A planning application from Hambledon Football Club for an additional pitch and training area at its Badger Park ground has resulted in a considerable number of comments, both for and against.

So far approximately 100 householders from the village and beyond have registered their views on the Waverley Borough Council’s planning website. Many residents close to the Hambledon Road ground, which is in countryside designated as Green Belt and of National Landscape value (AONB), have submitted strong objections, but many others are in support.

(Photo shows pitch and club house. Proposed new pitch will be in the field in the distance)

Hambledon Parish Council considered the application during its February meeting. At that time, the application had only just been registered with Waverley and no comments – for or against – had been made. Nor were there any comments from statutory consultees, such as Surrey County Council which has since listed additional requirements for the application to be approved.

In its initial response the parish council affirmed its commitment to the provision of sporting facilities and noted that no new structures were proposed in the rural setting of the club. However, it also stated that it was too early to consider any neighbour responses.

The parish council has requested additional time from Waverley in order to consider and respond to the views of residents and other recent developments. This has been granted.

It is important to note that the decision on whether to grant or refuse permission is made by Waverley, which is the planning authority for this area. The parish council can only submit comment, which must be confined to relevant planning grounds.

The application and all documentation and comment can be found HERE

Please read on for further details.

Rock Hill will remain closed for up to four days for emergency carriageway repairs to a water leak and the resulting pothole.

This follows injuries to cyclists in two separate incidents. Both hit the pothole descending Rock Hill in the direction of the Merry Harriers and adjacent to Hambledon Nursery School. One suffered a broken nose after being propelled over her handlebars on Friday evening and the other received facial injuries after coming off his bike at the same location yesterday morning.

Both required hospital treatment at Accident and Emergency.

Hambledon Parish Council has been in touch with Surrey County Council Highways Department and Thames Water and, yesterday evening, a barrier was erected around the leak.

This morning, engineers returned and closed the road off to begin assessing the work required. It is not the first time this leak has emerged and, as before, there seems to be some dispute over whether the water company or the highways authority is responsible for the repair.

The council has spoken to the engineers currently on site. No work was taking place and it was clear that they were awaiting further instructions. They said that repairs are likely to take three to four days and during this period the road will remain closed to vehicles, although pedestrians and bicycles can pass.

They were asked if traffic light control could be introduced to allow vehicles to pass but the answer was “no” because the road is too steep and narrow to allow safe passage.

It seems the repair, when it comes, will not address the underlying issue of why this problem reoccurs, but will involve excavation, infilling and resurfacing. It was made clear that, with so many repair issues on local roads to be attended to, this is all the village can expect.

• Rock Hill is also known colloquially as School Hill

Hambledon Road remains open from the Hydestile Crossroads to the Merry Harriers and nursery school in one direction, and from Lane End through the village to Church Lane in the other. The signposted diversion is along the Petworth Road towards Milford, turning right into Culmer Lane/Water Lane, and then Station Road to Hydestile (or the reverse of).

Drivers should be aware the Culmer and Water Lanes are narrow, steep in places, badly rutted and with a considerable amount of surface water. Motorists may prefer to taking a longer diversion through Milford.

A carriageway water leak on Rock Hill, approaching the Merry Harriers, has now developed into a large pothole. A cyclist hit this earlier today, was treated initially for his injuries at the nearby Hambledon Nursery School, and has since been taken to A&E.

Over the weekend, a cyclist hit the same pothole, went over her handlebars and suffered facial injuries including a broken nose. She was cared for by Merry Harriers staff until an ambulance arrived.

This leak has previously been reported by Hambledon Parish Council but despite repairs, the problem keeps returning. Today the council has, once again, reported the issue to Surrey Highways and also to Thames Water.

It has also been reported by the Nursery School following the accident today and staff have been told that the issue has been “escalated” by Thames Water.

Hopefully temporary repairs can be made as soon as possible and the parish council will press for a more effective permanent repair.

In the meantime, please take extra care when descending Rock Hill and we are grateful to the nursery school and to Louise at the pub for the help they have given. Also, thanks to David Edmiston for swiftly placing some warning cones by the pothole.

The new owners of Feathercombe Farm invited parish councillors to a site visit to outline plans to fence in the footpath across the fields between Hambledon Church and the woods below Hydon’s Ball.

Alice Servaes, on behalf of the Trinity Partnership which recently acquired the 240-acre farm, met with Stewart Payne, Alison Scott-Bishop and Simon Rhodes in early September to explain why it wishes to erect oak post and wire fencing across what is known as Fourteen Acre Copse.

