The success of Farnham Food Festival has offered a tantalising glimpse of Brightwells’ potential – and sparked fresh calls to transform East Street.

The event was moved away from its traditional Castle Street home this year because of the ongoing town centre works, with more than 100 traders instead spread across East Street, The Borough, Brightwells and the Bush Hotel courtyard.

Hundreds of visitors packed the eastern end of the town centre on Sunday, September 27, with traffic removed and festival-goers able to walk freely from the Royal Deer junction through to Brightwells.

Castle Ward Cllr George Hesse, who has previously called for East Street to be pedestrianised, said the move had been a success.

“It was really pretty buzzing,” he said. “There were so many people.”

He said the new layout created a natural link between East Street and Brightwells, with music at the Royal Deer junction, tables in the road and activities continuing into the development.

FH Farnham Food Festival Brightwells Yard PIC3.jpg
The move to Brightwells Yard seemed to go down well with visitors. Has it ever been this busy? (Iliffe Media/Paul Ferguson)

“You walked down East Street, there was plenty going on in East Street. And then you just walked down into Brightwells and it was all happening down there. It was really great.”

Cllr Hesse said he was pleased to see people discovering Brightwell Square for the first time.

“We talked to quite a few people who’d never been down there before,” he said. “And they were really enjoying the experience.”

Visitors made use of the grassed areas to sit, eat and picnic, while Cllr Hesse said the day demonstrated the potential for the development to host more events in future.

He believes the experience also showed what could be achieved if that part of East Street was permanently closed to traffic.

The move would “transform the whole East End of Farnham to become just a delightful, popular, attractive place to be”, he said.

Surrey County Council, the landlord at Brightwells, said the event could provide a precedent for future activities there.

A spokesperson said: “The turnout and energy at this year’s Farnham Food Festival were fantastic, and it was wonderful to see Brightwells and East Street playing such an integral role in the celebrations.

“As the landlord, our goal has always been to create a thriving space that supports local businesses, brings footfall into the town centre, and delivers real value to the community.

“The success of this event proves the versatility of these public spaces, setting a brilliant precedent for how we can continue hosting high-profile town events and collaborative activations moving forward.”