Winter Weather Advice and Emergency Contacts

This is a timely reminder that this website has a section containing advice and emergency contacts and this has been updated for the 2019/20 season.

This information can be found clicking the snowflake icon in the right hand column headed Winter Weather Advice or by clicking on this link. 

Here you will find practical precautionary measures and details of how to contact service providers such as electricity and water companies.

The village has a team of volunteers who will do their best to assist residents if in need, and their  contact details can be found on the above link.

A New Lease Of Life For Hydestile’s Red Telephone Kiosk

The red telephone kiosk at Hydestile crossroads is being given a make-over after it was decommissioned as a working pay phone.

The kiosk is a familiar and much-loved landmark at the entrance to the village and was at risk of being removed by BT. It is on the border of Hambledon parish but just inside the boundary of neighbouring Busbridge.

 

Fortunately, Busbridge Parish Council has undertaken to preserve the box by financing a renovation before the expected installation of a defibrillator for public use in an emergency.

This work is currently underway and is being carried out by a professional restorer (Ralph Restorations) who works from the back of his 1960s Austin A35 van, which is pictured here parked at Hydestile beside the kiosk.  A familiar sight on Britain’s roads in years gone by, it was an Austin A35 that featured more recently in several Wallace and Gromit animated films.

 

 

For several years Busbridge Parish Council has paid towards BT’s continued maintenance of the kiosk as a working pay phone. However, so few calls were made that the council decided to end this agreement and instead to “adopt” the box under a BT scheme, to ensure it remained in place as a distinctive feature of the rural cross roads landscape.

Under this scheme the ownership of the kiosk is transferred to the parish council for a nominal fee and BT undertake to maintain the working light inside.

The only other red kiosk left in the immediate area is the one in Hambledon, outside the shop and Post Office on Cricket Green. Hambledon Parish Council succeeded in getting the box “Listed” as a heritage feature by Historic England and it remains in working order although it no longer accepts coins.

Hambledon Road Closure at Rock Hill

A section of Hambledon Road at Rock Hill, between Church Lane and Woodlands Road, will be closed to daytime traffic from Monday (November 12th) until Friday (November 16th)

This is to allow carriageway excavation by engineers on behalf of British Telecom. This involves clearing blockages in existing underground infrastructure. Access to local properties and the emergency services will be maintained.

A diversion will be in place requiring traffic to use Station Lane, Milford and the A283 Petworth Road, or the reverse.  Full details of the works and diversion can be found on the earlier news item on this website. http://www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk/?p=10306

However, the road remained open until late morning on Monday as no work had started. This may have  been because of torrential rain earlier in the morning and localised flooding, particularly in Station Lane. In addition, Salt Lane, at the junction with the Hydestile Crossroads, was also closed for a time on Monday morning to allow for the removal of a fallen tree which came down in winds and rain yesterday afternoon.

Work did start later in the day and the closure was enforced.

However, there may be periods during the day when the road will be passable, but this should not be be taken for granted. The road was expected to be open in the evenings when work finishes for the day.

Heavy rain showers followed by bright sunshine throughout Monday may have led to difficult road conditions – but it also created a beautiful rainbow seen here from the Greensand Way by Hambledon Church, looking across the fields towards Hydon’s Ball.

 

 

Phone Box Repaired, Bins Emptied, Beware Potholes…and Your Snow Photos

Following the recent disruptive weather, a number of local services were affected.

However, all is back to normal after the sub-zero temperatures and snowfall of last week. The Friday bin collection was carried out two days later, on Sunday morning. The parish-council-owned grit bin at the top of Woodlands Road has been refilled. The Milk and More doorstep delivery did not happen on Saturday but is now operating to schedule.

And the phone box outside the village shop, which had developed a fault, has been repaired by BT engineers.

Potholes remain a problem and are likely to be more so after the freeze and thaw. Please contact Surrey County Council to report them, using the link on this website which can be found by clicking on the Home button on the top menu.

Finally, a lot of people were out-and-about in the village taking photographs of the snow. If you would like to share them on this website, please do so by using the Submit a Photograph button on the right side of the opening page and following the instructions. They will then be added by the web team to the Gallery section, where some snow photographs are already available to view.

 

Winter Weather – An Update on Bin Collection and Other Matters

Hambledon has shivered along with the rest of the country with temperatures plunging to -8C (please see latest photos under the Gallery menu)  but it was only in the last two days that snow caused a problem.

Although there were several relatively minor accidents in the lanes around the village, Hambledon remained open for business and credit goes to the village shop, which offered free deliveries to customers using volunteers in 4-wheel-drive vehicles if needed, and to the nursery school, which remained open all week when many other schools closed.

Stephanie Campbell, school secretary, said a great deal of effort went into keeping the steep entrance, car park and pathways clear of ice and snow. “We enjoyed fun snow play at the nursery school, warming up with hot chocolate when it got chilly outside.”

The Merry Harriers welcomed customers with a big log fire and hot food. The church, however, has had to cancel its Sunday services because snow remains on the steep Church Lane approach.

Hambledon Road, which was regularly gritted by Surrey County Council, is now clear of snow. Other lanes were gritted by local people and thanks go to them for keeping the village on the move. Most of the grit bins belong to SCC and it is responsible for refilling them. The parish council owns and maintains the bin at the top of Woodlands Road and this will be refilled over the weekend.

