Eleven Farnham rec grounds, allotments and open spaces promised to the town council are still with Waverley's lawyers, under six months before Waverley closes.
Eleven Farnham parks, recreation grounds and allotments that Waverley Borough Council agreed to hand to Farnham Town Council are still waiting to be transferred. Waverley’s own schedule lists every one of them as sitting with its legal department. None is promised before the council is abolished on 31 March 2027.
Godalming Town Council has now said in writing where it thinks the hold-up is. Its town clerk told Waverley’s Executive on Tuesday that “the key constraint is within Waverley’s own legal process”.
The Farnham sites on the list
Waverley’s Executive approved the transfers in December 2025 and February 2026. The schedule of active transfers, published with answers to councillors at the full Council meeting on 8 September, names these Farnham Town Council sites:
| Site | Where | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| Morley Road Recreation Ground | Morley Road | December 2025 |
| Borelli Walk | off South Street | February 2026 |
| Open space at Thurbans Road | Thurbans Road | February 2026 |
| Badshot Lea Recreation Ground | The Green, Badshot Lea | February 2026 |
| Baldreys Recreation Ground | Weydon Lane | February 2026 |
| Oast House Recreation Ground | Oast House Crescent | February 2026 |
| Rowledge Recreation Ground | Recreation Road | February 2026 |
| Wrecclesham Recreation Ground | Riverdale, Wrecclesham | February 2026 |
| Wrecclesham Recreation Sports Ground, home of Badshot Lea FC | Westfield Lane | February 2026 |
| Six Bells Allotments | Hale Road | February 2026 |
| Weybourne Road Allotments | Weybourne Road | February 2026 |
All 11 are freehold transfers. The status against each reads “WBC legal department instructed for transfer”. A twelfth Farnham site, the West Street allotments behind Alderley, is still being assessed.
Against every row, in the column asking whether it will be done by 1 April 2027, the schedule gives the same answer:
“The Legal Team will endeavour to complete by this date but is reliant on instructions from CAT and progress made by the buyers solicitors and therefore no assurances can be given.”
CAT is the council’s community asset transfer team.
Across the borough
The schedule lists 27 approved transfers that have not yet completed:
- Farnham Town Council: 11
- Godalming Town Council: 9
- Haslemere Town Council: 3
- Chiddingfold Parish Council: 2
- Ewhurst Parish Council: 2
Eight more applications are still being assessed. They include four Godalming greens, Dunsfold Green and Common, land for the 1st Hindhead Scout Group and the Rowleys Centre in Cranleigh.
What Godalming told the Executive
Godalming’s town clerk, Andy Jeffery, put a written question to the Executive on 6 October. He said all nine transfers to Godalming were still outstanding and the town council was “increasingly concerned” they would not be finished by vesting day.
He gave one example. Waverley approved the freehold transfer of Burys Field on 10 February 2026. Heads of terms were requested shortly afterwards. They were not issued until 10 September, “some seven months later”.
He also said that, as of 15 September, Godalming’s solicitors had not been asked for an undertaking on three of the nine. Waverley’s legal team requires those before it moves a transfer on.
He asked the Executive to:
- get assurances that every transfer will be finished by vesting day
- give Godalming a detailed timetable within 14 days
- review whether Waverley’s legal department has enough staff
Haslemere’s interim town clerk asked separately why the War Memorial Recreation Ground was missing from an earlier answer on transfer dates. The published response to both questions reads: “A response is to follow.”
What the council leader has said
At full Council on 8 September, Councillor Steve Williams asked for the schedule. The minutes record the leader, Councillor Paul Follows, saying: “I agree that the preponderance of the delay currently does sit with Waverley”. He said he intended to make it a priority.
He also committed to publishing the schedule and updating it monthly. On 10 October, Waverley’s assets and property page did not carry it. The only public copy we found is the appendix in the council papers.
What it means for you
Nothing changes on the ground yet. The parks, rec grounds and allotments stay open. Waverley still owns and runs them until each transfer completes.
If a transfer misses 31 March 2027, the site passes with everything else Waverley owns. In a separate answer to the same Executive meeting, the council said “all assets, liabilities, reserves and commitments of the existing councils will transfer to the successor authority on vesting day”. That successor is West Surrey Council. The town council would then have to pursue the transfer with the new authority.
If you want to press the point, the next full Council meeting is on 10 November. Residents put written questions to the 8 September meeting, and Waverley lists each meeting’s papers and question rules on its committee site.
Related
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- Farnham council tax bands 2026/27
Sources
- Waverley Borough Council, schedule of active Community Asset Transfers, appendix to the answer to Council question 1, 8 September 2026, for every site, status and approval date.
- Waverley Borough Council, Questions from members of the public, Executive, 6 October 2026, for the Godalming and Haslemere questions, the Burys Field dates and the vesting day answer.
- Waverley Borough Council, Minutes of Council, 8 September 2026, minute on questions from members, for the leader’s answers.
All sources checked on 10 October 2026.
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