Centrum, Farnham
Developing a phased SANG strategy for 159 homes in Farnham
Maddox Planning advised CR Properties Limited on the proposed redevelopment of Centrum Business Park in Farnham for 159 homes.
The site lies approximately 2.4 kilometres from the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area, within the zone where residential development must provide SANG and SAMM mitigation. Maddox Planning identified this requirement at an early stage, commissioning ecological work in 2023 and incorporating the necessary mitigation into the planning strategy before the application was submitted.
The initial assessment relied on capacity at Farnham Park. As the application progressed, however, the available mitigation strategy broadened to include Naishes Lane and the emerging SANG at Moor Park and the Walled Garden. This required the project team to consider not only whether sufficient SANG capacity existed, but also its catchment, accessibility, planning status and availability at the point each phase of the development would be occupied.
The use of Naishes Lane attracted objections because of its distance from the site and its limited public-transport connections. Natural England nevertheless raised no objection in principle, provided sufficient capacity was identified at Farnham Park and Naishes Lane and the mitigation was secured through a legal agreement. Any reliance on Moor Park would similarly require that SANG to have the necessary permissions and be operational before occupation.
Maddox Planning coordinated the application-stage strategy as these options evolved. Following the introduction of an eight-phase delivery plan, officers proposed a mechanism under which SANG would have to be secured separately for each phase before residential development commenced, with the relevant SANG works completed before occupation.
Officers ultimately recommended approval subject to a Section 106 agreement and conditions. The Planning Committee refused the application in December 2025, including because the required planning obligations had not been secured. Maddox Planning did not act on the subsequent appeal.
Although the mitigation was not ultimately secured before the committee decision, the application-stage work established a SANG strategy which officers and Natural England considered capable of addressing the development’s effects, subject to the necessary legal agreement. It also provided a practical route for coordinating SANG availability with the phased delivery of a substantial residential scheme.