The Borough closed to traffic on 26 July for about three weeks. The official diversion, the bus changes, and why all-day parking here runs £6.80 to £24.40.

Farnham has been a building site since February 2025. The town centre improvement works are the visible half; the A31, the gyratory and the level crossing are the half that has not started yet. This page covers what is shut now, the diversion the council actually recommends, and the parking arithmetic that does not change between phases.

What is closed right now

The Borough closed to vehicles on Sunday 26 July 2026 for approximately three weeks, to finish the remaining works in one go. Surrey County Council scheduled it for the school summer holidays deliberately, and crews are working extended weekdays and weekends to shorten the closure.

  • Pedestrians can still use The Borough. Cyclists must walk their bikes past the site.
  • Shops, restaurants and the hotel stay open and accessible during their normal hours.
  • Temporary traffic lights are in place between the Downing Street and West Street junction and Castle Street.
  • Castle Street works are paused for the duration, with as much of the street reopened as possible to take the diversion traffic.

The council’s own warning is worth repeating: extreme weather, rain or heat, may extend the closure.

The official diversion

Up Castle Street, then Castle Hill and Folly Hill, then Upper Hale Road and Hale Road, rejoining at East Street. It is the same route used for the earlier closure in January 2026.

Buses

The bus stop outside the Queen’s Head is suspended while The Borough is closed. The temporary Castle Street stops have moved down the hill:

  • Southbound into the town centre: the lamppost column just north of the entrance to St George’s Yard.
  • Northbound out of the town centre: the lamppost column just south of the dentist practice.

Check the Surrey temporary changes to bus services page or Stagecoach before travelling. During the January 2026 closure, routes 4, 5, 16, 18, 19, 65 and 404 were all affected; route 46 was not.

Still outstanding

Two jobs were pushed back by weather and are dated only as “later”:

  • Victoria Road resurfacing, which could not be done in May.
  • White lining in South Street, Union Road, Riverside Walk and Borelli Walk.

Where the whole scheme is going

Roadworks began in Farnham town centre in February 2025 and Surrey County Council expects them to be complete by the end of 2026. Castle Street is the last big phase and is due to finish “towards the end of the year”.

What the money buys, in the council’s own list: wider pavements, new planting, paving and seating, dedicated loading bays, pedestrian-controlled crossings and raised tables, two-way traffic at the bottom of Downing Street and on The Borough west of Castle Street, two new bus shelters with real-time information and level boarding, advanced stop lines and more cycle parking, and sustainable drainage.

Already delivered since works started: the right turn out of Castle Street and the Waggon Yard car park, so drivers no longer have to loop the gyratory; the Longbridge junction upgrade; Downing Street pavements and resurfacing; and the Borelli Walk and Riverside Walk shared route from the Riverside car parks to South Street via Brightwells.

The A31, which is the real problem

The town centre works do not touch Farnham’s structural issue. Surrey County Council’s own description is blunt: the A31 “cuts Farnham into two parts”, separating the south of the town from the station, the centre and the north.

The Farnham A31 Corridor project would upgrade the Coxbridge Roundabout and the Shepherd and Flock Roundabout with layout changes, signals on some approaches, lane widening and better pedestrian and cycle facilities. It is not funded. A Strategic Outline Business Case went to the Department for Transport in November 2021 and was approved in late 2023; an Outline Business Case, with a full public consultation, comes next, and a Final Business Case after that decides whether the DfT pays. Nothing is being built on the A31 in 2026.

The wider Farnham Infrastructure Programme behind all of this was formed in 2019 by Surrey County Council, Waverley Borough Council, Farnham Town Council and the then MP, to tackle the town’s congestion and air quality. Its earlier deliveries were the HGV restrictions on Castle Hill, Castle Street, Folly Hill and Upper Hale Road in October 2021, and the 20mph zones in the town centre and Weydon Lane in summer 2023, extended to Upper Hale Road in autumn 2024.

Parking: the number most people get wrong

Farnham’s car parks are not priced alike. All-day parking ranges from £6.80 to £24.40 depending on which one you pick, and the two most expensive are the two closest to the middle of town. Every council car park in Farnham is free on Sundays and Christmas Day.

