Farnham Roadworks This Week: East Street Night Closures

Farnham’s main roadworks this week are on East Street, which closes eastbound from 8pm to 4am every weeknight until 12 October, for utility works. From 13 October it flips and closes westbound on the same hours until 22 October. Stagecoach services 5, 18 and 65 are diverted while it is shut.

Castle Street is open in both directions, on temporary traffic lights, and Surrey County Council expects work in the street to carry on until November.

This page was last checked against Surrey County Council’s own pages, its permit register and National Highways’ closure report on 3 October 2026.

This week at a glance

• East Street: shut eastbound 8pm to 4am weeknights until 12 October, then westbound 13 to 22 October. Buses 5, 18 and 65 diverted.
• Castle Street: open both ways on temporary lights. Bus stops temporarily outside and opposite Guildford House.
• South Street and Victoria Road: Surrey traffic light refurbishment booked from 5 to 16 October.
• The Borough: a Thames Water job booked from 29 September to 12 October.
• A3 northbound, Hazel Grove to Thursley: closed overnight, 9pm to 6am, Monday 5 to Thursday 8 October.
• Trains: no Guildford to Farnham trains on Saturday 10 October; buses replace them.

Castle Street: open again, on temporary lights

Surrey County Council’s town centre works page, reviewed on 28 September and unchanged when we checked on 3 October, says simply: “Castle Street is now open with temporary traffic lights.” Its bus changes page gives the date: from Monday 28 September the northbound closure of Castle Street was completed, and Stagecoach services 4 and 404 went back to their normal route and timetable.

What that means at the wheel:

• You can drive up Castle Street again, turning left out of The Borough towards Upper Hale. The diversion via the A31, the Shepherd and Flock roundabout and Hale Road is no longer needed.
• Expect temporary lights, not a clear run. Surrey still lists raised table crossing points in Castle Street and The Borough among the outstanding works, so short closures or lane changes are still possible before the scheme finishes.
• The Castle Street bus stops have moved up the hill for now, to outside and opposite Guildford House, because the usual stops sit inside the works area.
• Residents’ parking: Castle Street permit holders with Waverley’s temporary permit can keep using Upper Hart car park free, and Surrey says that permit stays valid for the duration of the works, “anticipated to continue until November”. Anyone who needs one emails farnham.infrastructureprogramme@surreycc.gov.uk.

What is still to come in the town centre, from the same page: the raised table crossings in Castle Street and The Borough, white lining in South Street, benches, bins and bus shelters, and the resurfacing of Victoria Road, all expected to be finished in November. A stretch of pavement on the north side of West Street is being timed to avoid the pre-Christmas trading weeks.

The northbound closure began on Sunday 16 August and lifted on Monday 28 September, after six weeks. It was followed by five nights of full overnight closures from 21 September for resurfacing and white lining, which are also finished.

East Street closes at night for a month, and it is not the town centre works

From Monday 21 September until 12 October, East Street is closed eastbound between 8pm and 4am on weeknights only, for utility works. Surrey County Council is explicit that this is separate from the Farnham town centre improvement works.

Then the direction flips. From 13 October until 22 October East Street closes westbound, on the same 8pm to 4am weeknight pattern.

Buses are diverted through both halves:

• Eastbound phase, services 5 and 18 towards Aldershot divert from The Borough via South Street, the A31 Farnham bypass and the Shepherd and Flock roundabout, rejoining at Six Bells roundabout. They cannot serve Woolmead Road, East Street, Adams Park Road or Farnham Hospital North.
• Eastbound phase, service 65 towards Guildford diverts from The Borough via South Street and the A31 to the Shepherd and Flock roundabout. It cannot serve Woolmead Road, East Street, Kimbers Lane, Farnham Hospital South or Shepherd and Flock Roundabout.
• Westbound phase, services 5 and 18 run as far as Farnham Leisure Centre on Dogflud Way, then return along East Street and divert via Guildford Road, the Shepherd and Flock roundabout and the A31 to Farnham station. No stops on East Street or South Street.
• Westbound phase, service 65 towards Alton runs to the Shepherd and Flock roundabout, then the A31 to Coxbridge roundabout, then West Street to pick up the town centre loop of The Borough, South Street, Union Road and Downing Street.

