Farnham Town FC: 25-Year Memorial Ground Lease Goes to Vote

Farnham Town Football Club is set to get a new 25-year lease on the Memorial Ground, and more land next to it, so it can upgrade the stadium for National League South. Waverley Borough Council’s Executive will be asked to approve the deal at its meeting on Tuesday 6 October.

The council report says the club’s promotion to Step 2 of the football pyramid means the Football Association now requires “additional space for expansion and improvements to stadium facilities”. The club asked for a new lease covering its existing grounds plus “an area of land adjacent to the Memorial Hall car park”.

What the Executive is being asked to agree

The recommendation is that the council:

• accepts the surrender of the club’s current lease
• grants a new 25-year lease on the terms already agreed with the club
• recommends the deal to the West Surrey Shadow Executive, whose consent it needs

The meeting agenda lists the item for the Executive at 7pm on 6 October. It is a key decision, registered on the council’s forward plan on 7 September.

The rent, the valuation and the full heads of terms are in three exempt appendices, so the figures are not public. The report says only that the new lease “would secure additional income for the Council with provision for revenue uplift”. It adds: “The additional income will replace the loss of parking income and reflects lease variations.”

The deal also depends on the club winning planning permission for the ground improvements. No application is named in the report.

A 1947 gift the deal would breach

The most unusual part of the report is about the land itself.

The report says the property was originally given to the council by Farnham United Breweries, under a Deed of Gift dated 1947. The title carries restrictions on how the land can be used, developed and disposed of.

The council took advice from an outside firm of solicitors. Their advice, in the report’s words, is that “the proposed transaction would breach the terms of the 1947 Deed”.

Officers set out three options:

• grant the new lease, the recommended route
• refuse it, which avoids the title risk but loses the extra income
• try to clear the restrictions from the title first, before deciding

Officers recommend going ahead and taking out indemnity insurance “and/or personal indemnity” to cover any losses if action were taken over the breach. The solicitors’ full report on title is exempt.

Three promotions in three seasons

The lease is a direct result of the club’s rise. Its club history records:

• 2023-24: promotion from the Combined Counties League Premier Division South to Step 4 for the first time, after a British record 25 consecutive wins to start a league season and an unbeaten league campaign
• 2024-25: the Isthmian League South Central title by 20 points, and promotion to Step 3 in the Southern League Premier South
• 2025-26: promotion to the National League South, which the club’s website marks as “back-to-back-to-back”, sealed with a 5-1 win over Gloucester City

The club’s site also records its first ever Surrey Senior Cup win.

The step up has not been a struggle so far. The National League South table on the club’s website shows Farnham ninth after nine games, with five wins and 16 points.

The council’s interest in getting the deal done is spelled out too. If the lease is refused, the report warns, the club may walk away from the transaction and the council could face “a challenge from the community”.

What happens next

If the Executive agrees on Tuesday, the deal goes to the West Surrey Shadow Executive. Waverley is being replaced by the new West Surrey Council on 1 April 2027. Until then, under a government direction, certain land deals and contracts that will pass to the new council need the shadow body’s written consent. A 25-year lease falls outside the general consents the shadow executive granted on 9 June, so it has to go to them individually.

The report says officers already had delegated authority, from a report of 2 June 2025, to accept a surrender and negotiate new terms. This decision is the formal sign-off on the terms that came out of that negotiation.

What it means for you

If you support the club, this is the paperwork behind ground improvements the FA requires at this level. Nothing will be built until the club has planning permission, and that application will be open for public comment when it is lodged.

If you park at Memorial Hall, watch this one. The report links the new lease to a “loss of parking income”, which suggests some parking land is part of the deal. It does not say how many spaces, if any, would go. Memorial Hall is one of the cheapest council car parks in town, at £6.80 for the day; our Farnham parking guide lists the alternatives at the same price.

If you want to watch the decision, the Executive meets at 7pm on Tuesday 6 October. That is the same evening Farnham Town play Truro City at the Memorial Ground, kick-off 7.45pm, according to the club’s fixture list.

We will report the outcome, and the planning application when it is published.

Sources

• Waverley Borough Council, Farnham Town Football Club Lease Update, report to the Executive on 6 October 2026, for the recommendations, the reasons, the 1947 Deed of Gift, the legal advice, the options, the parking income line and the s24 consent requirement.
• Waverley Borough Council, Executive agenda, 6 October 2026, for the meeting time.
• Farnham Town FC, club history for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 promotions, and the club website for the National League South promotion, the Surrey Senior Cup, the league table and the Truro City fixture. Read 3 October 2026.
• Waverley Borough Council car park tariffs, as listed in our parking guide.