Hambledon Parish Council is looking to appoint a new clerk.

This part-time salaried position would be ideal for someone living in, or very close, to Hambledon and with a commitment to helping care for the village and its many community activities.

Training can be provided if necessary, so the candidate is not required to have previous experience although a knowledge of finance, administration and IT skills would be an advantage.

The position has become vacant following the resignation of Julie Flenley, who takes up a new role with the parish council at Chiddingfold, where she lives.

She departs next month with the thanks and best wishes of Hambledon Parish Council. Julie said: “I have sincerely enjoyed my time with Hambledon Parish Council and wish it every success in the future”.

Julie will remain in post until early February. It may be necessary for the parish council to appoint a locum clerk in any interim period.

In the meantime, the parish council has started the process to find a replacement. The clerk undertakes an important and responsible position but the job is not especially onerous to anyone with organisational skills.

The clerk is the council’s paid professional, who provides advice and assistance to the elected village councillors, ensuring council business is conducted correctly. The job involves preparing agendas, attending monthly parish council evening meetings, taking minutes of proceedings, and overseeing budgets, as the clerk is also the Responsible Financial Officer (RFO).

The clerk is the point of contact with local authorities, receiving local planning applications from Waverley Borough Council, and submitting councillor responses. He or she is also the contact for the general public.

All decisions are taken by the councillors, who are elected to office but are unpaid and volunteer their services, with their clerk providing them with objective, independent advice.

Currently the council employs its Clerk for 10 hours per week. The job comes with a contract of employment and pay and conditions in accordance with national rates for the size of the council. Hambledon Parish Council is small – just seven councillors – and does not have an office, so the Clerk would work from home.

Council meetings are held once a month, starting at 8pm at the village hall, usually on a Tuesday, and generally last less than two hours.

The post will be advertised locally, including in the February edition of Hambledon Parish Magazine and on village noticeboards, in accordance with professional guidance from the Surrey Association of Local Councils. Closing date for applications will be Monday February 28^th, 2022.

To register your interest, and for further details, please contact Stewart Payne, the parish council chairman, on spayne444@btinternet.com or by phone on 07831 393561.

Hambledon is well served with many public access defibrillators in the village and surrounds – but there is another layer of aid that is provided by a group of trained volunteers ready to respond swiftly to medical emergencies. The First Responders. They are looking to recuit new First Responders for our area – can you help?

Could you be the neighbour your neighbours can’t live without?
In the coming months the ambulance service will be looking for caring, reliable people who are calm in an emergency and want to make a difference in their community.
Community First Responders are trained volunteers sent by South East Coast Ambulance Service to certain types of 999 calls. We provide treatment and care for patients while the ambulance is on its way.
If you would like to know more about what’s involved send us a message and we can explain the role and responsibilities.

SECAmb Godalming Community First Responders

https://www.secamb.nhs.uk

Natural England, the Government’s statutory adviser on natural landscapes, is currently consulting on extending the boundaries of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Almost all of Hambledon village is within the current AONB including the majority of homes, the cricket green and village shop, church, nursery school, St Dominics, village hall, Feathercombe, Lane End, Upper Vann and most of Hydestile.

The only areas not within it are land between Hydestile crossroads on the western side of Hambledon Road (looking towards Enton and the West Surrey Golf Course) as far as the Merry Harriers, and on the eastern side of Vann Lane between Vann and Pockford. These areas are now included in the formal boundary review.

The Surrey Hills AONB was one of the first in the country and was designated in 1958. It has not been reviewed since then.

Local knowledge is being sought and the opinions of Hambledon residents do matter, as AONBs provide additional protection to the countryside as well as having implications on planning.

If you would like to know more, please go to:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/surrey-hills-area-of-outstanding-natural-beauty-needs-you?mc_cid=00003035f2&mc_eid=ea725c4e1a

There you can read about the review and then follow the links to the pages of Surrey Hills AONB for more background information, maps of the areas under consultation and to take part. You have until January 31^th to take part.

Hambledon Parish Council is also considering commenting on the review and is seeking the opinions of local people before doing so. Please email the council on clerkofhpc@outlook.com before January 25^th in order to give councillors time to consider your responses.

