FARNHAM Town FC has scrapped plans to rent out car parking places at the Memorial Ground, after Surrey County Council raised an objection.

The football club’s planning application to ratify a new car parking area built without consent last year hit a snag, after Surrey’s highways department expressed concern at the number of new car movements it could generate out of Mead Lane.

This centres around the club’s income-generating proposal to rent out parking spaces to non-football club users during the week.

Richard Cooper, Surrey’s senior transport development planner, said: “At this stage, it has not been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Highway Authority that the new car park is acceptable on highway safety grounds.

“The Highway Authority is specifically concerned about the commercial use of the car park, which would result in a material increase in unfettered vehicular movements on Mead Lane and at the Mead Lane junction with West Street, where the narrow width of the carriageway and restricted visibility, could result in conditions prejudicial to highway safety.”

Responding, the club has agreed to remove the commercial element from its application and restrict the car park’s use for the “ancillary purposes” of the football club.

It has however indicated it may submit a separate bid for commercial use at a later date after further research on the transport impacts.