SOUTH West Trains has confirmed it is to begin work on a new double-deck car park at Farnham railway station in April, providing 183 extra parking spaces.

MP Jeremy Hunt and councillors including Farnham mayor Pat Frost have expressed their delight at the news following a two-year campaign to secure the extra parking spaces needed by people using the busy station.

Mr Hunt, the MP for South West Surrey, said: “This is great news for Farnham residents and commuters. Alongside Pat Frost I have been working hard to bring this about as we all saw the need for the extra spaces.

“The new car parking is important for Farnham but at the same time the structure needs to fit in with the town’s vision and needs from an aesthetic point of view.”

The design for the new car park, on Approach Road, will include provision of a separate in/out entrance which should ease access and congestion. The new ‘deck’ will cover the existing car park, and will also offer improved security with upgraded CCTV cameras and new lighting.

Work is scheduled to start on April 18 and is expected to be finished by the end of summer.

While construction work takes place, the existing main car park will need to be closed with the smaller car park, adjacent to platform two, remaining open.

South West Trains will be carrying out an extensive information campaign advising passengers of alternative arrangements during the works.

Pat Frost, Surrey county councillor for Farnham Central, said: “It is important to the residents who have to suffer problems with on-street commuter parking that more provision is made for the commuters on site at the station.

“There will be problems during construction, but I have met with the constructors and will be meeting with local stakeholders to ensure that as far as possible all possible difficulties are minimised.”

Alistair Wright, head of station property for South West Trains, added: “With more than 1.6 million passengers now using Farnham station every year, it’s vital that there is enough space for people to park.

“Improving the car parking capacity at this station has been a key priority for us and it’s great news that Farnham station will be one of the eight stations to benefit from our multi-million pound car park investment programme.”

South West Trains announced in 2015 that it would be investing £50m in customer improvements across the network as part of an agreement with the Department for Transport. This significant investment will result in around 1,400 extra car parking spaces introduced across eight key stations.

See the Herald’s Facebook page (fb.com/farnhamherald) for a video interview with South West Trains’ head of station property, Alistair Wright, and David Munro, the Surrey county councillor for Farnham South.