At its meeting on Tuesday 19 October, Surrey County Council formally adopted its new structure plan, a document which ‘provides the strategic framework for land use planning in the county, shaping Surrey’s future physically and environmentally, and influencing it economically and socially.’ The adoption was the culmination of three years debate and consultation, and the plan will last for three years before new national regulations come into force.The plan has been controversial in some areas, notably the amount of housing that Surrey is being forced to accept under government diktat.However, David Munro has welcomed the Structure Plan as being good for Farnham. He points out that it contains for example statements that will ‘support an integrated transport solution to improve accessibility in the [Blackwater Valley] area’ and ‘maintain the existing Strategic Gap’.David Munro said: ‘The structure plan is good news for Farnham as it protects the town’s essential character and helps protect it against unwanted development but at the same time recognising that Farnham is part of the Blackwater Valley. This will give us extra ammunition to make the case for the Hickley’s Corner underpass and a Wrecclesham Relief Road as we now have the evidence that the county believes that better transport links are essential to the whole area.‘I am sorry that no other Farnham Liberal Democrats supported the Structure Plan. In order to get the essential road improvements that residents have long been demanding, we need united, all-party support and I’m afraid cracks are beginning to appear. I would urge all parties to support the Hickley’s Corner underpass and Wrecclesham Relief Road and not, either by accident or design, weaken our arguments to government.’