The popular and scenic footpath 181, a public right-of-way, runs across the centre of this field from the churchyard to a kissing gate in the middle, and then continues at an angle across the second part of the field to another kissing gate where it enters woodland. Currently this path is unfenced.

Alice said that the fencing is necessary to ensure the well-being of polo ponies that will be grazing either side of the path. This is being put to high-quality grass, but was previously used for crops.

She was particularly concerned that some dog walkers allow their pets to run free in the field, and do not keep to the footpath. Evidence of dog fouling some distance away from the path was shown to councillors.

Alice said there will be no obstruction or deviation to the existing footpath and walkers will have a two-metre-wide track, with waist-height wire fencing either side. The view from the path will be unaffected. It is common practice for landowners to erect fencing beside rights-of-way to protect crops, livestock or horses, she said.

No barbed wire will be used and a grass verge will be maintained either side to keep some distance from electric fencing which will be used to keep horses away from the path.

Alice said trespass was a problem and she had also seen horse riders in the lower field area even though the path is not a bridleway.

At an earlier site meeting to discuss a proposed horse exercise track, Alice assured councillors that the owners had no intention of appealing the rejection by Waverley Borough Council for what amounted to a stable unit in the lower field. This proposal was widely opposed by Hambledon residents and the parish council earlier this year. Alice and her planning team said it would not be seeking any similar permission in this field.

The exercise track, which will require planning permission (not yet submitted) will be in a field behind the existing Feathercombe Farm buildings, accessed off Feathercombe Lane. It will not be lit, nor will it have any buildings and is unlikely to be visible from public footpaths.

Councillors asked if the footpath fencing could be wider than two metres, to allow for family groups to walk side-by-side. Alice noted the suggestion but did not give any commitment.

The parish council has confirmed that landowners have the right to fence their fields without requiring planning permission. The path is in the Green Belt and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The council sought a view from Surrey Hills AONB board, and it said it would raise no objections.

Public rights-of-way are the responsibility of county councils, and the Parish Council has also contacted Surrey County Council. At the time of writing, there has been no response.

Hambledon residents are probably aware that Feathercombe Farm has been sold and its new owners, Alice and Rebecca Servaes, trading as The Trinity Partnership, will operate the 240-acres of land for the business of breeding, selling and grazing polo ponies.

Villagers may wish to know that the Trinity Partnership has just served notice of its intention to erect a new building in the field beyond the village church.

It is described as an “agricultural livestock building” in documents lodged with Waverley Borough Council. However, on plans also submitted, it appears to be essentially for equine use and the single 47-metre oblong building will contain an office, vet room, 13 stable units, a feed room and storage space. The plans indicate the barn will be built in the middle distance of the view from the church, photographed below.

On the basis it is an agricultural construction, the applicants are not going through the full planning procedure, but instead notifying Waverley of their intention to build. Waverley only has until June 28^th to consider the proposal and reach a decision on whether the application qualifies under the terms of a General Permitted Development. If it does not make a ruling, the building will go ahead.

The new barn, mainly windowless and with a ridge height of 7.4 metres, will be built in the field known as Fourteen Acre Copse, in the far corner where the public footpath reaches the kissing gate into the woodland below Hydon’s Ball.

Hambledon Parish Council held its AGM at its first monthly meeting since the local government elections.

Stewart Payne was re-elected chairman and Alison Scott-Bishop has become deputy, replacing Mary Grove who stood down at the election.

Two new parish councillors, Andy Hinde and Simon Rhodes, were welcomed. In effect, they replace Mary and Philip Underwood, who also stood down after a long service to the council. With five previous councillors standing again together with the two new candidates, the election for the seven available places was uncontested.

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Conservative councillors took all three seats on the newly-created Waverley Borough Council Ward of Bramley and Wonersh, which includes Hambledon.

Across the Borough, however, the Conservative Party suffered heavy losses, holding on to just 10 seats, down from 23 at the last election in 2019. Liberal Democratic Party candidates took 22 seats, up from 14.

This outcome reflected the national trend at the local government elections held in many parts of the UK last Thursday (May 6th).

Waverley remains under no overall control as no party managed to achieve an outright majority.

In Hambledon, there was no election for Hambledon Parish Council as seven prospective councillors were nominated for the seven places available and therefore it was uncontested. Five members from the previous council – Stewart Payne, Sean Sinnott, Robin McKeith, Alison Scott-Bishop and Jude Milan – stood again and were joined by Andy Hinde and Simon Rhodes. Philip Underwood and Mary Grove stood down.

Full contact details of all local councillors – parish, borough and county – can be found on this website and in Hambledon Parish Magazine.

