Author: Hambledon Parish Council

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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.

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Parish Clerk & Responsible Financial Officer – Hambledon Parish Council

£15.00 per hour
20 hours per month working from home including attendance at evening meetings

Hambledon Parish Council is looking to appoint a Parish Clerk & RFO with the drive, determination and organisational skills to manage a varied workload.

In addition to managing the day-to-day work of the Parish Council, the post holder will work closely with Councillors to plan and implement the aims and objectives of the Council.  

The ideal applicant will have financial & administrative experience, the ability to deliver projects on time and within budget and be able to demonstrate enthusiasm for working with residents and local organisations.

To download an application pack including a Person Specification, Job Description & Application Form to apply, please visit http://www.sussexalc.org.uk/vacancies.asp. Please note that CVs will not be accepted: applicants must complete and return an application form to apply.

Closing date for all applications: 30 September 2017

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Primary School School Places

The Parish Council has for some time been concerned that families living in Hambledon find it difficult to get their children into primary schools within reasonable distance of the village.  It has raised the problem with the Surrey County Council, the local education authority;  and it has become clear that,  if it is to make any headway, it needs more information about actual, as opposed to perceived, needs.

As one of the many villages in the area which does not have its own primary school, Hambledon has to depend on its neighbours.  Two of these, Chiddingfold and Grayswood, are in charge of their own admission arrangements and would have to be asked direct if they could consider taking more children from Hambledon.

Admission arrangements for the primary schools in Witley, Busbridge and Milford are managed by Surrey which has categorically stated that it would not afford priority to children living in Hambledon.  This is not what the Parish Council is seeking – it just wants a level playing field for all children within a reasonable radius of these schools.

However, if the Parish Council is to ask for a rethink when admission arrangements come up for consultation in October, it needs to have a case.  So could all families who have children starting school in autumn 2018 and who would like them to go to a local primary school please get in touch with the Parish Clerk (Jane Woolley), if possible before everyone disappears for the summer holidays, so that, if appropriate, the battle can be continued.

 

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General Election Result – Surrey South West

Jeremy Hunt, Conservative, held the Surrey South West Parliamentary Constituency which includes Hambledon, but with a reduced majority and in the face of a big swing to Louise Irvine of the National Health Action Party, who stood against Hunt and his record as Health Secretary.

The result, declared earlier this morning, was as follows:

Jeremy Hunt (Conservative) – 33,683

Louise Irvine (National Health Action) – 12,093

David Black (Labour) – 7,606

Ollie Purkiss (Liberal Democrat) – 5,967

Mark Webber (UKIP) – 1,083

On a turnout of 77.4 per cent, the Conservative majority was 21,590 with 55.7 per cent share of the vote. The Conservative vote was down -4.1 per cent and the vote for the National Health Action Party was up by 11.5 per cent. The Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates recorded increases of 3.1 and 3.6 per cent. The UKIP candidate was down -8.1.

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Orchard Farm Planning Application Refused

Waverley Borough councillors have rejected a planning application to build 17 houses – 12 of them designated as “affordable” – at Orchard Farm, Hambledon.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the council’s Central Area Planning Committee on Wednesday evening (May 17).

The application had been submitted by the English Rural Housing Association (ERHA) which had proposed a mixed development of 12 affordable homes, together with five market-price properties to help finance the project.

This followed ERHA’s purchase of the nine-acre Orchard Farm site between Wormley Lane and Petworth Road, Hambledon, in 2014.
Orchard Farm name

Hambledon Parish Council has a long-standing commitment to provide more affordable housing for local people. However, the proposed development, on land within the Green Belt and the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty raised many issues. Drainage and its proximity to Listed Lutyens buildings were among other concerns.

The parish council initiated widespread consultation including public meetings. Although there was general support from the wider village there were many concerns expressed by those living close to the site.

The decision on whether to approve or reject the application is the responsibility of the local planning authority, Waverley Borough Council. Its officers had recommended approval of the scheme, subject to a raft of conditions.

However, after listening to officers and several other presentations, councillors decided overwhelmingly to reject the recommendation. They resolved that permission be refused for the following reasons, as published on the Waverley council website:

  1. No very special circumstances exist to outweigh the harm to the Green Belt, contrary to Policy C1 of the Waverley Borough Local Plan.
  1. No very special circumstances exist to outweigh the harm to the AONB, contrary to Policy C3 of the Waverley Borough Local Plan.
  1. The less than substantial harm to the setting of the Grade I Listed Building is not outweighed by public benefits. Therefore the proposal would conflict with Policy HE3 of the Waverley Borough Local Plan, and guidance contained in the NPPF.
  1. The applicant has failed to enter into a legal agreement to secure the provision of affordable housing within the meaning of the NPPF, appropriate to meet Waverley Borough Council’s housing need. The proposal would therefore fail to create a sustainable, inclusive and mixed community, contrary to the requirements of paragraph 50 of the NPPF. The applicant has also failed to enter into a s.278 agreement.

