Driving around Farnham will permanently change after a year long development in the town centre. Starting in mid-January, the town will undergo a series of road closures and diversions in order to forever transform travel in the area.
While Farnham has been named the UK's prettiest town centre, this long term project is aimed at updating its ‘outdated’ and ‘congested’ roads. Surrey County Council believes that the dominance of vehicles means it is harder to travel safely and enjoyable around the town centre on foot or by bus or bike.
The plans, which take into account feedback from a public consultation in 2023, aim to improve the quality of public areas, and reduce this dominance of road traffic.
Over a number of phases, work will be done to:
Resurface roads and pavements
Widen pavements
Allow drivers to turn right at the bottom of Castle Street
Allow for two-way traffic at the bottom of Downing Street so drivers can travel both ways to the Waggon Yard car park
Introduce controlled crossings and raised tables to make it safer to cross roads
Phase 1: Riverside and Borelli Walk
The first phase of the Farnham development is on the Riverside and Borelli Walk. Sections of the Borelli Walk, between South Street, Brightwells Yard and the Riverside car parks, are being upgraded to make life better for cyclists and pedestrians.
Work is expected to start in mid-January 2025 and last for around 11 weeks. During this time the footpath between Riverside car parks and Brightwells Yard will be closed and a pedestrian diversion route will be in place.
Phase 2 (Castle Street to West Street)
There will be some changes in order to allow a right turn at the bottom of Castle Street and two-way traffic on The Borough between Castle Street and West Street, which is important to keep the town moving during the work.
Temporary traffic lights will be put in place and there will be some overnight road closures, during which there will be a diversion. This phase will also include the removal of traffic islands at the top of Downing Street. While this is a temporary layout, it will be made permanent later on during phase nine.
Phase three: (Downing Street from Longbridge to Lower Church Lane)
This will involve changes to help make Downing Street two-way between Longbridge and Lower Church Lane which will allow cars to access Waggon Yard car park without needing to travel around the gyratory. However this section of road will only be opened to two-way traffic following completion of phase four.
Work is expected to start in March 2025 and to last for eight weeks. During this time there will be lane closures due to pavement widening works.
Phase four: (junction of Longbridge, Union Road and Victoria Road)
Work will be carried out to create a new junction layout. This will include wider pavements, signalised pedestrian crossings, wider pavements, and opening Downing Street between Longbridge and Lower Church Lane to two-way traffic.
This phase is expected to start in late-May and last for eight weeks. Work will mostly happen in the day, with some traffic management in place. There will be a nighttime road closure at the beginning and end of the phase.
The next two phases are scheduled to take place in the summer and autumn of 2025, detailed planning for when this will be is still taking place.
Phase five, part a: (Lower Church Lane)
This phase is focused around improving the pedestrian crossing at the Lower Church Lane/ Downing Street junction. It is expected to take place in summer 2025 and last two weeks, at the same time as part b.
Currently the council believes there will only need to be two nights of closure, when there will be residential access only. Works will be during the school holiday to avoid disruption to St Andrew’s School. During this time there will also be limited access to Waggon Yard car park.
Phase five, part b: (South Street)
Phase five, part b involves the resurfacing of South Street and Union Road, as well as improvements to the South Street/Union Road junction and installation of a zebra crossing between Borelli Walk and Gostrey Meadow in South Street.
It is expected to take place in summer or autumn of 2025 and take about four weeks. Details are still to be finalised but there will probably be impacts to night traffic.
Phase six: (top section of Downing Street, the junction with West Street and the south side of West Street)
This phase will involve the full closure of the top section of Downing Street for pavement widening and street improvements. It is expected to take place in either late summer or early autumn and last 10 weeks. There will be no work over the Christmas period.
There will likely be a traffic diversion route in place, with arrangements for resident and business access.
After phase six there will be a number of phases in 2026. These are:
Phase seven: Downing Street between the junctions with Upper Church Lane and Lower Church Lane. Expected to take place in winter 2026, after the Christmas break.
Phase eight: Victoria Road, expected in winter 2026.
Phase nine: north side of West Street and The Borough between Downing Street and Castle Street, expected in spring 2026.
Phase 10: Castle Street from Park Row to The Borough, expected in summer 2026.
Phase 11: The Borough from Castle Street to Royal Deer junction, expected in summer 2026. A diversion route will be in place.
Phase 12: Royal Deer junction, expected in autumn 2026.
During the work there will be changes to bus services, information about will be posted here . Surrey County Council say the plan will be continuously reviewed and may change as works go on.
