Farnham Park Playing Fields (Farnham Royal)

In August this year, Buckinghamshire Council and Wycombe Wanderers announced a new partnership to secure the long-term future of the Farnham Park Playing Fields and South Buckinghamshire Golf Course as a flagship sporting hub for the community.

Since then, representatives of Wycombe Wanderers have spent time meeting with some of the sports organisations and clubs using the Playing Fields, as well as members and staff at the golf course.

Having been part of Buckinghamshire’s sporting community since their founding in 1887, Wycombe Wanderers are aware how important this site is locally, and the conversations over the summer have emphasised this further. The Club and the Council remain absolutely committed to working with the existing tenants and users of the site.

The shared vision for the site is that it becomes a modern, multi-sports hub with inclusive facilities that will significantly increase opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds across the community to play sport and be active.

This is a multi-year project and it will take several months to develop a detailed masterplan for the site. There will be consultation with local people and users of the facilities, likely next year, and a planning application will need to be submitted and approved. Importantly, the site will remain open as usual throughout this process.

Once Wycombe Wanderers take on responsibility for the day-to-day management of the site, they will be exploring potential changes to the operations of the existing golf course, in response to declining usage and ongoing financial losses associated with the facility. Any changes at the golf course would take place next spring at the earliest, meaning this year’s season tickets and golf club memberships, which run to the end of March 2026, are respected.

Looking further ahead, subject to securing planning approvals, the fabric and layout of the course will be redesigned and modernised with either 9 or 12 holes to make it more flexible, accessible and appealing to a wider audience including young people, families and casual golfers. The proposals could possibly also include a golf academy and a driving range. The Council and the Club are committed to keeping members regularly updated and to creating a long-term and thriving future for golf here.

There is lots of work to do over the coming months, and as Wycombe Wanderers start to assemble a professional design team, they will also be looking at opportunities to invest and improve across the whole site in the short to medium term. This could include refurbishment of the golf course club house, and upgrades to the changing facilities on the Playing Fields in time for the 2026/27 season. This will be explored further over the coming months and will be subject to planning approvals.

The Wycombe Wanderers Foundation will play a key role across the site to deliver a comprehensive range of programmes geared towards supporting local people and communities, in areas such as education, employability, sports participation, social mobility, health and inclusion.

Both the Council and Wycombe Wanderers are dedicated to working openly and collaboratively with site users and the community and to safeguarding this site as a public asset, while unlocking new opportunities, participation in sport, and a long-term home for the football club in Buckinghamshire.

View frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the project on the Wycombe Wanderers website.