Despite slow take-up of units and continued mixed public opinion, businesses at Brightwells Yard say they remain hopeful for the future of the development. Freelance journalist Alice Tomlinson met some of them to find out more.
00:00There is such an opportunity here with a little bit of imagination.
00:03It's a derrick sight, I mean.
00:05I think it's quite a breath of fresh air in Farnham.
00:07It's a bit empty and not a lot of soul.
00:11I think it's really nice to walk through it and with the sculptures.
00:14I mean, we have Nando's, we have the movie place, because before we had to, what, go to Guildford.
00:19I thought it was fully booked out when it was built.
00:22That was the impression we were led to believe, that, oh, it's all taken.
00:26It's disappointing, I must admit.
00:28I feel the money that's been spent on it and the time it's taken.
00:31What you've just heard there is what some Farnham residents think of Brightwell's yard.
00:36After much delay, the regeneration project was completed at the end of last year.
00:40And despite expectations, business uptake has been slow.
00:44The Farnham Herald has spoken to the business owners already in the development
00:47to see how things have been going for them and what they anticipate for the future.
00:51We had many false starts, unfortunately.
00:54But we finally were able to open in October 2024.
00:57We had a plan for our first year when we wanted to get open, and we've overachieved it, which has been fantastic.
01:03So we've got more members than we could have hoped for, and the business is doing really well.
01:09I'm super excited to see more businesses opening up in Brightwell's.
01:13If you think about the businesses that are here at the moment, apart from Nando's and Real, they are all local and independent businesses who have been very brave to come and open their business in a modern centre in Farnham, which has lots of open shops.
01:28So far, it's gone really well.
01:29So they had a little event, like a little beach here when I first started.
01:33That was a really good place to start with.
01:35And then it's continued to grow from when the beach left to where we are now.
01:40With Brightwell's Shard, it's a difficult one because I feel there's such a potential here for it to be incredible.
01:46I can see that the council and the marketing agency are doing the best that they can.
01:53Although I would like it for it to be busier, I think that will come in time as things increase.
01:59This isn't a Brightwell's Yard problem to start with.
02:01If you were to look into any town centre right now, you'll find there are many empty spaces, and most of those empty spaces are being taken now by leisure operators.
02:11Farnham as a place is perfect. I think you couldn't ask for a better town, and Brightwell's will just continue to improve and grow throughout its life.
02:23I think we have to give it a chance.
02:25So what do you think? Does Brightwell's Yard have a chance?
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