a university college of 2,000 students - they can't believe Farnham hasn't got a cinema." Nearly 200 flats are expected to be built along with an undercover parking facility all state of the art. The whole project is approximately going to cost £100m according to previous reports, a large fee for a small town. But it appears demand is high in the area from major brands like River Island and H&M both willing to rent space in the shopping facility.

All sides aren't entirely happy yet the plans do seem to be pushing forward with a more planning discussion set in a few months time. The meeting did run smoothly without any hostilities but as consent has already been given Farnham will have to modernise with or without resident's approval.