 

 

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Orchard Farm Planning Application – Waverley To Decide

The planning application submitted by English Rural Housing Association to build 17 affordable and market price homes at Orchard Farm is expected to be considered by Waverley Borough Council next month.

ERHA is seeking permission to build 12 affordable houses – which would comprise a mix of shared ownership and rental properties – and five open market houses on the site at Lane End between Wormley Lane and Petworth Road. The site is within the Green Belt and in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Waverley must decide if the site meets the criteria to be regarded as a “rural exception site”, a policy which allows for limited development on Green Belt land.

Although Hambledon Parish Council, which has consulted widely on the proposal, continues to support the provision of affordable housing in the village, it has been unable to support the ERHA application for the following reasons:

  • The development is not small in scale;
  • It is not certain that it would prioritise people with strong Hambledon connections;
  • There are issues with drainage;
  • Traffic dangers are inadequately addressed;
  • The appropriateness of locating a development of this nature on this particular site;
  • Management and responsibility for the Open Space.

Surrey County Council has also recommended that Waverley refuse the application, expressing concerns over drainage issues. The Surrey Hills Board and the Campaign to Protect Rural England are among other bodies and organisations objecting to the scheme.

Comments on the application, including those by local residents, can be found by following this link

http://plandocs.waverley.gov.uk/Planning/lg/dialog.page?org.apache.shale.dialog.DIALOG_NAME=gfplanningsearc h&Param=lg.Planning&SDescription=WA/2016/1644&viewdocs=true

A decision on the application will be made by Waverley Borough councillors. A target date of November 10th has been given, but this may not be met.

 

 

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Ways to Improve Our Village Bus Service? Parish Council To Hold Talks

Hambledon Parish Council is to hold talks with Surrey County Council and Waverley Borough Council to press for a review of the way the village bus service operates in the hope it can be made more commercially viable.

Suggestions from villagers would be welcome, either by leaving a website comment on this article or posting suggestions in the Forum section.

The 503 route, which is the only public transport service available to residents, connects the village with Milford, Godalming and Guildford and is especially important to the elderly and infirm wanting to visit shops, banks and surgeries. It is shown here in the picturesque setting of the farm buildings at the Hydestile Crossroads as its leaves the village headed for Milford.

Village bus 5 503 Sept 2012 1 - Copy

It is operated by Stagecoach but is heavily subsidised by Surrey County Council. Recently it faced the axe, only to be reprieved after the parish council and residents lobbied for it to continue.

The council is keen to see if changes can be made to increase revenue and prevent another cost-cutting exercise threatening its existence the next time SCC reviews its subsidised bus operations.

Currently the 503 operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, twice in each direction, beginning at Lane End at 9.15 and 12.15. Although a vital service for older residents its timing and infrequency means it is of no use to school children or commuters, despite its route taking it past Milford Station and local schools.

Surrey County Council has indicated that it is prepared to discuss the route with the parish council and others and it is hoped this will happen soon.

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Hambledon Parish Plan

Following a good debate at the Parish Assembly on 14 April, the Parish Council agreed at its meeting on 17 May that, as was the case with the 2003 Plan, its preparation should be overseen by a steering committee. Robin Knibb has kindly agreed to lead this, but he will need a handful of dedicated villagers to help with a wide variety of tasks.

The Parish Council has decided that, if the new Plan is to have official credence, it should be based on responses to a questionnaire. The one that was delivered to all households as a prelude to producing the 2003 Plan remains a useful model but it will need to be re-visited and up-dated so as to elicit details of Hambledon’s current demography, developments affecting the village that have occurred over the past 13 years and ideas that have so far emerged as to topics which the new Plan might cover.

The original questionnaire was hand-delivered to and collected from individual households in the village but this time it should be possible to offer everyone the option of receiving and returning a paper copy or completing it on-line via the village web site. Jon Petersen has very kindly agreed to produce the new questionnaire and to input and analyse data provided by the responses.

What does our community want for its future? Long-established residents, new arrivals, different household types and different age groups will all have their particular wish lists. It is really important that all of these are reflected in the make-up of the steering committee. So, even if you haven’t so far thought of getting involved in village activities, do stop for a moment and consider whether you could contribute to an exercise whose aim is to ensure that Hambledon remains the kind of village that persuaded you to move here in the first place.