When the road is open, all services run as normal.

The A3 overnight, Monday 5 to Thursday 8 October

This one is for anyone driving home late from Portsmouth or Haslemere towards Guildford, and it is not on any Surrey page.

National Highways’ seven-day closure report, dated 2 October, has the A3 northbound closed between Hazel Grove and Thursley from 9pm to 6am on the nights of Monday 5, Tuesday 6, Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 October. It is part of the resurfacing scheme on the A3 in both directions between the Hogs Back and Longmoor. On the same four nights:

• the A3 northbound at Longmoor is closed between the exit and entry slip roads, 9pm to 6am
• the A3 northbound Hazel Grove entry slip road is closed, 9pm to 6am, for Hindhead Tunnel maintenance

Also in the report:

• A3 northbound Hogs Back entry slip road, closed 9pm on Monday 5 October to 6am Tuesday, for sign maintenance.
• A3 northbound at Wisley and Painshill, closed between the slip roads from 10pm on Saturday 3 October to 6am Sunday, and from 10.30pm on Sunday to 5.30am Monday.

The A31 at Farnham has no closures in the report. Its A31 entries are all in Dorset and Hampshire: Bere Regis to Roundhouse, Picket Post and Poulner.

Buses

From Monday 28 September, Surrey’s bus page says services 4 and 404 are back on their normal route and timetable. The Castle Street stops are temporarily further up the hill, outside and opposite Guildford House, while work continues under temporary lights.

The East Street diversions for services 5, 18 and 65 are set out above. Check the Surrey temporary changes to bus services page or Stagecoach before travelling.

Every live job in Farnham, from the county’s permit register

Surrey’s “roadworks in your area” register listed 109 permits for Waverley on 3 October 2026. Every one has an end date of today or later, and 49 have not started yet. The newest booked start date is 9 October. Below are the Farnham wards. Dates are the permit’s booked start and end, which can move.

What the table tells you that no closure notice does:

• The town centre’s traffic lights are being refurbished. Surrey has booked South Street and Victoria Road for traffic light refurbishment from 5 to 16 October, while the same work on the Farnham By-pass runs to 19 October. Surrey has published no closure notice for any of them, and a permit alone does not say whether lanes come out.
• East Street has three jobs on it. SSE’s electricity permit runs to 12 October, matching the eastbound night closures, and South East Water has a separate job there from 1 to 6 October.
• SGN’s gas programme has moved on to new streets. New this fortnight: Stream Valley Road in The Bourne, Upper Way in Firgrove, Farnham Park Drive in Heath End and Folly Hill. Compton Way in Moor Park is booked into February 2027, and St Johns Road now runs to 22 December, four days later than the 18 December it carried in September.

Utility companies can notify Surrey up to two hours after emergency works start, so a quiet list is not a promise of a quiet week.

Elsewhere in the district

Critchmere Lane, Haslemere stays closed until 12 October for footway reconstruction, according to Surrey’s bus page. Stagecoach service 71 diverts via Critchmere Hill and Hindhead Road in both directions and cannot serve any Critchmere Lane stops. The job is not in the county’s permit register as of 3 October, so we cannot confirm from the register whether it is running to time.

Meadrow, Godalming runs to 6 November on the register, for Surrey highways improvement works.

Haslemere’s SGN gas jobs run to 9 October on Wey Hill, Longdene Road, Lower Street and Kings Road, with a second Lower Street permit to 16 October. Network Rail has booked railway works on Wey Hill from 7 to 9 October, and SSE has The Paddock to 10 October.

Churt Road, Hindhead and Charterhouse Road, Godalming are both booked for pre-patching ahead of surface dressing: Churt Road from 6 to 9 October, Charterhouse Road from 7 to 15 October.

Horsham Road, Cranleigh West is a Surrey highways job to 23 October. Guildford Road, Cranleigh West stays under Thames Water until 26 October.

Milford has a run of Thames Water jobs, including Portsmouth Road from 5 to 8 October and Church Road from 7 to 12 October.

Trains: four October weekends

Farnham sits on the Alton branch, which leaves the main line between Brookwood and Aldershot.

