About Farnham Voice#

Farnham Voice is run by local data scientists, developers, and community volunteers. The idea started with a small group of local data scientists who believe in data transparency, and who think Farnham’s civic life — planning, traffic, local services — could do with a bit more of it, and a bit less guesswork.

In short: we ask the community what they think, publish the results openly, and hand them to the council. We only chase the council for their reasoning when it’s genuinely needed — not every time — so nobody’s stuck answering, or asking, the same question twice.

West Surrey Council won’t start making decisions until 2027. That’s real time to build an honest picture of what people actually think, so future consultations start from evidence rather than guesswork. It’s a win for the community and a win for the council.

Why we started this#

Councils usually only hear from the small number of people who already turn up to meetings, sit on committees, or post online. That’s nobody’s fault — it’s just genuinely hard to gather views from an entire community in a structured way. So issues that matter to a lot of people can end up looking quieter than they really are, and vice versa.

We wanted to close that gap: ask people directly, publish the results openly, and hand councils something clear enough to actually act on.

What we actually do#

We run short, focused surveys on local issues, gather the responses, and publish clear, anonymous summaries — shared openly with councils, community groups, and anyone else who finds them useful.

What we’re not#

We’re not a residents’ association, a council department, or a political group — and we have no interest in becoming one.

Local associations are rightly the first point of contact for most community concerns. They hold the local knowledge and relationships we don’t try to replicate. We’re not here to replace that, speak over it, or compete with it — just to add one more clear, evidence-based voice alongside the work already being done.

Get involved#

If you think local decisions should be based on real evidence rather than guesswork, join the mailing list. The more people who take part, the more useful the results become for everyone.