Liberal Democrats Demand Action on Farnham’s Woolmead

As part of our long-running campaign to get action on the Woolmead site in Farnham, we recently visited the Farnham Herald. While there, we were given a fascinating tour of their archives — a priceless collection of Tindle Newspapers dating back to the 1920s. Seeing nearly a century of local reporting reminded us just how often our communities have had to fight for proper investment and sensible development.

That fight continues today. The Herald’s “We Mead Action: Sort Out Woolmead” campaign has shone a spotlight on the unacceptable delay at this key town centre site, and Liberal Democrats are leading the call for Homes England to finally deliver.

The Liberal Democrats have long opposed leaving this site derelict in our beautiful town. We have even joined residents protesting outside the Woolmead to make the point clear. Our Liberal Democrat councillors on Farnham, Waverley, and Surrey councils despair at the lack of powers local authorities currently have to intervene — whether in planning or in pushing development forward. We’re the only party to have a specific policy for encouraging development of existing brownfield sites with financial incentives and ensuring that affordable and social housing is included in these projects.

Yet Homes England is part of the government and is taxpayer-funded. It is simply not good enough that their only “solution” seems to be putting the site up for sale again. What makes them think it will sell now when it hasn’t before? And why won’t they think more seriously about the wider public interest?

We believe this site would be perfect for desperately needed affordable housing, or even accommodation for students at the University for the Creative Arts. Just the other day at Freshers’ Fair Theresa and the team spoke to a student travelling daily from Yeovil!

Instead of endlessly restarting the sales process, why not think differently? Let’s get creative, even in the short term, and bring the community together to put forward ideas for what the Woolmead could be. A proposal shaped locally could then be pitched to Homes England. It would be naive to think this can be done instantly, but at the very least we can begin that process and in the meantime, insist the site is cleaned up and made less of an eyesore.

Unless something changes at Homes England, or unless councils are finally given the powers they need to intervene, Farnham will continue to be blighted by this derelict site in what should be a thriving part of the town centre. The Liberal Democrats will not stop pressing for action until that changes.

Waverley Liberal Democrats are determined to keep the pressure up. Working alongside the Farnham Herald and Farnham residents, we will continue this campaign until Woolmead is transformed from an eyesore into a place that brings real value to our community.

Read more about the campaign here.