• Saturdays 3, 10, 24 and 31 October: Waterloo to Alton trains run joined to Basingstoke stopping trains. Because of closures in the Staines area, South Western Railway is running the two services combined as far as Woking, where the train divides. They call additionally at West Byfleet. Check which end of the train is going to Farnham before you board at Waterloo.
• Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October: the Guildford area is closed all weekend. On the Saturday, Guildford to Farnham via Aldershot services do not run and buses replace them. On the Sunday, Guildford to Ascot services start from Aldershot with buses between Guildford and Aldershot. Buses run Woking to Haslemere via Guildford on both days, which is the Portsmouth line through Godalming, Milford and Witley.
• Sunday 18 October: the Guildford area is closed all day again. Buses run Woking to Haslemere via Guildford, and Guildford to Ascot services start from Aldershot.
• Sunday 25 October: buses replace trains between Guildford and Petersfield, via Haslemere. Waterloo to Portsmouth services terminate at Guildford.
• Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November: the Haslemere area is closed all weekend. On the Saturday, Waterloo to Portsmouth services terminate at Haslemere with buses on to Havant. On the Sunday they terminate at Guildford, with buses Guildford to Havant via Haslemere.

South Western Railway usually runs an amended timetable around these closures, with some services leaving earlier than normally advertised, so check a journey planner rather than the usual departure time.

Where the whole scheme is going

Roadworks began in Farnham town centre in February 2025. Surrey County Council’s page now carries two different finishing lines, and it is worth knowing both. The opening section still says the works are “expected to be completed as planned by the end of the 2026”. Further down, under outstanding works, it says the main town centre works are “still expected to be completed in November”.

November is the more specific of the two, and it is the one attached to a list. Still to come after Castle Street:

• raised table crossing points in Castle Street and The Borough
• white line painting in South Street
• street furniture, including benches, bins and bus shelters
• resurfacing of Victoria Road, with no date published
• a section of pavement on the north side of West Street

That last one has no date at all. Surrey says its timing “is being considered around the need to avoid the key pre-Christmas trading period”, which is the council saying out loud that it may slip into 2027.

What the money buys, in the council’s own list: wider pavements, new planting, paving and seating, dedicated loading bays, pedestrian-controlled crossings and raised tables, two-way traffic at the bottom of Downing Street and on The Borough west of Castle Street, two new bus shelters with real-time information and level boarding, advanced stop lines and more cycle parking, and sustainable drainage.

Already delivered: the right turn out of Castle Street and the Waggon Yard car park, so drivers no longer have to loop the gyratory; the Longbridge junction upgrade; Downing Street pavements and resurfacing; and the Borelli Walk and Riverside Walk shared route from the Riverside car parks to South Street via Brightwells.

The A31, which is the real problem

The town centre works do not touch Farnham’s structural issue. Surrey County Council’s own description is blunt: the A31 “cuts Farnham into two parts”, separating the south of the town from the station, the centre and the north.

The Farnham A31 Corridor project would upgrade the Coxbridge Roundabout and the Shepherd and Flock Roundabout with layout changes, signals on some approaches, lane widening and better pedestrian and cycle facilities. It is not funded. A Strategic Outline Business Case went to the Department for Transport in November 2021 and was approved in late 2023. An Outline Business Case, with a full public consultation, comes next, and a Final Business Case after that decides whether the DfT pays. Nothing is being built on the A31 in 2026.

The wider Farnham Infrastructure Programme behind all of this was formed in 2019 by Surrey County Council, Waverley Borough Council, Farnham Town Council and the then MP, to tackle the town’s congestion and air quality. Its earlier deliveries were the HGV restrictions on Castle Hill, Castle Street, Folly Hill and Upper Hale Road in October 2021, and the 20mph zones in the town centre and Weydon Lane in summer 2023, extended to Upper Hale Road in autumn 2024.

Parking: the number most people get wrong

Farnham’s car parks are not priced alike. All-day parking ranges from £6.80 to £24.40 depending on which one you pick, and the two most expensive are the two closest to the middle of town. Every council car park in Farnham is free on Sundays and Christmas Day. Blue Badge holders park free everywhere.

