The secretary of state has granted planning consent following a call-in inquiry to The Stax Group for a mixed leisure scheme in Farnham, Surrey.

The 20-acre site will include a new 80,000sq ft (7,400sq m) indoor leisure facility housing a swimming pool, a large health and fitness club and sports courts.

Outdoor facilities will include tennis courts, four full-sized football/rugby pitches, a multi-use games area and a bowls green.

It will also become the new home of Farnham Rugby Club, which will relocate all its operations to the site.

Max Wildsmith, managing director of The Stax Group, said: "After five years of planning delays both ourselves and the Rugby Club are delighted the secretary of state agreed that such a scheme cannot be located anywhere else than on a sustainable edge of town site.

"Both Stax and the Farnham Rugby Club have been looking for a suitable site in the Farnham area for the last 10 years and have been continually frustrated by planning issues."