Author: Hambledon Parish Council

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Proposal to Replace Fire-Damaged Hambledon House

A planning application to demolish Hambledon House and replace it with a new building has been received by Waverley Borough Council, the local planning authority.

This follows the fire that devastated the large Vann Lane property in January of last year, leaving it uninhabitable and beyond repair.

The proposal is for a house of similar size but of different proportion. The new property, if approved, would be set back further from the road and with a lower profile.

Full details of the application can be found on the planning section of the Waverley Borough Council website where there is an opportunity to comment until a deadline of June 27. The application number is WA/2019/0671. All comment must be on planning grounds.

Hambledon Parish Council has been consulted on the proposed application and a site visit has been held. It will consider the application at its June meeting. The application will be determined by Waverley Borough Council.

Details can be found here.

 

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Local Borough Council Election Results

The Conservatives have lost overall control of Waverley Borough Council.

Witley and Hambledon Ward returned two Tory councillors, although only a handful of votes separated them from a challenge by an Independent candidate.

The result, as reported by Waverley Borough Council, is as follows.

  • George Adam Davies, Labour Party – 267 votes
  • Jan Floyd-Douglass, Conservative Party candidate – 617 votes – ELECTED
  • Maxine Beatrice Gale, Independent – 601 votes
  • Trevor James Sadler, Conservative Party candidate – 615 votes – ELECTED
  • Total number of ballot papers verified: 1225
  • Electorate: 3007
  • Turnout: 40.7%

 

Following the local government elections on Thursday (May 2nd) the count was held today.

Across the Borough there were gains for the Liberal Democrats and the Farnham Residents party.

The Conservatives had 23 candidates returned. Farnham Residents Association had 15, Liberal Democrats 14, Labour 2 and there was one Independent – a combined total of 32.

The full results can be found on the Waverley Borough Council website by clicking on the following link.

https://www.waverley.gov.uk/info/200138/elections/2153/results_for_borough_elections_-_thursday_2_may_2019

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Annual Village Meeting – Positive Reports And A Chance To Set Up Community Speed Watch

A successful Annual Parish Meeting was held last week (Apr 25th) with a record attendance and lively debate, particularly on the issue of speeding in the village and measures that can be taken to prevent it.

A packed Village Hall heard from Inspector Gary Smith, Surrey Police’s Waverley Borough Commander, who spoke of how his force is having to combat budget cuts and reduced officer numbers. Despite these restraints he was upbeat in his appraisal of policing in the borough, which has the lowest crime rate in the county.

He listened to concerns expressed about speeding on Hambledon’s narrow roads and the rat-run and HGV issues on rural Salt Lane and Markwick Lane. He said that funding cuts limited what measures can be taken and pointed out that other areas suffered from greater speeding problems than Hambledon. That is where resources will be directed.

But he said he and his officers would work closely with villagers if they decided to set up a Community Speed Watch. Some residents signed up to this at the end of the meeting and others may do so if they wish at the Village Shop. Or please email parish councillor May Grove on [email protected]

The scheme would need at least six volunteers giving and hour or so a week and they would receive police training in the use of speed detection devices. Motorists caught speeding would be sent warning notices. The scheme would also be a way of providing data about speeding in the village.

More details can be found here

The meeting, hosted by the Parish Council, heard a report of its activities over the last 12 months from chairman John Anderson, who also thanked Paul Pattinson, who has stood down after 12 years as a councillor. He is replaced by Robin McKeith, who was welcomed to his new role.

All of the village’s many clubs and organisations gave positive reports about their activities.

Two days after the meeting the annual village clean-up took place, followed by a barbecue outside the village shop.

 

 

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Annual Village Meeting Will Hear From Police Commander And Discuss Speeding

Hambledon’s Annual Village Meeting, hosted by the Parish Council at the Village Hall this Thursday evening,  is to be addressed by Inspector Gary Smith, Waverley Borough Commander for Surrey Police.

He will give an overview of policing in the borough as well as deal with concerns about speeding traffic in the village.

The Parish Council has been exploring various road traffic initiatives and has held meetings with police and Surrey County Council highways engineers in recent months. However, it has been made clear that no traffic calming measures are likely to be introduced.

Budget restraints and a lack of statistical evidence to indicate that Hambledon has a speeding problem have been cited as reasons why the village can expect little in the way of new measures. The council had been exploring a proposal for a 20mph speed restriction in the centre.

The Annual Meeting will provide an opportunity to ask questions of our borough commander as well as hear more about what the Parish Council has been trying to achieve.

