Planning Application for Conversion Approved

It saddens me to report that our fight to save Undershaw has come to an abrupt end with a unanimous decision in favour of the current planning application. Those that attended the meeting and those that watched the events unfold on line could see what a well rehearsed meeting it turned out to be - none other than a 'kangaroo court'.

Councillor's, mainly from the area voted in approval of the application without any thought for their local people and their own heritage. We stood no chance as it was 6 to 1 in favour.

An application for a single dwelling house was registered with the council, it was acknowledged but to my dismay was not even considered especially after our Mr 'X' had previously been in discussion with members of the council to ascertain the procedure for submitting an application of this kind. Several thousands out of pocket - not one person from the council advised him against his actions.

I wish to thank everyone for their support over this last year, in particular the Doyle family who were there this evening to watch the events unfold. My special thanks go out to Jeff Theobold who taxied me in his marvellous steam car, Paul Osborne who took endless amounts of footage, the Haslemere Wardrobe for allowing me to borrow one of their Victorian costumes, Rupert Sheard who kindly played the role of Sherlock Holmes, Linda Eades and Sue Meadows my rocks throughout the year, Alistair Duncan for his great books, my boss for being understanding, the various businesses in and around Grayshott, Andrews Lawnmowers in Hindhead, The Fox and Pelican and Devils Punchbowl Hotel for publicising the campaign, Jeremy Hunt MP for his kind words, Caroline White for never taking sides, Joanna Tull from the Surrey Advertiser and Caroline Toms from the Haslemere Herald for putting up with my continuous news stories, Haslemere Town Council and The Victorian Society for voting against the application, our mystery buyer for his expenditure on his planning application to convert Undershaw to a single dwelling, Stephen Fry, William Roache, MBE, Sir Christopher Frayling and the BAFTA 4JB Team for their statements of support, to all my colleagues at work who believed in me, Sheila Rigby and her grandson Sam who ensured that our new website went live, John Gibson, the trust's director for his lengthy typing exercises, Harry Tennant our 10 year old supporter for wearing the t-shirt and devising various ways to raise awareness, his mum Julia Groves for all her help with radio interviews, Peter Lawrence for his idea of a wedding venue, the many supporters from around the world, Allan and Lorraine for publicising our campaign on their website, Barry Faust for his input with raising awareness in the Portsmout area, Sally Morgan who showed her support in the early stages of the campaign, Roger Straughan for his book and readings, Dave Patrick for his inspiration and to Conan Doyle for being a remarkakle icon, and bringing to life a fictitious character, for Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson and not forgetting our beloved Undershaw!