Waverley has granted Loungers, the group behind Farnham's Cazaro Lounge, a 15-year lease on its 69 High Street unit in Godalming, and agreed its fit-out.

Loungers, the cafe-bar group that opened Cazaro Lounge in Farnham this summer, has been granted a 15-year lease on the council-owned unit at 69 High Street, Godalming.

Waverley Borough Council’s director of assets and property approved the lease of the ground and first floors to Loungers Limited on 28 October. The decision was published on 4 November.

A day later, on 29 October, the same director granted Loungers a licence for alterations “for the fit-out of 69 High Street Godalming”. A licence for alterations is the landlord’s consent for a tenant’s building work. In plain terms, Loungers can now start fitting the unit out.

A council project four years in the making

Waverley bought the site in early 2022. When its Executive discussed the project in August 2023, the minutes record that the aim was “to provide much needed genuinely affordable housing and to re-invigorate the one empty High Street unit that we could”.

At that 1 August 2023 meeting, the Executive:

  • split the project into phases, with the commercial unit first
  • recommended an overall capital budget of £1.96 million for the work on the commercial unit
  • gave officers authority to enter a 15-year commercial lease

The 4 November decision uses that 2023 authority. The housing element was described in 2023 as “prospective”, and the new decisions say nothing about it.

What we do not know yet

Neither decision gives an opening date, a name for the new lounge or the rent. Loungers’ own website, checked on 7 November, does not yet list a Godalming lounge. We will update this story when the company announces one.

Loungers names each of its sites individually. Its Farnham site, Cazaro Lounge in the old Brightwell House, opened this summer. Our brunch in Farnham guide has its menu and opening hours.

What it means for you

  • A long-empty unit in the middle of Godalming High Street is about to be fitted out, with a tenant signed for 15 years.
  • If you live nearby, expect contractors at the building over the coming weeks. The council has not published a timetable for the works.
  • Waverley is the landlord, so the lease is income for the council rather than a private letting.