Sir, – At the suggestion of the Countryside Agency, Farnham has launched a "Healthcheck" to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the town and the surrounding countryside. It should end up with an action plan for what improvements are needed. Many market towns in Britain have already done this and more are doing so now.
There are three distinct elements in the Healthcheck process. The first is the gathering of data about Farnham's current situation. The second is consultation with as many people in the community as possible, by means of questionnaires and public meetings, to arrive at a shared vision of what sort of town people want. Third is the action plan to implement the improvements which have been identified during the process.
The Healthcheck is already well under way. Farnham Town Council is footing the bill, but the work is being carried out independently by representatives of many Farnham organisations and is non-political.
Two open forum public meetings will be held at Church House, Union Road, Farnham, to report progress so far and invite everyone's views. The first will be at 5-30 pm on Tuesday, October 26, the second will be at 4 pm on Thursday, October 28.
May I invite your readers to come along to one or other of these meetings and add their views to what they hear.
Robin Crawford, Chairman, Healthcheck Steering Group