You can contact Robin direct by e-mail, [email protected], or telephone 01428 683800/07836 228671; but if you would first like a bit more background to help you make up your mind please contact Parish Clerk Jane Woolley ([email protected]; 01428 684213).

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Hambledon House Weddings

Hambledon House will again be the venue for outdoor weddings this summer. Some of the immediate neighbours will already have received a letter from Vanessa Swarbreck together with a visit from Blank Canvas, the company that will be managing  the events, advising that there will be no repetition of what occurred last July;  but the general level of concern  throughout the village has suggested that considerable reassurance is required.  Heidi and Lyn, from Blank Canvas, were therefore invited to come along to the Parish Council meeting on 17 May and the following is a summary of what they had to say.

Blank Canvas will be managing five events that were directly booked with Hambledon  House some time ago; they therefore have to honour some of the obligations that went with the bookings.

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Parish Assembly – Ideas for new Parish Plan

The annual Parish Assembly, held on Thursday evening at the village hall, was well attended and produced a number of ideas to be included in the proposed new Parish Plan.

The Parish Plan is a formal document taken into account by public authorities such as Waverley Borough Council when considering issues that involve Hambledon, especially planning and highways. It is also a point of reference for Hambledon Parish Council in its work to help fulfill the aims and ambitions of village residents.

Following a report of the parish council’s activities over the past year as well as those of various village organisations, the assembly heard ideas from residents on what they would like to be included in the new Parish Plan.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

High on the list was a request, led by Hambletots, for a small play area for children, ideally somewhere close to the village shop.  This idea had a lot of support.  It was pointed out that play equipment need not be made of intrusive coloured plastics and could be made of wood to suit the rural environment of the shop, pond and cricket green.

Other suggestions included improved drainage for the cricket pitch, a public toilet for the use of visitors to the shop and its cafe and provision of a bike rack, as the shop is regularly used by cyclists. On the issue of cycling, it was pointed out that the village was on the route of many organised cycle events. The poor state of road edges presented a danger. It was suggested that, given the number of events, maybe external funding could be found to carry out improvements.

There was also support for the retention of the 503 bus service, currently under threat (see earlier news items) and concern that car parks at the two nearest railway stations, Witley and Milford, were now at capacity. It was recognised that any new development at the Dunsfold Aerodrome site would only add to the problem, along with associated traffic problems on the narrow, rural village roads.

The Parish Council is currently gathering ideas for the new Parish Plan. It is likely that a steering group made up of councillors and villagers will be established to take the plan forward.

Tomorrow (Saturday) is the annual village clean-up, this year tied in with Clean For The Queen in recognition of Her Majesty’s 90th birthday. Villagers are asked to gather any litter and bring it to a collection point at the shop where, starting at around midday, a free barbecue will be held for volunteer litter pickers.

 Village clean-up 2011 4

In the afternoon a jumble sale will be held at the Village Hall to raise funds for its maintenance.

 

 

 

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Superfast in Hambledon – What Next?

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to Hambledon’s superfast broadband survey and to Jon Petersen for analysing the results. For those of you who are interested, they can be found at https://www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk/superfastsurvey/. For what happens next, read on.

Peter Howell-Davies, the Hambledon Parish Clerk and Tim Forrest (representing Chiddingfold Parish Council) have met Peter Martin (Deputy Leader, Surrey County Council) and members of his Superfast Surrey team to discuss progress to date and the problems facing Hambledon and Chiddingfold. BT claim that 96 per cent of Surrey premises can now access speeds of at least 15 mbps but this is not borne out in practice. It takes no account of variations as between urban and rural areas – for example, the recent Hambledon survey of premises which get their broadband via Cabinet 6 shows that the superfast guarantee applies to only 61 per cent of them. Data issued by BT seem to bear little relation to what is happening on the ground as revealed by the actual experience of individual users, and might not therefore be the best basis from which to determine who should benefit from further Surrey Superfast intervention or BT up-grades. The results of the Hambledon survey are therefore being passed on to Superfast Surrey.

Once data produced by BT (and, we hope, others such as Hambledon Parish Council) has been analysed, intervention work to make good shortfalls in coverage has to be approved by the EU. Only when this has been done can Superfast Surrey and BT move on to recommending which premises should benefit from intervention. Proposals to this end then have to be submitted to one month’s public consultation before they can be signed off.

Whatever intervention package is proposed, it will have to show that it represents value for money and fairness. The latter criterion could prove particularly difficult in the case of what are currently estimated to be up to 20,000 disenfranchised rural premises across the county, given their location and, in some cases, the distances between them. Intervention may also be required in some urban areas.

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