Riverside 1, Central and Upper Hart were re-checked against their own Waverley pages on 19 September 2026 and are unchanged. The rest of the table was checked on 5 September 2026.

Where the table shows a dash under Blue Badge bays, the council’s page for that car park confirms free Blue Badge parking but does not publish a number of marked bays. Riverside 1, 2 and 3 together hold 351 spaces.

The £24.40 is not a mistake and it is not really a price. Central and Lower Hart charge £5.60 for four hours, £8.90 for six and £14.70 for eight, then £24.40 for the day. They are priced to turn over shoppers, not to host commuters. If you are staying all day, the Riverside car parks cost £17.60 less.

Central, Lower Hart and South Street also charge in the evening, 5.30pm to 10pm: £1.40 for the whole evening Monday to Thursday, and £1.40 an hour or £2.40 all evening on Friday and Saturday. That matters more than usual for the next five nights, because the Castle Street resurfacing starts at 8pm and there will be no parking on Castle Street south of Park Row.

Three other details worth knowing:

• Brightwells Yard has 18 EV charging bays and a 1.9 metre height barrier, and no permits are available there. Its machines are on levels 2, 4, 6 and 8.
• Riverside 3 has three EV chargers, run by GeniePoint. No other Farnham car park has any.
• Upper Hart and St James both have a 2.1 metre height barrier. Memorial Hall and Upper Hart take coins and RingGo only, not cards.

The routes that matter between phases

Whatever is closed this month, four things stay true about driving in Farnham.

1. The gyratory is the bottleneck, not the roadworks. The council’s standing advice is to pick a car park you can reach without going round it, and walk the last few minutes.
2. The A31 splits the town. Anything that crosses it, including the station, is a different journey from anything that does not.
3. The level crossing at the station can hold you at the barriers, which is why the A31 project lists reducing its impact as an aim.
4. Castle Street, Castle Hill, Folly Hill and Upper Hale Road are the loop the diversions use, in one direction or the other depending on the phase. They also carry an HGV restriction, so lorries cannot follow you round.

Where to check before you set off

• Surrey County Council roadworks map for live county roadworks and closures.
• Farnham town centre improvement works, which Surrey updates as phases change and which carries the current bus arrangements.
• Surrey’s roadworks in your area register, whose forward view on 3 October ran six days ahead, to 9 October.
• National Highways’ seven-day closure report, the only place the overnight A3 and A31 closures are published.
• Farnham Town Council’s traffic and roadworks page, and the town’s live traffic cameras.
• Surrey Highways runs a weekly roadworks bulletin by email, which is the single easiest way to stay ahead of this.

What it means for you

East Street is the one that catches people at night. It is shut eastbound from 8pm to 4am on weeknights until 12 October, then westbound on the same hours from 13 to 22 October, with services 5, 18 and 65 diverted.

Castle Street is open both ways, on temporary lights. If you drive up it towards Upper Hale, expect to queue at the lights rather than take the old A31 diversion, and expect the lights to stay until the scheme’s November finish. If you catch the 4 or 404, the Castle Street stops are outside and opposite Guildford House for now.

If you drive the A3 north late on a weeknight, the stretch from Hazel Grove to Thursley is shut from 9pm to 6am from Monday 5 to Thursday 8 October.

If you live on Castle Street and use Upper Hart car park on Waverley’s temporary permit, it stays valid while the works continue, which Surrey expects to be until November.

Frequently asked questions

Is Castle Street in Farnham open?

Yes. The northbound closure ended on Monday 28 September 2026 and Castle Street is open in both directions on temporary traffic lights. Surrey County Council expects the remaining work in the street, including raised table crossings, to continue until November, and the bus stops are temporarily outside and opposite Guildford House.

Is East Street in Farnham closed?

At night, yes. It is shut eastbound between 8pm and 4am on weeknights until 12 October, then westbound on the same hours from 13 October to 22 October. This is utility work and Surrey says it is separate from the town centre improvement scheme. Stagecoach services 5, 18 and 65 are diverted and cannot serve the East Street and Woolmead Road stops.

Is the A3 closed at Hindhead this week?