There will also be an opportunity to consider whether Hambledon wants to set up a Community Speed Watch where volunteers, with police training, use detection devices to check on the speed of vehicles in the village. Those caught above the limit are sent warning letters.

This would also be a means of determining whether speeding is a real issue and not just anecdotal and would help reinforce the case for traffic calming measures.

The scheme would have to be run by villagers and without sufficient volunteers it will not happen.

Those interested in taking part will be asked to sign their names at the end of the meeting, which will also hear annual reports from the Parish Council and village clubs and organisations.

Refreshments will be served from 7.30pm and the meeting starts at 8pm. (See previous news item for more information)

Details will also be given about taking part in the annual village clean-up, which takes places on Saturday (April 27th) followed at around noon by a parish barbecue outside the village shop.

All are welcome at the Annual Meeting, the clean-up and the barbecue.

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Annual Village Meeting and Parish Clean-Up and Barbecue – All Welcome

Hambledon’s Annual Village Meeting takes place on the evening of Thursday April 25th and all are welcome to come along.

This is an opportunity to hear a round-up of the past year’s activities from all of the village organisations, clubs and groups as well as a report from the Parish Council, which hosts the meeting.

Refreshments including wine, tea and coffee will be available from 7.30 and this is a chance to chat to village friends and neighbours before the meeting itself starts at 8pm at the Village Hall.

There will be a short presentation concerning the efforts made by the Parish Council to address concerns about speeding in the village and other local traffic issues.

Residents may like to consider whether they want to form a Community Speed Watch Group. A minimum of six volunteers would be required. Speed detection devices would be provided by Surrey Police together with appropriate training.

Full details of this scheme can be found here: www.communityspeedwatch.org

Further details will be provided at the meeting. Mary Grove, a parish councillor, can be contacted in advance for those who wish to register at [email protected]

Although the parish council can make the necessary arrangements with Surrey Police and register the speedwatch group, it is for villagers to step forward and volunteer if they want this initiative to succeed.

Despite widespread concerns across the village about speeding, both Surrey Police and Surrey County Council Highways engineers have stated that there is no gathered evidence to support this belief. It is highly unlikely that any traffic calming measures can be introduced in Hambledon until there is data to support the proposal. Community Speed Watch is one way in which such evidence may be gathered.

The Village Meeting is followed two days later – on Saturday April 27th – with the parish clean-up ending with a community barbecue outside the Village Shop at noon. Volunteers are asked to collect litter in designated areas for which they can register at the Village Meeting. Bin bags and litter grabs will be provided and all rubbish will be removed by the local authority.

 

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Local Elections – Hambledon Parish Council Uncontested

There will be no election for Hambledon Parish Council next month as the seven available places are uncontested.

Waverley Borough Council, the electoral authority for the area, published the list of nominated candidates for borough, town and parish councils yesterday.

This can be found on the Parish Council section of this website here. https://www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk/?page_id=166

It showed that six of the current seven parish councillors offered themselves for re-election – John Anderson, Mary Grove, Mike Parry, Stewart Payne, Sean Sinnott and Philip Underwood. Paul Pattinson, a parish councillor for 12 years, is standing down.

Only one other candidate put his name forward for nomination, Robin McKeith, who lives in Vann Lane.

This meant that there were seven candidates for the seven available places and Waverley duly posted a Notice of Uncontested Election.

Both current Waverley Borough councillors for the Witley and Hambledon ward are standing down. Four candidates for the two places were nominated – two Conservative, one Labour and one Independent. The election will take place for this and all other contested Borough wards, and town and parish councils, on May 2nd.

The existing parish council remains in place until that date.

Very few of the 20 parish and town councils in the Waverley area have contested elections as most only have enough candidates willing to stand as there are places available. Parish councillors are unpaid and do not stand for political parties.

A full list of candidates for wards and parishes can be found here. https://www.waverley.gov.uk/news/article/480/candidates_announced_for_local_elections

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Parish Council Gives Conditional Support to Orchard Farm Housing Proposal

Hambledon Parish Council has given its conditional support to a planning application to build nine houses, seven of them affordable, at Orchard Farm, Wormley Lane.

At its monthly meeting on Tuesday (April 2) councillors were unanimous in agreeing its response to Waverley Borough Council which, as the local planning authority, will determine the application.

Full details can be found on the Parish Council section on this website, under the heading Legislation and Planning. https://www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk/?page_id=166

English Rural Housing Association is seeking approval for a scheme to build seven 1, 2 and 3-bedroom properties for affordable rent or shared ownership and two open-market bungalows. Priority will be given to local people with a connection to Hambledon.

