High winds have brought down a tree, completely blocking Salt Lane a short distance from the Hydestile Crossroads. (As of Sunday 12 noon)
This has been reported to Surrey County Council and to the police.
Update: By 1pm the tree had been cleared by a local resident.
Many readers may have seen a vintage bus around the village recently, negotiating the narrow lanes or parked up in the bus stop outside the Merry Harriers.
Its owner Richard Shirley was staying at the pub as he had been hired to take a party of birthday revellers from Busbridge to the Noah’s Ark pub in Lurgashall, with a late-night pick-up.
His bus attracted a lot of attention and Richard was asked if he would be prepared to bring it back next year for the Hambledon Midsummer Festival in June. He agreed and his bus will take part in the classic vehicle rally which will start from the Cricket Green on Sunday June 24 (see earlier news item).
It is hoped that the bus, with villagers aboard, will follow the rally of local classic cars and bikes from the Green, where the fete and ball will have been held the previous day, through local countryside and ending up at the Merry Harriers.
Richard, from Kingston, is a bus enthusiast. His 1953 AEC Regal RF-type single decker was one of 700 built for working in London and the Home Counties. It was retired by London Transport in the early 1970s and, after passing through various ownerships, was eventually acquired for preservation.
Richard, who also owns a red London Transport RT double-decker built in the early 1950s, works in the transport industry. Both his vehicles are inspected and licenced for passenger-carrying service and are maintained in superb condition.
Hambledon has said a fond farewell to its associate vicar Catherine McBride, who has left the village to become vicar of St Mary’s, Market Drayton, Shropshire.
Catherine arrived in Hambledon more than five years ago and quickly became a popular figure; among her congregation at St Peter’s and within the village as a whole. She will be much missed but goes with the best wishes and blessings of the many friends she made.
Her departure was marked in several ways: at her final Sunday services on October 15, at a farewell tea party hosted at Feathercombe, and at a get-together at the Merry Harriers a few days earlier on October 12.
She then took a short holiday in Iceland before returning to pack her bags at Mervil Bottom, her Hambledon home, in preparation for beginning her new life and challenge in Shropshire, close to the Welsh borders from where she hails.
She takes up her responsibilities in Market Drayton with her licensing service on November 22. In the meantime, the Busbridge and Hambledon Benefice has started the process to find a replacement and interviews will be held later this month.
Before moving last week Catherine told the village website: “I can honestly say that Hambledon has been the most amazing place to live and work. I have been extremely happy here and it is in no small part due to the wonderful community in the village, who made me feel so welcome. I feel I have made some good friends here, who I am sure I will keep in touch with.
“I would encourage everyone to cherish the village and what it has to offer: continue to be a warm and loving community, which looks out for each other and where everyone ‘does their bit’ so that Hambledon can continue to thrive.
“I’ll take some very special memories with me of the times when I’ve had the privilege of being part of significant moments and occasions for Hambledon families and will certainly keep you all in my prayers.
Many thanks and God bless”.
At her leaving party at Feathercombe, the home of Ion and Muriel Campbell, she was presented with a cake made by Katherine Frogley, which was decorated to illustrate some of Catherine’s passions; the church, rugby, the Welsh dragon – and a pint of bitter.
Farewell speeches were made by Simon Taylor, rector of Busbridge and Hambledon, churchwardens Alan Harvey and Liz Cooke and PCC treasurer Alison Martin.
At her farewell party in the Merry Harriers, where Catherine would enjoy a pint of Surrey Hills bitter and take part in quiz and music nights, she took to the microphone to give a rendition of the Tom Jones hit Delilah, accompanied by Mike Blanchard on key board. See photograph below. Many villagers were in attendance.
Amanda Wright, a familiar face behind the till at Hambledon Village Shop and a friend to many, has died.
Amanda, from Chiddingfold, was a volunteer at Hambledon’s community-run shop before becoming its manager as part of the Three A’s team, working alongside Alison Wilson and Alan Brien. With the appointment of a single manager in February 2014 Amanda stood down but continued to volunteer. She was also very active in village life in Chiddingfold.
Her death, on August 9th, has come as a great shock to her many friends and shop colleagues. Her funeral will take place at St Mary’s Church, Chiddingfold, on September 6th at 2pm.
Amanda had been suffering from complications following a fall last year. Her unexpected death has left Hambledon villagers deeply saddened and our sympathy goes out to her family.
A large gathering of villagers, family and friends assembled to enjoy a picnic on the terrace and lawns of Malthouse Farm while listening to live music ranging from opera, to jazz, to pop.
The evening raised money towards the conversion of Busbridge Rectory into a meeting place for church and community use, together with other related projects. Busbridge is part of a joint benefice with Hambledon.
Called Midsummer Music, the event last Saturday evening (June 24) was a great success. The Luard Trio performed operatic classics by Mozart, Strauss and Delibes and music from shows such as South Pacific and Porgy and Bess. The Gilbert and Sullivan Ensemble picked favourites from the Savoy Operas, including a highly-contemporary version of the Policeman’s Song, adapted to reflect current political upsets. The Restless Band had the audience dancing to modern chart hits. During the interval a medley of jazz classics was played.
The evening was organised by Carol Jones and it was compared by Andrew Blagden. And special thanks went to George and Caroline Pitt who hosted the evening at their Malthouse Farm home in the centre of Hambledon village. The sloping gardens looked splendid with trees adorned with lights and balloons and guests enjoyed a fine view down to the marquee where the musicians performed. Many of the audience were members of the congregation St Peter’s Church, Hambledon, together with Catherine McBride, associate minister.
The event raised money for the Old Rectory Fund. Planning permission has been obtained to convert the rectory beside St John the Baptist Church, Busbridge, from residential use to a church community building, to include staff offices, a kitchen dining area, youth area and meeting rooms. Church Cottage, on the opposite side of Brighton Road, will be converted back to residential use.
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.
The decision to “call in” the application to build 1,800 new homes at Dunsfold Aerodrome (see previous news item) will be welcomed by many local residents who expressed grave concern that the proposed development was not sustainable and would be of considerable detriment to the local infrastructure.
In particular, it demonstrates the success of the initiative by eleven surrounding parish councils – including Hambledon – who urged the Secretary of State to “call in” the application submitted by Dunsfold Park Ltd and approved, despite widespread objection, by Waverley Borough Council in December.
This means that the application must now be considered at a Public Inquiry at which a planning inspector will hear the arguments for and against before making a recommendation to the Communities Secretary Sajid Javid.
Hambledon Parish Council played an active role in the joint parish councils initiative, supporting the view of others that the impact of such a large development in a rural area would have a major and adverse effect on already congested roads such as the A281, would lead to “rat-running” on narrow country lanes, including those in the parish, and that the application had insufficient measures to mitigate against these and other sustainability issues.
A campaign group called Protect Our Waverley was set up and actively lobbied against the proposal. Anne Milton, the MP for Guildford, pressed the case for the call-in at Westminster.
The decision to hold a public inquiry – at a date yet to be fixed – is a considerable set-back for Waverley Borough Council. It not only approved the application but, separately, identified Dunsfold Park as a key strategic site for new development in its controversial new Local Plan, which has yet to be formally adopted.
The site owners have indicated that eventually 3,400 homes could be built on the site of the former World War Two airfield, which is currently used as a business park.
A previous application to build a “new town” on the site was refused by Waverly and went to appeal in 2009. The appeal upheld the Waverley decision.
Since then Waverley has done an “about face” following central government pressure to find sites for new homes.
The continuation of the Hambledon 503 bus service remains in doubt if further subsidy cuts are demanded by Surrey County councillors next month.
The struggle to maintain funding for rural services was outlined at a meeting between representatives of Hambledon and Busbridge parish councils, Waverley Borough Council, Surrey County Council and Hoppa community transport.
The parish councils had pressed for the meeting in the hope of securing the long-term future of the 503 and the nearby 523 Milford Hospital route. The current off-peak 503 is a vital life-line for a small number of regular users but the councils hoped for an increase in frequency to make the service more viable.
