A “fantastic” new £110,000 bike and skate “pump track” will be built in Farnham after financing was agreed by Waverley Borough Council.

Pedro Wrobel

Explaining to the committee why the new course is called a pump track, council CEO Pedro Wrobel said: “I feel slightly ashamed that I appear to be the only representative of the BMXing/ skater community here.

“I believe it’s called a pump track because of the way in which one has to pump in order to get up and down the verticals. So it is the way that one leans forward on a bicycle and pumps their legs.”

The Sandy Hill track will be paid for by community infrastructure developer funding and comes at the end of a long-running campaign to replace the town’s BMX track that had fallen into disrepair.

Currently the borough lacks a “much-needed” pump track or anything similar, papers presented to the August 5 Executive Committee read.

Sandy Hill is  one of the borough’s most deprived areas and the council hopes the new track will also attract people to the area.

Cllr Paul Follows

Council Leader Paul Follows (Lib Dem, Godalming Central & Ockford), said the park was  fundamentally positive and a no-brainer, in an area that really needed  it and had the support of residents.

Cllr Kika Mirylees (Farnham Residents, Farnham Firgrove), portfolio holder for community services and leisure said: “This has been in our sights for some  time. I am just really pleased.

Cllr Kika Mirylees

She added: “We have had people at Sandy Hill who have been very much involved in this which has been fantastic.”

“I’m just really thrilled we have got to this place and I think that it won’t just be, because it will be so popular, for the people who live up there I know people will be going on their bicycles and arriving there and having a go, who come from other parts of Farnham.

“This is something that we can all be proud of and I’m really thrilled that we’ve got to this point with it.

“Before we had a BMX track but that was not possible to continue with as it became overgrown and became a place for plants that we need to look after due to special scientific interest  but we’ve got this area and it will be fantastic.”

The consultation into the park pulled in more than 1,100 respondents with 90 per cent in favour of the project, the meeting heard.

The area has a tradition of hosting cycling competitions as far back as the 1970’s when Sandy Hill former BMX track  hosted national level finals with  crowds of spectators.

Generations who have grown up in Farnham would have been familiar with the former BMX track or used it  and now have children or grandchildren who would like something similar, the papers added.

Planning permission for the pump track must be secured by April 1,  2026  for the CIL funding to remain available.