This application follows the rejection of a previous proposal to build 17 homes – 12 affordable and 5 market – on the site, which occupies land between Wormley Lane and Petworth Road.

In its response, Hambledon Parish Council stated that it continued to support the provision of affordable housing in the village and noted the reduction in the size of the proposed development, which is on land within the Green Belt and the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Waverley would need to determine whether the proposal satisfies the requirements for it to be considered a rural exception site.

Continue reading →

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Parish Council To Consider Orchard Farm Planning Proposal

Hambledon Parish Council will consider its response to the new application by the English Rural Housing Association to build seven affordable and two market-price homes at Orchard Farm, Wormley Lane, at its monthly meeting tomorrow evening (Tuesday April 2nd, 2019).

The meeting starts at 8pm at Hambledon Village Hall. The application will be discussed at the planning section of the meeting. Anyone who wishes to raise issues about the application, or any other matter, is invited to do so at the start of the meeting when 15 minutes are set aside for questions from members of the public. The response will be sent to Waverley Borough Council, which will determine the outcome of the application.

Continue reading →

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Parish Council Statement

Hambledon Parish Council has been approached by a concerned resident wanting to know if it is responsible for an anonymous document that has been delivered to some households in the village expressing opinions about the new planning application for affordable homes at Orchard Farm.

The parish council is NOT responsible for this document, which is headed “Briefing Note to Local Residents”.

The resident contacted the parish clerk to express anger that the document appears to be biased, is not on headed notepaper, and is unsigned and unsolicited. The resident added that whoever is behind the document should have the courtesy to sign it.

In response the clerk has reassured the resident that the document has nothing to do with the parish council. The council is currently considering the application and has informed Waverley Borough Council that it will comment on it once it has the opportunity to discuss it at its next monthly meeting in early April.

Details of the application have already been posted on this website and can be found here

https://www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk/?p=10886

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Local Council Elections on May 2nd. Do you want to be a councillor?

Local council elections will be held on Thursday May 2nd, and anyone who wishes to stand as a councillor must register to do so with Waverley Borough Council.

The elections are for borough, town and parish councils and potential candidates can register from this Friday March 22nd until 4pm on Wednesday April 3rd.

Nomination papers are available from Waverley Borough Council and, when completed, must be returned to the council by hand at a booked appointment time.

Full details can be found at https://www.waverley.gov.uk/elections2019 By following the links you can download a registration document and read more about what is involved.

A news item can be found here https://www.waverley.gov.uk/news/article/474/nominations_open_for_2_may_council_elections

 

 

 

 

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NEW APPLICATION TO BUILD AFFORDABLE HOMES AT ORCHARD FARM

A revised planning application to build affordable and market price homes at Orchard Farm has been submitted to Waverley Borough Council by the English Rural Housing Association.

The new application is seeking approval for a scaled-down development of seven affordable homes together with two bungalows to be sold on the open market.

The previous ERHA application, submitted in 2016, was for 17 homes – 12 affordable and five open market. This was rejected by Waverley councillors in May 2017.

The ERHA went to appeal but this was dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate in June 2018.

The new application was made public on the Waverley Borough Council website on Monday (March 4th, 2019). A deadline of March 29th has been set for comments.

The new development, if approved, would occupy the area of previously developed land at Orchard Farm, Wormley Lane, where various outbuildings currently stand. Five of the new properties would be for affordable rent and two for shared ownership.

Under the revised scheme the original farmhouse, which was to have been demolished, will be retained, renovated and sold on the open market. This does not form a part of the new application.

Paddock land, which was to have been gifted to the village as open space under the previous scheme, is now excluded from the application and is not a part of the latest proposal.

Orchard Farm is within the Green Belt and the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the ERHA application will need to demonstrate that the land may be considered as a rural exception site.

The application can be found here:

http://planning360.waverley.gov.uk/planning/search-applications?civica.query.FullTextSearch=Orchard%20Farm%20Hambledon#VIEW?RefType=GFPlanning&KeyNo=332587&KeyText=Subject

Hambledon Parish Council, which held its monthly meeting the day after the application was published, had no opportunity to consider the application in detail. Its next meeting is April 2nd, after the comment deadline.

Therefore, the parish council resolved to request an extension to the comment period in order to examine the proposal in detail and to hear any comments from villagers before responding to Waverley Borough Council.

People with connections to Hambledon and who fulfill ERHA criteria will have the opportunity to apply to be considered for the affordable homes if approval is given to the development. The parish council can comment on the application, but it is for Waverley Borough Council to approve or reject the proposal.