Hambledon Parish Council have been notified of the following planned road closures between now and mid-February:

1. Church Lane, road closure for resurfacing by Surrey County Council Highways Department for 1 day on 28th January 2022
2. Rock Hill, traffic controls, (road will be open but expect delays) for resurfacing by Surrey County Council Highways Department for 1 day on 28th January 2022
3. Bridleway 131 from Potters Hill. Closed on 9th February 2022 for BT Openreach works.
4. Station Lane, road closure by Network Rail on 16th and 17th February 2022.

Please be aware that Hambledon Parish Council are not given advanced warning of emergency works, just planned works. All information can be found on Surrey Highways interactive map, including emergency closures, with diversion information. The map can be found here > Roadworks – Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk) .

If you require any further information, please contact the Clerk on clerkofhpc@outlook.com, Thanks > Julie (Clerk).

Hambledon Parish Council is due to meet tomorrow evening (Tuesday 4th January) in the village Hall at 8pm. The relevant agenda is available in the parish council section of the website and available on the village notice boards. Please note that facemasks must be worn – the hall is covid compliant and will be sanitised before and after the meeting. Thanks > Julie (Clerk).

With no new Covid restrictions added – but with the variant still prevalent- Hambledonians will celebrate the arrival of 2022 with caution, but surely with optimism that the New Year will be better then the last.

Many will no doubt celebrate quietly at home or visit friends and neighbours. Others will meet at the Merry Harriers to see in the New Year where measures are in place to ensure that the evening can be enjoyed outside in the garden as well as inside.

Villagers have loaned fire pits and gazebos following an appeal from manager Mikey Coleman. These will supplement the pub’s own fire pits and marquee to add to the party atmosphere and to ensure that all may celebrate safely.

A small bar is being set up in the rear garden and a band will play by the doors leading from the dining area to the rear patio, so that music can be heard outside as well as in.

The garden is large, so there is plenty of space, and masks should be worn when entering the pub.

Our picture shows manager Mikey Coleman and Richard Payne taking a tea break from setting up.

The pub is open all evening until beyond midnight. The forecast is for a dry and mild night.

However and wherever you celebrate, we wish you all a Happy New Year.

The Christmas Eve Crib service at St Peter’s takes place today, outside in the church yard, at 4pm.

This reminder is to correct an error in yesterday’s news item, which erroneously stated it was to be held on New Year’s Eve.  Sorry about that, and the article has been corrected.

And to recap, the Midnight Communion service at Hambledon tonight has been cancelled but all are welcome to celebrate Christmas Day at the 10am service at St Peter’s tomorrow, which will be held outside. For full details on village activities over the Festive season please see the previous new item.

For the second year running Hambledon, as elsewhere, is facing a disrupted Christmas as a result of Covid-related restrictions. Nevertheless, our little village will do its best, and there is no reason not to wish everyone a Happy Christmas on behalf of the village website team.

Sadly, as you may have read in the previous post, the Church has made the difficult decision to cancel the traditional Christmas Eve 11pm service at St Peter’s. Given the late hour, this service was to have taken place inside the church but this was considered unwise in the current situation.

Happily, the Christmas Eve Crib Service will go ahead at 4pm, as will the Christmas Day family service and Communion at 10am. Both will be held outside so wrap up warm and remember to wear your protective face mask.

Fortunately the Carol Service did go ahead last Sunday in the church yard and our photograph shows some of the hardy souls, of all ages, who gathered under the glow of the Chancel windows to share carols, readings and some mulled wine and mince pies.

The village pub, the Merry Harriers, will be monitoring the situation throughout the Festive period, adapting to any new rules that the Government may announce over the coming days.

As things stand, the pub will be open until 11pm on Christmas Eve and between 11am and 6pm on Christmas Day. Manager Mikey Coleman has said he will have fire pits blazing away in the back garden for those who prefer to be outside. Boxing Day hours are 12 noon to 8pm, and curry meals are on offer until 6pm, including vegetarian.

A band is booked to play on New Year’s Eve and it is intended it will perform from the dining area and with space for dancing, but this is under constant review and there is an option for the band to play outside, with additional lighting and more fire pits.

The Village Shop is open today until 3pm and tomorrow, Christmas Eve, it opens at 8.30am and closes at 2pm. Sadly the shop carols singing, scheduled for noon tomorrow, has been cancelled.

After Christmas its hours are: