As you will be aware English Rural are currently building a development of new homes in Hambledon. The new homes are due for completion in January 2024. Priority for both the affordable and the open market homes will be given to people with a strong connection to Hambledon. English Rural are asking for anyone interested to please register with them directly.
Continue readingWaverley Borough Council have now posted their decision on the ‘Agricultural Building’ proposed at Feathercombe Farm. The conclusion reached was:
‘The proposal does not qualify as permitted development and, as such, cannot be
considered under the prior approval procedure. The application must therefore be
refused’
The full officer report can be seen in the below link, whereby both Hambledon Parish Council and Neighbour Objections can be seen to have been given consideration for the decision.
Hambledon Parish Council held a special additional meeting to consider a proposal by the new owners of Feathercombe Farm to construct what is described as an “agricultural building” in the field known as 14-acre copse between the village church and Hydon’s Ball.
Councillors unanimously opposed the application. The council said that the application did not meet the terms of “Permitted Development” and the building was not for agriculture but for equine purposes in support of the new owner’s polo breeding and selling business. Despite the application stating it was for livestock, it did not meet this definition and was solely for horses, which generally are not regarded as livestock.
Councillors reached this decision at the meeting held at the Village Hall on Tuesday evening (June 27th) which was attended by a large number of villagers as well as two members of the family that have made the application.
Continue readingThe additional meeting of Hambledon Parish Council, called to consider the proposal by the new owners of Feathercombe Farm to erect a stable block with additional facilities in the protected landscape of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, will take place at 8pm on Tuesday (June 27th) at the Village Hall.
The application by the Trinity Partnership to erect a 47-metre-long building in the field between the church and Hydon’s Ball has been widely opposed by residents and many have registered their objections with Waverley Borough Council, which will determine the application.
On Tuesday evening the parish council has its first opportunity to consider its formal response to the proposal. Having already expressed its concern and made the wider-village aware of the application, it is expected to unanimously object to the scheme.
Continue readingIf you wish to vote for our village’s Waverley Borough Council Ward councillors, you have until 10pm tonight to do so.
Polling takes place at Hambledon Village Hall and you will need to provide photo-identification before you can vote.
Details of the eight candidates standing for the three places available, and of which documents can be used as photo-identification are contained in the previous news item. https://www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk/?p=17644
A well-attended annual Parish Assembly at the Village Hall showcased all that is good about living in Hambledon as representatives of the many volunteer organisations gave accounts of their past 12 months.
Many mingled with friends and neighbours over a glass of wine or soft drinks at the beginning. Then, all seats were taken as the “business” of the evening got under way. Hambledon Parish Council hosted the event and current chairman Stewart Payne briefly outlined it activities over the past year.
He explained why there will be no election for parish council seats on May 4th, as seven candidates – five from the outgoing council and two new nominated candidates – were standing for the seven available places.
However, there will be elections for the village’s Waverley Borough Council Ward, and eight candidates – from the Conservative, LibDem, Labour and Green parties – are contesting the three places on the new Bramley and Wonersh Ward, in which Hambledon is included.
Presentations were made to the two retiring councillors. Philip Underwood has been a member since 1987 and Mary Grove since 2015 and both have served as deputy chairs. Their dedication to the council and to the village was applauded and they were each given a box of fine red wine and garden centre vouchers, along with a small inscribed photo frame bearing their names and years of service over a backdrop of the iconic wooden village name boards.
Then representative of clubs, organisations and societies stepped up one-by-one to talk about their achievements and issues since the previous Assembly last April.
A fuller account of the evening will appear in the June issue of Hambledon Parish Magazine.
In the meantime, please take part in the annual parish litter-pick starting at 10am from outside the Village Shop on the Coronation Bank Holiday Monday, May 8th. This is a community event for all to take part in and families are welcome. It will be Hambledon’s contribution to what Buckingham Palace has labelled “The Big Help Out”, putting a focus on volunteering.
Participants will be given litter picking sticks, bin bags and high-viz jackets and an area to concentrate on. Please return to the shop for around Midday when the Parish Council will be hosting a free barbecue and representative of Hambledon’s volunteer organisations will be on hand to explain what they do and to encourage new recruits.
On Thursday 27th April, from 7.30pm, the 2023 Parish Assembly will be held in the village hall. This informal annual meeting is open to all and a fantastic way to find out about and celebrate all the different organisations in the village.
Hambledon Parish Council hosts, and the meeting will be opened by Chairman Stewart Payne at 8pm. It will start with a short account of the council’s activities over the last 12 months. This year we will also be saying thank you to two outgoing councillors, Philip Underwood and Mary Grove. Representatives of each of the many different organisations will then give a short report on their last 12 months.
Doors open at 7.30pm to allow for drinks and a chat with all attendees and the meeting starts at 8pm.
Hambledon parish councillors and the parish clerk can now be contacted via new email addresses hosted on the village website, providing greater security, are more professional and are easier to remember.
Up until now councillors have used their own email addresses. Now all can be reached by using the email format of [email protected]. The new addresses and mobile numbers can be found on the Parish Council section of the website and in the Parish Magazine.
The clerk, Catherine Russell, has a slightly different format, with no dot between [email protected]. In most circumstances, the clerk is the first point of contact.
www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk/?page_id=26
The change was recommended by the professional body, the Surrey Association of Local Councils, after some parish councils found personal email addresses had been hacked or lacked security supervision.
The council is grateful to our village webmasters and, in particular, Jon Petersen for setting up the new email addresses.
Please note that councillor Philip Underwood has not adopted the new email format as he plans to stand down at the forthcoming May elections.
Tuesley Lane and Holloway Hill will be closed to traffic over the next few days, according to a notification from Surrey County Council. Please see below.
Hambledon’s only bus service, the 503, is under threat once again as Surrey County Council looks to make further cuts.
Under proposals that the parish council has only just become aware of, the 503 will be scrapped and replaced by what is called a Digital Demand Responsive Transport (DDRT) service.
Residents can find out more from a consultation called Future Bus Network Review being run by SCC, but you will need to be quick as it ends on Friday (Jan 6th)
Hambledon Parish Council regrets that it received no direct notice of this consultation, even though it affects our only bus service, which runs three days a week from Lane End, Hambledon, through Hydestile and Milford to Godalming and Guildford.
The parish council has campaigned in the past to keep the 503, believing that public transport should be encouraged not scrapped, and each time SCC proposed ending the 503 it has, nevertheless, been retained. The service is operated by Stagecoach but, as with most rural services, is subsidised by SCC.
The bus review also proposes cuts to the 71 service, which passes along the Petworth Road at Lane End and calls at Witley Station.
The parish council is requesting more information on how a DDRT service would operate in our small, rural village, to the benefit of residents who already have the opportunity to use the Waverley Hoppa community transport service as well as the 503.
DDRT is already in operation in parts of Surrey and elsewhere in the UK and abroad. It can be used to supplement existing bus services or, as is being proposed with the 503, to replace them.
Instead of a scheduled service running to a published timetable along a designated route, DDRT matches passenger request and groups them together to form a single journey. Passenger would first register for an account online. They can then request a bus – most likely a mini-bus – using the service provider’s website. The software is designed to group together customers from the same approximate area and link them up to create a single journey to chosen destinations in a similar area.
The customer can enter a departure time and the software compares this to other customer requests in the area. Or the customer can specify an arrival time and the software generates options.
For more information on the bus review, the reasons behind it, and the changes proposed, please follow this link, where you can also take part in the online survey before the end of business on Friday. In doing so you can read more about DDRT.
If you have been to the village shop recently you will have noticed some construction taking place next door. Hambledon now has its very own play area!
Located on the site of the previous log stepping stones, which had succumbed to the damp, this new play area will be a welcome addition for the growing numbers of families now living in the village.
Some finishing touches are yet to take place – there is to be a see-saw on the site too, which has been held up due to shipping delays – but the play area as it stands is ready to welcome its first small footsteps.
Recognising the changing demographics of the village, the play area received the backing of the Parish Council and has been made possible through the use of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding. Other village organisations are able to bid for CIL funding and further details on how to apply will be made available by the Parish Council in the new year.
A big thank you to Stephen Dean whose land the play area is located on, as well as to the village shop staff who have supported the project and it’s installation.
Are you, or someone you know, struggling with the rising cost of living?
Hambledon Parish Council manages a small fund that it receives annually from the Henry Smith Bequest. In previous years, funds have been given to help with heating bills or buying groceries for example.
For possible help, please contact the Hambledon Parish Clerk, Catherine Russell, by email: [email protected]. All enquiries are confidential.
As the temperature continues to drop, Warms Hubs have been set up around Waverley to help those who are are struggling to heat their homes. Warm Hubs are open to all and offer a warm, safe space where residents can expect a friendly and inclusive welcome this winter. Some of these hubs also offer refreshments.
A list of Warm Hubs can be found here: List of warm hubs in Surrey – Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk)
As construction work on the Orchard Farm affordable homes development finally gets under way, consideration needs to be given on what to call the new access road.
The housing association English Rural has permission to build nine homes on land between the A283 Petworth Road and Wormley Lane. The existing Orchard Farm building has been retained and sold together with some paddock land. Seven affordable properties and two open-market bungalows are to be built on the remainder.
Continue readingThe industrial action affecting bin collections has ended. Waverley have commented ‘we are delighted that Biffa and their staff have ended their dispute and that all services are now running.’
Normal services are expected across Waverley from today and all bins will be collected according to the usual schedule.
You can check your normal collection days here:
Waverley Borough Council – Rubbish and recycling collections
UPDATE 6/11/2022
Please follow this link to see the latest advice from Waverley Borough Council regarding industrial action being taken by refuse collectors.
https://www.waverley.gov.uk/Services/Bins-and-recycling/Bin-collection-strike-action
Waverley Borough have released further information regarding the talks between Biffa and the GMB:
“Following an improved pay offer from our contractor Biffa to their staff, a further ballot was held by the GMB this morning. Whilst the offer was rejected, most of the staff elected to continue to work in the spirit of goodwill, we are grateful that they have decided not to disrupt services whilst continuing to negotiate on terms with their employer.”
There will be partial disruption expected as some staff have chosen to withdraw their labour.
Please put bins out according to the regular schedule. If the bins are not emptied, leave them out as there may be delays – they may be collected in afternoons and through to Saturday.
More information will be released via the Waverley website.