The results for Waverley Borough Council’s Bramley and Wonersh Ward, as published on the Waverley council website, were as follows.

Bramley & Wonersh – results

Election Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Outcome
Jane Kathryn AUSTIN	The Conservative Party Candidate	1673	20.8%	Elected
Lauren Kaye ATKINS	The Conservative Party Candidate	1450	18.0%	Elected
Michael Rodney GOODRIDGE	The Conservative Party Candidate	1390	17.3%	Elected
Mark Claude James VIVIAN	Liberal Democrats	1077	13.4%	Not elected
Paul William WRIGHT	Liberal Democrats	1073	13.3%	Not elected
Martin William D’ARCY	Green Party Candidate	903	11.2%	Not elected
Simon Joseph HALL	Labour Party	271	3.4%	Not elected
Christopher James HARD	Labour Party	203	2.5%	Not elected

Hambledon residents will be able to vote for their Waverley Borough Ward councillors in next month’s local government elections, but there is no contest for Hambledon parish.

This is because seven candidates – five from the current council and two new representatives – put themselves forward for the seven statutory places. Had more than seven sought nomination then there would have been an election.

Waverley council, the election authority for the area, announced the Borough-wide nominations for the elections to be held on May 4th when, for the first time, it will be necessary to provide photo-identity before casting a vote.

Below are the official notices for the parish and for the new Bramley and Wonersh Ward of Waverley Borough Council, of which Hambledon is now a part.

• Reopened Friday morning (Feb 17th)

Hambledon residents are advised to seek an alternative route if they usually use Station Lane to reach Milford and the A3. The road remains closed as Network Rail upgrades the level crossing at Milford Station.

Lane End and the A283 is the best route to use during the closure as well as Hambledon Road in the Godalming direction.

Regular rail users will know that the line between Petersfield and Guildford is currently closed to allow for major rail works. Between last Saturday (Feb 11) and next Sunday (Feb 19) all services are cancelled and that means no trains at Witley, Milford or Godalming.

Much of the work concerns installing new signalling but level crossings along this stretch of line are also being upgraded. The following is from the Network Rail website:

“Twelve level crossings along the route will be either renewed or upgraded as part of the F2P scheme. We’ll be working on Hammer, Liss, Liss Common, Peasmarsh, Petersfield, Farncombe East, Farncombe West, Milford, Sheet, Shutters, Princes Bridge and Kingsfernsden level crossings.

We’ll change Automatic Half-Barrier (AHB) crossings to either Manually Controlled Barrier CCTV crossings (MCBs) or Obstacle Detection (OD) level crossings; upgrade lighting at existing MCB crossings; and install Miniature Stop Lights (MSLs) on selected footpath crossings.

As part of these upgrades, and as part of other projects, level crossings will need to be temporarily closed”.

Shakespeare’s Juliet asks: “What’s in a name” as she and Romeo anguish over the feud between their respective families, the Montagues and Capulets, that forbids their love and ultimately dooms them both.

Surely no such dilemma for Hambledon as it seeks an appropriate name for the approach road into the small development of affordable homes being built at what was once Orchard Farm? You would think not.

However, while not carrying the consequences of Shakespeare’s tragedy, it has proved to be surprisingly difficult to find a name that accords with borough council street naming policy and meets village expectations. But progress is being made.

This website carried a report highlighting that, as construction of the seven affordable and two open-market properties gets under way, the developer English Rural is required to put forward a suitable name options to Waverley Borough Council which makes the final decision.

English Rural was proposing naming it Tillson Gardens, after a respected executive of the housing association who had recently died. Hambledon Parish Council felt this was not an appropriate choice as the name had no connection to the village. Guidelines state that names of people alive or recently deceased should be avoided and best practice was for the developer to consult with the local parish council and, where possible, that the name should reflect local significance or historic links.

After consulting around the village, all those who commented supported the approach of the parish council and most suggested a name containing the word Orchard in recognition of its previous name.

This is where matters became tricky. Orchard, regardless of the suffix, was not suitable because it was too common and, with several other similarly-named roads in the locality, it could lead to confusion. The access to the site is on the A283 Wormley Hill, but Hill was also rejected for the same reason.

Other names came…and went. Given the previous use of Orchard Farms as a stables and livery yard, Stable was suggested. Again, too many others.

Jane Woolley, former Hambledon Parish Council clerk and a custodian of much of our village archive, visited the Surrey History Centre on Woking and unearthed some fascinating background. She discovered that the Orchard Farm field had once belonged to the family of the noted Victorian amateur entomologist James John Joicey. He travelled the world collecting butterflies and other insects and added greatly to the understanding of Lepidoptera. It is estimated he collected 1.5 million specimens, the second largest in the world, according to his Wikipedia entry.