The Friday waste collection did not happen but please leave your bins out as Waverley Borough Council has advised they will be emptied over the next few days.

The payphone kiosk outside the village shop is currently out of order but the fault has been reported to BT which has said it has alerted its engineers and expects the repair to be carried out early in the coming week.

Hambledon Parish Council has a team of volunteers with 4-wheel drives, chain saws etc, ready to help out in the event of weather-related disruption and a link to them and other helpful numbers can be found on the opening page of this website. Please contact Stewart Payne, in the first instance, on 07831 393561. Arthur Frearson has joined the volunteer team and can be reached on 01428 683812 or 01252 722973. Please do not contact Tim Coleman or Nick Watson for the time being as both are unavailable.

If a grit bin near to you is in need of a refill please contact Stewart who will put in a request to Surrey County Council.

Our photographs show a snow covered Rock Hill, outside the nursery school; Church Lane and the listed red payphone outside the shop and post office.

Power Line Partially Down on Hambledon Road – UPDATE

UPDATE to news item below: SSE engineers were able to carry out repairs without any significant disruption to the traffic.

Overnight high winds and torrential rain have dislodged a power line causing it to sag where it crosses Hambledon Road beside the football ground.

Scottish and Southern Electricity has been informed and a police officer is in attendance to ensure high-sided vehicles do not make contact with the live cable. Cars and vans are able to pass underneath but the road may be closed when SSE attend to make repairs.

With 28 power cuts reported across the SSE region following the stormy weather – although none in Hambledon – it is unlikely that engineers will be on site until lunchtime at the earliest. In the meantime the police officer will remain in attendance to supervise traffic.

The power line crosses the Hambledon Road from Hydon Farm Cottages to the field opposite, just before the entrance to the Badger Park Football Ground. If a diversion is necessary it will involve motorists using Station Lane, Rake Lane and Petworth Road.

 

Possible Roadworks in Hambledon Road/Clockbarn from 15th Feb

As part of the resident-funded installation of broadband to Hydestile, Openreach and their contractors have been working hard this week in Home Farm Road, Busbridge, at the Crossroads and at Hydon Heath.
Technically there have been some challenges in Hambledon Road and an underground duct will need replacing – we are told there will be roadworks next week, and a possibility of emergency road closure of Hambledon Road (north of Clockbarn Lane).  This is because of the very narrow parts of Hambledon Road which prevent safe working.  The closure will be short notice and hopefully for a short time.   We have leveraged our good relationship with Surrey CC Highways to expedite matters and have been negotiating to reduce the inconvenience but safety trumps most arguments.  So please be understanding if you should encounter a Road Closed sign – it will be for a very valid reason.

More detail at www.GU8Superfast.co.uk

Winter Weather Precautions for Hambledon

A major cut of trees close to power lines was completed this year by Scottish and Southern Energy in an effort to reduce the frequency of electricity supply disruption to Hambledon.

SSE has also upgraded and refurbished power lines into the village and promised better communications in the event of outages.

Nevertheless, it is wise to take precautions in a rural area that has suffered from extensive power failures in recent years, usually caused by trees and branches falling onto cables during high winds.

003SSE has provided the Parish Council with a quantity of telephones that do not require a power supply to work, wind-up radios, battery-operated magnetic lamps, safety lightsticks, compact foil blankets and heat packs for warming cold hands.

If you, or someone you know, would benefit from any of these items they are available free for collection from the village shop.

It is important to remember that many modern phones require power to operate so a stand-by phone that simply requires a connection to the telephone line is an essential.

Stock up on batteries for torches and radios.

In extreme weather electricity and telephone lines may fail as may mobile phone networks.  Snow or fallen trees can isolate the village. Although such an outcome is rare it has happened. The Parish Council has an emergency plan in place to help cope with such an event.

It is worth remembering that the phone kiosk at the village shop will continue to work in a power failure. The pay phone no longer accepts coins but you can dial 999 for free. You can also dial 100 for the operator to make reverse charge calls.

If you, or someone you know, may be considered vulnerable during a power cut, you can register with SSE’s Priority Services Register on 0800 294 3259. There is a leaflet in the shop explaining this service.

The following telephone numbers and addresses should be kept handy.

SSE – Scottish and Southern Energy (power cuts and emergencies): 0800 072 7282.

Surrey County Council (for on-line updates and advice): www.surreycc.gov.uk/winter.

Latest travel information: https://twitter.com/SurreyTravel

Waverley Borough Council: For general information, refuse collections etc, go to www.waverley.gov.uk adding the word weather to the search bar if your inquiry relates to this issue. Also, for latest news and emergency updates from the borough go to www.twitter.com/waverleybc

Radio updates will be broadcast on BBC Surrey on 104.6FM and on Eagle on 96.4FM

Hambledon village website will also carry updates: www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk

In the village, the Hambledon Emergency Team is:

Stewart Payne – 07831 393561, Tim Coleman – 07838 763767, and Nick Watson – 07770 553686

In the event of severe disruption and communication failure the emergency team will be on hand around the village, centred at the village shop.