Both routes, which require significant subsidy from SCC, have survived two recent cash-saving reviews. However, Laurie James, SCC’s bus service planning manager, explained that the authority was facing further central government funding cuts and has yet to announce its budget for this year’s bus subsidies.
The 503 and 523 routes are operated by Stagecoach and the contracts for the services ends in August. With no budget yet in place Mr James has been unable to enter into detailed contract negotiations. He expects a budget to be announced next month and only then will he know how much money there is to maintain existing services.
The 503 operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, twice in each direction, and connects Hambledon with Milford, Godalming and Guildford. It is the only bus service in the village and is an essential service for some villagers to get to surgeries, supermarkets and the wider transport network. The 523 operates between Milford Hospital and Godalming on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Mr James explained that the same bus is used for both services and is costed on the basis of it also undertaking school journeys for SCC in the mornings and afternoons. The costs involved in providing another bus for a daily peak service for Hambledon was prohibitive.
The new 100-homes development at Milford Hospital, called Leithfield Park, has a new daily peak-hour bus service, the 502, which is operated by Hoppa. It started at the beginning of January. But funding provided by the developers as a condition of planning permission will only last for two years and there is no guarantee of the service surviving unless passenger numbers are high.
Hambledon and Busbridge council had suggested that a long-term solution could be found in amalgamating the 503, 523 and 502 routes, and will continue to press for talks aimed at keeping a scheduled bus service for villagers.
It was agreed to meet again in April, by which time SCC will have set a budget, any cuts will have been announced and will be up for consultation, and the viability of the 502 will be clearer.
Our photograph shows the 503 in Malthouse Lane, in the centre of the village.
Hambledon Parish Council has an Emergency Plan procedure in place in the event of harsh winter weather bringing disruption to the village.
However there are many simple precautions people can take to make sure they can cope with cuts to power supplies and phone lines, a problem that has affected Hambledon in the recent past and usually caused by high winds or heavy snow.
If power fails so to do household phones as many cannot function without electricity. As a safeguard, make sure you have a stand-by phone that does not need a power supply. The council has a small supply of such phones and if you require one please leave your details at the village shop.
Mobile phones lines can also fail during severe weather and it is worth remembering that the public phone box outside the village shop does not require electricity and will continue to work unless overhead lines have been brought down. Operator, reverse charge and 999 calls are free but you will need to use a bank card for all other calls.
Keep torches handy and make sure that you have a supply of batteries. A battery-operated radio will also come in useful for listening to local radio bulletins. Tune in to BBC Surrey on 104.6FM or Eagle Radio on 96.4FM.
The village website will also carry updates at www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk.
Please keep an eye on your neighbours, particularly those living alone or infirm, especially during cold spells and weather-related disruption.
If conditions are severe the Emergency Plan volunteers will do their best to assist with any individual issues as well as deal with general problems around the village such as fallen branches/snow blocking roads, paths and drives and maintaining contact with external agencies.
The obelisk on the flank of Hydon’s Ball, which commemorates the lives of two brothers who died in the First World War, has been given a Grade II Listing as a structure of special interest by Historic England.
The Listing gives protection to the monument and official recognition of its architectural and historic significance.
It is one of more than 2,500 memorials to the fallen that Historic England is listing as the nation remembers the 100th anniversary of the 1914-18 Great War. More than 740,000 military personnel from the British Isles alone died in the deadly global conflict.
The obelisk commemorates Second Lieutenant Laurance Robertson, aged 36, King’s Own Scottish Borderers, who was killed in action during the Battle of the Somme on 30 July 1916, and his brother Captain Norman Robertson, 40, of 2nd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, who died in a military hospital in Hanover on 20 June 1917.
Our photograph below shows the obelisk following the heavy snowfall in November 2010, two weeks after Remembrance Sunday.
It was erected as a result of a bequest to the National Trust in the will of their eldest brother William, who died in 1937. The Trust already owned much of Hydon’s Ball and the bequest required the purchase of a small plot of land on Hydon Heath and the erection of the monument. This was completed in 1959.