The family lived at the now-demolished house The Hill, which was on top of Wormley Hill and just outside our parish. There James Joicey established a museum housing much of his collection. The Orchard Farm site, inside Hambledon parish, was used as a kitchen garden and contained a wooden building used as annex for more of his specimen. Much of his collection is now at The Natural History Museum.

The name Joicey was put to the Waverley Addressing Team, but it was concerned that the name would be mis-spelt. The policy is to have distinct as well as un-duplicated names to reduce confusion for emergency services.

The Joicey family hailed originally from the North East of England where they were wealthy coal mine owners. Parish Council inquiries revealed that in Gateshead area alone there are ten roads named after Joicey. If they can cope with ten in Gateshead, who not one in Hambledon?

Stewart Payne, on behalf of Hambledon Parish Council, contacted the Waverley Addressing Team after first ascertaining that English Rural, which must submit the name, was more than happy with the name Joicey.

The strong links with the Orchard Farm site were explained as was the desire of villagers to have a name that celebrated a local personage. It seemed to tick all the boxes

Waverley has agreed to put the name forward as our first choice and we await a positive development.

The recent severe cold snap in mid-January and, earlier, in December, has focused attention on what provision is available in Hambledon to grit roads and pathways.

The problems caused by icy roads have been compounded by repeated water leaks and heavy rain, followed by severe frost, causing surface water to freeze, making walking and driving hazardous.

Surrey County Council, as highways authority, provides three grit bins in the village; at the top of Church Lane, on Roundals Lane near the site of the former brickworks and, most centrally, at the junction of Cricket Green with Hambledon Road.

SCC undertakes to inspect and refill its bins once at the beginning of each winter season. Its policy on this issue can be found by using the following link to the SCC website where you can also find a map of each bin location in the county.

https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/roadworks-and-maintenance/salting-and-gritting/grit-bin-locations-in-surrey

Following the severe snowfall in the winters of 2009 and 2010, when Hambledon was cut off for several days, parish councils were encouraged to formulate an emergency plan. In Hambledon we established set procedures to deal with emergencies, especially those that are weather-related.

The village now gets gritters and snow ploughs along the length of Hambledon Road (but not adjoining lanes) when circumstances require, and a local farmer has been provided with additional ploughs to use in conjunction with his tractors.

The parish council also purchased and installed an additional grit bin, which can be found at the top of Woodlands Road. The council is responsible for refilling it. Recently the lid has become misshapen, allowing water to get inside and degrade the quality of the rock salt.

Until a repair can be carried out, the council has placed bags of unopened rock salt inside the bin, which can be ripped open and used when required. Five bags were delivered by the council to the bin in mid-January (see photo).

The council also offers advice and emergency telephone numbers. The latest version of this can be found in previous parish magazines and by using the search bar on the village website. You can use the link below to find a version, produced when Covid restrictions prevailed, but with relevant information for 2023.

https://www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk/?p=7991

Redundant office space at Witley Station is being made available as a base for a local community group or charity and any organisation interested is invited to submit a proposal.

The space is within the main building on Platform 2 and was once part of the station master’s house. It consists of a single ground floor room and three office rooms on the first floor.

The rooms are being offered at a peppercorn rent, initially to August 2024, although a longer term may be available. No sub-letting is allowed.

Hambledon residents paid their final communal respects in memory of HM Queen Elizabeth II on the eve of her State Funeral, which took place amid great ceremony yesterday (Sept 19^th).

In fast fading light and with a dramatic sunset turning the western sky a deep purple, villagers gathered at the top of Church Lane to observe a Minute’s Silence on Sunday at 8pm.

A country-wide National Moment of Reflection has been announced by the Government and it will take place at 8pm this Sunday (September 18^th), the eve of HM The Queen’s State Funeral.

It will be observed by a one-minute silence. All are encouraged to participate to mourn the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

This is a secular event not a religious ceremony. The Government’s website said it will be a communal gathering at a suitable location, either a meeting of friends or neighbours or at a locally-arranged event.

The State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will take place next Monday (September 19^th) at Westminster Abbey, beginning at 11am.

As a mark of respect Hambledon Village Shop will be closed and the Merry Harriers will not open until the early evening.

For shop customers who pre-order their newspapers, these can be collected from outside the shop in the cabinet from 8.30am.

The day of the funeral has been declared a national Bank Holiday.

At 8pm on the evening before (Sunday 18th) there will a minute’s silence at which the public are invited to “come together to observe a national moment…to mourn and reflect on the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II”.