The ERHA website can be found here:https://englishrural.org.uk/

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Parish Council Holds Talks Over Village Speeding Concerns

Hambledon Parish Council has held talks with Surrey County Council highways engineers and Surrey Police road safety officers in order to press home its case for measures to reduce the speed of traffic through the village.

At the same time, it also raised concerns about road safety at the Hydestile Crossroads and along the narrow Salt Lane and Marwick Lane, already a rat-run and likely to become even more of a danger if and when the approved new homes are built at Dunsfold Aerodrome.

It emerged that Hambledon is unlikely to get a 20mph speed limit through its centre – which some villagers have been asking for – as neither Surrey County Council or Surrey Police have any evidence that speeding is a problem. And they do not have data to indicate injury accidents have occurred with any frequency.

Nevertheless, the parish council stated that there was anecdotal evidence to indicate speeding was an issue. The outcome of the meeting was that speed data recorders will be temporarily installed at key locations along Hambledon Road to measure traffic speed.

However, the council was warned that this exercise may demonstrate that there is no significant speeding in the village, despite perceptions. And severe budget restraints may limit or exclude any steps that could be taken to implement traffic calming.

It was also suggested that Hambledon could consider implementing its own community speed watch. Police would provide villagers with approved speed detection devices. Drivers of vehicles caught speeding are sent warning letters.

The council has been investigating whether a 20mph speed limit could be introduced in the centre of the village, and in particular in the narrow section outside the Merry Harriers pub and the village nursery school, both of which have expressed support for traffic calming measures.

Parish councillors Mary Grove and Stewart Payne secured a meeting with Surrey County Council and Surrey Police.  Only SCC has the authority to approve road changes and reduce speed limits, and only Surrey Police can enforce the limits.

The meeting took place on Tuesday (February 26th) and was attended by Adrian Selby, senior SCC highways engineer, Graham Cannon from Surrey Police road safety traffic management office and PC Steve Milford, casualty reduction officer. Councillors Grove and Payne and Julie Fleney, parish clerk, showed them around the village and highlighted areas of specific concern.

Mr Selby had previously written to the parish council stating it was “extremely unlikely” that Hambledon would meet the criteria for lowering the current 30mph limit in the village centre. He also stated that SCC data did not indicate that any “particular safety problem exists” and that he was not able to recommend any engineering measures such as changes to road surfacing or road narrowing.

Despite this, Hambledon Parish Council has persisted and the meeting provided an opportunity to show SCC officers around the village and to discuss its concerns face-to-face. Continue reading →

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Julie Flenley Takes Up Post As Hambledon Parish Council Clerk

Julie Flenley, the newly-appointed clerk to Hambledon Parish Council, has attended her first meeting, having taken up her appointment on January 1.

She replaces Caroline White, who resigned after serving as clerk for a year following the retirement of her long-standing predecessor, Jane Woolley.

Julie brings a wealth of experience in the public sector to the job and said she was looking forward to working with the seven elected Hambledon parish councillors and for the benefit of the village.

Julie was born and raised in County Londonderry, in the north west of Northern Ireland. After school and college at Limavady she left Derry to study business at the University of Northumbria in Newcastle, where she obtained a degree in travel and tourism management.

She then moved to Manchester where she worked for what was then the Countryside Agency (now Natural England), the statutory body with responsibility for the rural environment.

She went on to join English Heritage, a non-departmental government body responsible for the protection and management of more than 400 historic monuments, buildings and places.

Julie’s work included assessing grant applications and she had a particular involvement in managing funding in relation to secular historic buildings and places of worship. Her duties required her to make financial needs assessments and also brought her into regular contact with local authority planning departments. This experience should stand her in good stead as she takes up her role as clerk to Hambledon Parish Council.

Julie said: “I think my background makes me suited to the job of clerk and I am looking forward to it very much”.

During her time in Manchester she met and married her husband Richard, who works in the legal profession. A move in his job resulted in them relocating to the south of England, with Julie taking a career break. They have lived on the outskirts of Chiddingfold for seven years. They have three sons, Joshua, William and Oliver, aged 12, eight and six who are, or were, educated at St Mary’s Primary School in Chiddingfold.

Julie and Richard are regular distance runners and frequently compete in local and national events. Julie said: “It would be wrong to call me an avid runner as I think I am a reluctant runner. But I am competitive and determined.

Last year she was part of a team of “mums from St Mary’s” who competed in the Three Peaks Challenge, which involved climbing the three highest peaks in England Wales and Scotland. Between them they raised funds for the school and a mental health charity.

“This year I will be taking part in eight half marathons and my husband will be undertaking two back-to-back full marathons.”

