A decade after officials tried to block development, Farnham’s green spaces, including its hop gardens, were lost to housing.
Waverley’s tax base grew in ten years, rising from 52,000 homes to 57,335 homes. That is a ten percent increase since then. The UK population grew by only four percent, meaning Waverley gained ten percent more taxable homes.
Farnham took most of these new homes because it lacks Green Belt protection. Farnham shares a housing target with Waverley. Big new estates landed on green fields and took over farm land. Some faced very little local resistance.
Some developments really impacted Farnham; they built on ancient deer park land and old hop gardens between Castle Street and Crondall Lane. People called the hop gardens “Farnham’s Stonehenge.” In 2013, over 400 people signed a petition to protect the area from housing.
They said the site was special to the community with links to the castle and hop growing. Waverley Council first delayed the plans. Taylor Wimpey’s plan came after new rules in 2012. These rules were the National Planning Policy Framework.
Officials worried the rules would hurt Farnham, fearing the loss of green spaces to development. In 2015, officials debated the plan and criticized staff for saying yes. One official said they felt powerless; residents protested traffic from the project. For once, the council matched the town’s view.
But this agreement didn’t last. Two months later, officials approved 120 homes on the Beavers Road hop fields. Over 450 people objected to the plan at that point. Only five people openly supported it.
Officials feared losing an appeal, so they voted for the housing plans. Two councillors voted against the plan, and some Farnham councillors missed the vote. The Herald warned of more greenfield projects.
Farnham’s hop gardens died out in the 1970s, but the area was still rural in the late 20th century. Old photos show how important the hop gardens were; they stood on the approach to town during the early 1900s. The loss matters.