We are all being encouraged to walk more but with fast moving traffic including HGVs, narrow poorly maintained pavements and limited pedestrian crossings, road safety is a really issue.  

HGV ban was introduced on Castle Street / Castle Hill / Folly Hill and on the Upper Hale Road and part of the Odiham Road in October 2021. 

Compliance was poor, North Farnham Voice and local residents to establish a Community HGV watch. Photos were taken and where the vehicle identified an operator they were contacted and their breach of the ban pointed out to them. This helped a bit but not a lot so after come campaigning at Surrey County Council they established an HGV watch formally

HGV Watch - Surrey County Council 

Breached reported here were followed up by Officers and they could write to operators of HGVs that didn’t have any logos based on their number plates – again and improvement resulted, but also it proved that the level of breach was high and a campaign for a permanent enforcement camera at the began.

Initially a mobile camera was brought into use last year, then finally at the end of 2025 a permanent enforcement camera was installed.

20th of March 2026 - SCC Officers advised there had been 1,301 fine notices issued in the first 51 days of full operation. Some of these will be for deliveries and collections that can only be done by using one of these roads and they will be rescinded but the leave of breach during the initial period was still higher than officers were expecting. 

Maps the high number of unadopted roads and those with no pavement or inadequate pavements in Upper Hale, Heath End and Hale.  No blue or red edging means NO PAVEMENT AT ALL, red is less that 1.5m wide! 

In October 2024 a 20mph zone with traffic calming was installed on the Upper Hale Road including along the section with the very narrow pavement on just one side of the road and along the Hale Recreation Ground. 

Following an accident involving a Heath End School pupil cycling along Bullers Road, residents campaigned for a School Street to be introduced.  This would be the first in Surrey following the extension of the powers introduce School Streets outside London.  Plans were developed and evolved to include a new crossing on Weybourne Road, additional road safety features and the introduction of a missing piece of pavement on Monkton Lane.  

Consultations were held and the input reviewed.  There were then further engagement sessions held to discuss how the scheme would be taken forward before  construction Work Started in October 2024 

As a result of these works William Cobbett closed their drive through during peak hours to all except those dropping of children with Special Educational Needs.  

North Farnham Now has a Youth Centre 

In 2019 Surrey County Council decided to pull out of providing Youth Services as this is not a statutory requirement and they needed to set a balanced budget.  The strategy required the Youth Centres in the 21 key neighbourhoods (21 most deprived areas) to be handed over to the Voluntary sector to operate.  Sandy Hill was one of the 21 key neighbourhoods but there was no youth Centre to hand over only an outreach building on the Sandy Hill Green space with no windows and no running water.  

In 2021 a concerted campaign began to get Surrey County Council to convert the disused nursery space between the Family Centre (at the time a locked building not used for community events) and the Community Centre, into a Youth Centre.  

On the 6th of May 2022, the Hale Youth Centre opened and has gone from strength to strength.  

Sandy Hill Greenspace Improvements 

The playground on Sandy Hill mostly dated from when the estate was built in the 1970s and the football consisted of one goal.   

In 2024 a CIL bid for funding to upgrade the playground failed so alternative funding had to be found.  Eventually a combination of Waverley Borough Council project management and funding for ground improvements, Surrey County Council Small Your Fund Surrey funding and a significant private donation meant the funding was in place.    2025 saw delivery and the playground has been transformed. 

Later in 2025 saw a pair of football goals installed and the path the bisected the playing space rerouted. 

Sandy Hill Pump Track 

First raised back in 2021, after environmental investigations into the site of the previous BMX track ruled out the use of that site, work has been on-going to try to find another site for a pump track in easy walking / cycling distance of Sandy Hill and to get funding in place. 

A  CIL bid secured the funding in 2025 

Further consultation on various options in 2025 / 26 and now a planning application is in  and should subject to approval, see the track ready by Summer 2026. An exciting new addition for Farnham! 

The selected design has beginner-friendly routes alongside more challenging lines, it includes exciting features – flowing berms, rollers, progressive hip jumps, a jump box and even a quarter pipe with fly-out.