Her passion over many years has been horses and horse-riding. “My horse died last year so I am currently between horses, but it is something I love and will return to.”

Julie was welcomed to her first meeting as clerk on Wednesday (Jan 9th) at Hambledon Village Hall by chairman John Anderson and his councillor colleagues. Already very active in village and church life in Chiddingfold, Julie will now be closely associated with life an Hambledon as well.

  • The clerk is a salaried position, councillors are unpaid. Julie’s contact details, and those of councillors, can be found on the village website under “Organisations” and “Hambledon Parish Council”, and in the Parish Magazine on the “Useful Information and Telephone Numbers” page.

 

 

 

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ADVANCE NOTICE OF ROAD CLOSURE AND DIVERSION IN CENTRAL HAMBLEDON

ADVANCE NOTICE OF ROAD CLOSURE

NOTICE: THE SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL, ROCK HILL (C31) HAMBLEDON, TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC ORDER 2018

SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL propose to make the above mentioned Temporary Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, the effect of which will be to temporarily prohibit vehicles from entering or proceeding in that length of Rock Hill (C31) Hambledon which extends from its junction with Church Lane (D168) to its junction with Public Bridleway No. 181 (Hambledon). Vehicular traffic will be diverted via Hambledon Road, Station Lane, Church Road, Petworth Road, Lane End and Malthouse Lane or this route in reverse order.

This Order is required because works are being or are proposed to be executed on or near the said, namely works in relation to clearing blockages on the existing underground structure, to be carried out by BT. These works are anticipated to be completed within five days, between 08.00hrs and 18.00hrs, during the three-month period of operation of this Order which commences on 12 November 2018. Advanced warning signs will be displayed and the temporary closure will only operate when the relevant traffic signs are displayed. Access to premises within the affected length of Rock Hill, including access by emergency vehicles to these properties, will be maintained at all times as will access for pedestrians, equestrians and pedal cyclists.

https://www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Rock-Hill-Diversion-Route-P2.pdf

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What Next For Orchard Farm?

The proposal to build affordable homes at Orchard Farm has been rejected on appeal and developers English Rural Housing Association must now decide whether to re-apply with a scaled-down application or sell the site on.

The ERHA had applied to demolish the existing farmhouse and outbuildings and build 12 affordable homes together with five larger market-price houses and provision of open space for village use.

After much local consultation, and with concerns expressed over the size of the proposed development and drainage issues, the application went before Waverley Borough Council in May last year where members voted to reject the scheme.

The nine-acre site between Petworth Road and Wormley Lane is within the Green Belt and the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Waverley councillors said that no special circumstances existed in the application to outweigh the harm to the Green Belt and the AONB.

After considering the outcome for several months, ERHA decided to lodge an appeal to the Government’s Planning Inspectorate. This appeal has now been considered and dismissed, upholding the original decision by Waverley Borough Councillors.

Sheila Holden, the inspector appointed by the Secretary of State to consider the appeal, said in her ruling: “Notwithstanding the continued need to provide affordable homes, the supply of housing land is not a factor weighing in this scheme’s favour”, adding that the proposal would be an “inappropriate development within the Green Belt”.

She accepted that there would be “very significant benefits arising from the provision of 12 units of affordable housing and limited benefits associated with the proposed public open space.”

But she concluded: “However, these benefits do not clearly outweigh the harm by reason of inappropriateness and the other harms I have identified.  The very special circumstances needed to justify the scheme do not, therefore, exist.”

The ERHA, which is a registered provider of social housing in rural areas, has not commented on what it will do next. It bought the site on the open market and had hoped that the provision of market-price houses in the scheme would help pay for the affordable homes, which would have been available for rent or shared ownership at below market costs.

It may return with a smaller scale development of affordable homes only as the inspector’s ruling seems to indicate that market price properties are unacceptable and do not meet the criteria for exempting the site from Green Belt and AONB restrictions.

Or it could consider putting the land, together with the existing farmhouse, back on the open market.

Hambledon Parish Council remains committed to attempting to find suitable sites for affordable housing in the village in accordance with wishes expressed by residents and contained within the published Parish Plan.

 

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Villagers Urged to be Vigilant After Burglaries

Thieves have stolen property from a house in Hambledon, breaking in during broad daylight.

There have been other break-ins in the area in recent days including an attempt to steal two Land Rover Defenders.

Villagers are urged to ensure their homes and vehicles are securely locked and to report any suspicious activity to police.

Please also inform your Neighbourhood Watch coordinator. Contact details can be found on this website by opening up the Home menu and clicking on Essential Information. The Parish Magazine also carries contact information.