At night, northbound. National Highways’ closure report has the A3 northbound closed between Hazel Grove and Thursley from 9pm to 6am on the nights of Monday 5 to Thursday 8 October 2026, for resurfacing. The Hazel Grove northbound entry slip road is closed on the same nights for Hindhead Tunnel maintenance.

When will Farnham’s roadworks finish?

Surrey County Council’s town centre page gives two answers. Its opening section says the works are expected to be completed as planned by the end of 2026. Its outstanding-works list says the main town centre works are still expected to be completed in November, with raised tables, white lining in South Street, street furniture and the resurfacing of Victoria Road still to come, the last of those with no date attached. A section of pavement on the north side of West Street has no date at all, and Surrey says its timing is being considered around the pre-Christmas trading period. The county’s permit for Castle Street runs to 30 November 2026. Separately, the A31 corridor scheme has no funding and no construction date.

Where is the cheapest all-day parking in Farnham?

The Riverside car parks, St James and Memorial Hall, at £6.80 for the day. The most expensive are Central and Lower Hart at £24.40. All Waverley car parks in Farnham are free on Sundays.

Is parking free in Farnham on Sundays?

Yes. Every Waverley Borough Council car park in Farnham is free on Sundays and on Christmas Day. Blue Badge holders park free at all of them at all times, on display of the badge and, where a bay is marked, a time clock.

Related

• Farnham train times to London, including station car park charges.
• Farnham planning news: the housing target that the A31 and the gyratory are supposed to absorb.
• Things to do in Farnham, with parking notes for the ones you drive to.

Sources

• Surrey County Council, Farnham town centre improvement works for the northbound closure and its six weeks, the five overnight full closures from 21 September and their extent, the parking ban south of Park Row, the Upper Hart permit confirmation, both diversion routes, the outstanding works list, the November completion, the West Street pavement, and the scheme’s scope. Read 22 September 2026. Re-read 2 and 3 October 2026 (page reviewed 28 September) for “Castle Street is now open with temporary traffic lights” and the Upper Hart permit running until November.
• Surrey County Council, temporary changes to bus services for the East Street eastbound and westbound night closures and the service 5, 18 and 65 diversions, the service 4 and 404 diversion and revised timetable, the moved Castle Street stop, and the Critchmere Lane closure with the service 71 diversion. The page’s Farnham town centre section still carries its 16 August update and does not mention the overnight closures. Read 22 September 2026. Re-read 2 October 2026 for the 28 September end of the Castle Street northbound closure, the return of services 4 and 404 to their normal route, the temporary stops outside and opposite Guildford House, and the East Street dates. Re-read 3 October 2026; Critchmere Lane still listed to 12 October.
• Surrey County Council, roadworks in your area for every permit in the Farnham table, the 109 Waverley rows, the 49 not yet started, the 9 October newest booked start date, the South Street, Victoria Road and Farnham By-pass traffic light refurbishment, and the Meadrow, Haslemere, Hindhead, Godalming, Milford and Cranleigh dates. Read 3 October 2026.
• Surrey County Council, Farnham Infrastructure Programme for the programme’s formation, HGV restrictions and 20mph zone dates.
• Surrey County Council, Farnham A31 Corridor for the roundabout proposals and the business case position.
• National Highways road closure report, the seven-day spreadsheet dated 2 October 2026, for the A3 northbound closures between Hazel Grove and Thursley and at Longmoor on 5 to 8 October, the Hazel Grove and Hogs Back slip road closures, the Wisley and Painshill closures on 3 and 4 October, and the absence of any A31 closure on the Surrey stretch. Downloaded 3 October 2026.
• South Western Railway, September and October 2026 works for the Saturday Staines area closures (3, 10, 24 and 31 October) and the combined Waterloo to Alton and Basingstoke services, and the 10, 11, 18 and 25 October and 31 October to 1 November closures and replacement bus routes. Read 3 October 2026.
• Waverley Borough Council, Farnham car parks and each individual car park page for spaces, tariffs, charging hours, Blue Badge bays, EV bays, payment methods and height restrictions.

Farnham Town Council’s roadworks page still shows a last update of 14 July 2026 and names no specific closures, so nothing on this page rests on it.

Roadworks change week to week. Confirm closures against Surrey County Council before you travel, and check tariffs on the machine before you pay.