Plans for a Parkrun in Farnham Park have stumbled after authorities raised fresh concerns over parking.

Organiser Jodie Sikkel and the Farnham Parkrun interest group have been working to bring the weekly 5-kilometre community run to Farnham Park since the start of 2025.

Many local businesses and sports clubs, including Farnham Rugby Club, have backed the idea. With her experience running the Henley-on-Thames Parkrun, Ms Sikkel had hoped a deal could be reached with Waverley Borough Council (WBC) to bring one to Farnham.

However, WBC has been reluctant to approve the Parkrun because of parking pressures, a stance many in the group dispute.

Ms Sikkel said that despite the hurdle, she was still hopeful the plans would reach the finish line.

“I’ve been surprised with how hard it has been to get this organised,” she said. “I don’t want to be a nuisance but there are now more than 100 people on board with the run as well as organisers from Parkrun. I don’t want to let them down now.

“I understand concerns about the car parking but I think we could find a solution. This is a big opportunity to promote health and fitness in the town whilst also attracting people into town to shop, eat and drink.”

A WBC spokesperson said: “Farnham Park suffers from a well-documented parking challenge and is subject of a parking review.

“We are currently looking at plans to see how we can meet existing parking demands, and the park is simply not capable of meeting the additional needs Parkrun would generate.”

The spokesperson added: “There is an existing very popular Parkrun locally at Alice Holt, and even a small minority of these runners visiting Farnham Park for a Parkrun would overwhelm our parking availability.”

Parkrun is a free, community event where people of all ages can walk, jog or run a timed 5km (3.1 miles) held every Saturday morning.

Founded in London’s Bushy Park in 2004, it has since expanded into an international movement with more than 2,300 events across 25 countries and up to 10 million registered participants globally.