Concerns over parking, roadworks and the appearance of Farnham town centre have been raised by residents and traders.

At a recent Farnham Town Council meeting, resident Ionela Emmett warned that the impact of planned roadworks, including the three-month closure of The Borough from January, could discourage people from visiting the town.

She called for parking concessions to be extended year-round, including continuing the £1 parking scheme until at least the end of the summer as works move from The Borough to Castle Street.

“People are saying, ‘I’m not coming into the town’,” she told the meeting on Thursday, December 18. “That is terrible for us. It will get even more serious when The Borough is actually blocked.”

Ms Emmett also urged that Brightwells car park be made free again, warning that drivers were instead using the already congested Waitrose car park.

“We want to make people use the A31, so they will use Brightwells because it will be quicker for them,” she said. “Otherwise, people will just go to Aldershot. It takes me 45 minutes to get into Farnham, when it only takes me 25 minutes to go into Aldershot or Basingstoke.”

She said the town risked losing independent shops if access did not improve.

“We want to support our local businesses — buy a loaf of bread or have a cup of coffee,” she said. “Otherwise a lot of shops are going to close down. We will just have chicken shops and betting shops on our high street, and we don’t want that.”

Town centre trader Steve Hamilton, owner of Hamilton Tea Rooms, raised concerns about the condition of the town following recent works.

He said new pavements were already affected by “messy flower beds and stains” just weeks after being laid.

“I’m a bit concerned about the state of the roads already,” he said. “Six weeks down, and they look filthy already.”

Mr Hamilton criticised cleaning efforts, saying brooms were ineffective against marks on the paving slabs.

“It’s all well and good spending all this money, but it looks atrocious,” he said.

While welcoming the aims of the Farnham Infrastructure Programme (FIP), including partial pedestrianisation, improved paving and street furniture, he said the town lacked a cohesive appearance.

“We thought there might be a cohesive look to the town, but monstrous bins have been dumped in the street with no thought to the heritage of the town,” he said.

He suggested removing some flower beds to create space for town centre information boards, particularly for older residents who do not use social media.

Mr Hamilton also warned that drivers could ignore diversion signs once The Borough closes, as happened during the Downing Street closure.

“They think it doesn’t mean me, until it becomes too late,” he said. “If they don’t get the message very quickly from the top of Folly Hill or Coxbridge roundabout, it’s going to be complete bedlam.”

Responding to the concerns, Mayor George Murray said Farnham Town Council was not responsible for car parking or street cleaning, which fall under Waverley Borough Council.

He said the Farnham Infrastructure Programme was an ongoing scheme rather than a finished project, adding that while the town council had a limited role, it still had a voice.

Cllr Murray also said lorries making deliveries on West Street were blocking traffic cameras, causing systems to incorrectly show there were no vehicles in the area.

On street cleanliness, he said the council was aware of the issue and had tested a large street-cleaning machine with brushes.

“We’ve spent all this money on the scheme and the pavements are nice and white, so we’re looking into it,” he said, adding that the town council had budgeted for the machine if it needed to take on responsibility.

He said works on Downing Street and The Borough were not yet complete, with some sections finished temporarily before Christmas, and confirmed that concerns about rain gardens would be discussed with Surrey County Council and the FIP team.