In its edition of October 15, 2010, the Herald reported: “Farnham Police station could be facing closure as Surrey Police look to shut expensive police buildings across the country, stationing officers in more ‘cost-effective’ bases in the community.”

The proposed closure raised a furore in the town. The Waverley Neighbourhood Inspector at the time commented: “I know the idea of closing police stations will initially cause some concern but please be assured we are not talking about removing local officers from the community, they will still patrol the same streets as they do now, but from a different base.”

The inspector added: “Sharing premises with other local authorities and replacing older buildings with cheaper alternatives will allow us to put more money into actually increasing the number of officers out on the street which is what the public tell us they want.”

The Farnham Police station closed in 2012 along with numerous others in the region including Haslemere, Alton and Petersfield - leaving Farnham without a police station for the first time since 1846.

Two years later, planning permission was approved for its demolition, to be replaced by a block of 50 Churchill Retirement Living apartments in the town centre site overlooking Gostrey Meadow. This was completed and opened in early 2016.

Today, Farnham’s neighbourhood police team retains an office at Farnham Fire Station, but this is not open to the public. Farnham’s nearest Surrey Police station is in Guildford, 10 miles away.

The town has just one dedicated PC and one PCSO, as well as shared resources with the Waverley borough team.

The above is a continuation of a series of articles compiled by Farnham Sports Council chairman David Gill looking back at the Herald archive to mark the 50th anniversary of the dissolution of the Farnham Urban District Council (FUDC) in 1974.