Waverley Borough Council car parks in Farnham, charges as published August 2026
Car parkPostcodeSpaces1 hour4 hoursAll dayCharging hours
Riverside 1, 2 and 3GU9 7UG / 7UQ351£1.00£4.70£6.80Mon-Sat 8am-6.30pm
St JamesGU9 7UG83£1.00£4.70£6.80Mon-Sat 8am-6.30pm
Memorial HallGU9 7EE—£1.00£4.70£6.80Mon-Sat 8am-6.30pm
Brightwells YardGU9 7WD170£1.10£4.00£10.00Mon-Sat 8am-6.30pm
Upper HartGU9 7HA325£1.10£4.00£10.00Mon-Sat 8am-6.30pm
Waggon YardGU9 7PS236£1.10£4.00£10.00Mon-Sat 8am-6.30pm
South StreetGU9 7QU210£1.40£5.604 hours maxMon-Sat 8am-10pm
CentralGU9 7RD268£1.40£5.60£24.40Mon-Sat 8am-10pm
Lower HartGU9 7HA236£1.40£5.60£24.40Mon-Sat 8am-10pm

The £24.40 is not a mistake and it is not really a price. Central and Lower Hart charge £5.60 for four hours and £8.90 for six, then jump to £24.40 for the day. They are priced to turn over shoppers, not to host commuters. If you are staying all day, the Riverside car parks cost £17.60 less.

Central, Lower Hart and South Street also charge in the evening, 5.30pm to 10pm: £1.40 for the whole evening Monday to Thursday, and £1.40 an hour or £2.40 all evening on Friday and Saturday.

Two other details worth knowing. Brightwells Yard has 18 EV charging bays and a 1.9 metre height barrier, and no permits are available there. Riverside 3 has three EV chargers. Upper Hart has no disabled bays at all, so if you need one, use Central, Lower Hart, South Street or Brightwells.

Which Farnham car park to use, by the direction you are driving in from Decision diagram based on Surrey County Council's advice during the town centre works. Arriving from the north or east, use the Riverside car parks, 351 spaces at £6.80 all day. From the west, use Lower Hart at £24.40 all day or Upper Hart at £10.00. From the south, use Farnham Maltings or the station car park. Avoiding the gyratory is the point of the advice. Park by the direction you arrive from, not by the map Surrey County Council's advice while the town centre works are running. All-day prices from Waverley Borough Council. From the north or east Hale Road, East Street, the A31 eastbound Riverside 1, 2 and 3 351 spaces · Borelli and Riverside Walk into town No gyratory needed £6.80 all day From the west Wrecclesham, Alton, the A31 westbound Upper Hart, or Lower Hart 325 and 236 spaces · short walk down to the Borough Upper Hart has no disabled bays £10.00 Lower Hart £24.40 From the south Tilford, Frensham, Waverley Lane Farnham Maltings or the station Stay south of the A31, walk over Station car park: 558 spaces £4.60 station, off-peak day Every Waverley car park in Farnham is free on Sundays and Christmas Day. Central and Lower Hart cost £5.60 for four hours but £24.40 for the day: they are priced for shoppers, not commuters. Payment is coins, card or RingGo. Brightwells Yard is card and RingGo only on levels 2, 4, 6 and 8.
The council would rather you did not drive round the gyratory to reach a car park on the far side of it.

The routes that matter between phases

Whatever is closed this month, four things stay true about driving in Farnham.

  1. The gyratory is the bottleneck, not the roadworks. The council’s standing advice is to pick a car park you can reach without going round it, and walk the last few minutes.
  2. The A31 splits the town. Anything that crosses it, including the station, is a different journey from anything that does not.
  3. The level crossing at the station can hold you at the barriers, which is why the A31 project lists reducing its impact as an aim.
  4. Castle Street, Castle Hill, Folly Hill and Upper Hale Road are the standing diversion. They also carry an HGV restriction, so lorries cannot follow you.

Where to check before you set off

Frequently asked questions

Is The Borough in Farnham open?

It closed to vehicles on Sunday 26 July 2026 for approximately three weeks while the last of the town centre works are completed. Pedestrians can still use it and every business stays open. Bad weather may extend the closure, so check Surrey County Council before driving in.

What is the diversion while The Borough is shut?

Castle Street, Castle Hill, Folly Hill, Upper Hale Road, Hale Road, then East Street. It is the same route used during the January 2026 closure.

When will Farnham’s roadworks finish?

Surrey County Council expects the town centre improvement works to be complete by the end of 2026. Castle Street, the last major phase, is due to finish towards the end of the year. Separately, the A31 corridor scheme has no funding and no construction date.

Where is the cheapest all-day parking in Farnham?

The Riverside car parks, St James and Memorial Hall at £6.80 for the day. The most expensive are Central and Lower Hart at £24.40. All Waverley car parks in Farnham are free on Sundays.

Is parking free in Farnham on Sundays?

Yes. Every Waverley Borough Council car park in Farnham is free on Sundays and on Christmas Day. Frensham Great Pond is the exception: charges apply there every day except Christmas Day.

Related

Sources

Roadworks change week to week. Confirm closures against Surrey County Council before you travel, and check tariffs on the machine before you pay.