The obelisk can be found beside the footpath below the summit on the south-west slope of the hill. It is easily reached from the lower end of Church Field, through the kissing gate, turning right to the little pumping station and then following the path up hill to the left. Many villagers leave poppies on the memorial around the time of Remembrance Sunday.
A memorial bench commemorating the life of Raymond Smith and his contribution to village life – and to Hambledon Cricket Club in particular – was unveiled at a short ceremony on Saturday September 10.
A planned cricket match between a Hambledon Village XI and a Family and Friends XI was rained off but spirits were not dampened inside the pavilion where a toast was drunk in Raymond’s memory and a barbecue served under a gazebo outside.
Andy Hinde, club chairman introduced Mic Coleman, long-serving club president who spoke of Raymond’s immense contribution to the club, a driving-force behind fund-raising and an enthusiastic and active supporter.
His widow Peggy then unveiled the bench assisted by son Charlie and daughter Rosie. They are pictured sitting on the bench, the first of many who will relax on its timbers to enjoy cricket on the green.
Raymond, who lived at Lane End, died in January this year and his funeral service at St Peter’s Church was packed as tributes were given to his role as dedicated family man, loyal friend and outstanding contributor towards many aspects of village life.
His son Charlie spoke fondly of learning to play on the cricket green where his father was a convivial and welcoming figure on the boundary.
It is planned that the memorial cricket fixture will be re-arranged for next season.
* Our photographs above show Mic Coleman making his speech and Charlie recalling his father with his sister Rosie and Andy Hinde looking on.
The English Rural Housing Association planning application has finally been submitted seeking permission to build 17 affordable and market price homes on the Orchard Farm site and it is important to hear the views of villagers before the Parish Council considers the issue.
This is a reminder that a meeting is to be held this Tuesday (September 13) at the Village Hall at 8pm and it is hoped that as many people as possible will attend so that opinions from across the parish can be heard.
The Parish Council held one open meeting when the ERHA first made its proposals known after acquiring the Wormley Lane/Petworth Road site in 2014. Now that a planning application for 12 affordable and five market price houses has been submitted to Waverley Borough Council the latest meeting is to hear from villagers before the Parish Council comments on the application.
The application can be found by clicking here.
Notice from the Trustees of Hambledon Nursery School
Hambledon Nursery School is an Outstanding-rated nursery school in the village. We are seeking a replacement for one of our Trustees who, due to other commitments, is planning to stand down.
Trustees are drawn from different areas of village life, and in this instance we are seeking one to fulfil the role of “village trustee”; someone living in or near the village, who is passionate about the success of the school, and its part in the village community.
Board members need to be able to commit to 6 evening meetings a year, where they bring their own experience and judgement to educational and management issues. They may in addition like to attend other nursery highlights – nativity/leaver’s service/‘fun’ events and so on.
If you would be interested, please would you let Stephanie Campbell (School Secretary) know at [email protected], and we will arrange the appropriate further conversations.
Waverley Borough councillors have overwhelmingly supported a recommendation that its new draft Local Plan be published.
The plan, which sets out a strategy for housing up until 2032, allows for 2,600 homes to be built on the site of Dunsfold aerodrome. Local parish councils, including Hambledon, have expressed grave concerns that unless sufficient infrastructure is in place, a “new town” development at Dunsfold is not sustainable.
A meeting of the full Waverley council on Tuesday night was picketed by protesters who chanted and waved banners in protest at the Plan as members arrived at the council offices in Godalming.
They were being asked to agree to a recommendation by the council’s executive that the draft Plan be formally published to allow it to move on to the next stage – a minimum six-week period for representations to be made before it is submitted for examination by a Government planning inspector (see previous news item).
Three councillors abstained. Many others thought it flawed but voted in favour to prevent central Government taking it over and imposing its own targets.
To avoid this outcome the Plan has to be in place by early 2017. Waverley’s earlier attempt at a Local Plan was rejected by a Government inspector for not having met new housing targets.
The owner of the airfield, Dunsfold Park Ltd, is currently applying to build 1,800 homes on the site, potentially rising to 3,400.
Hambledon and other local parishes in the area are concerned about the impact such a significant new housing development will have on narrow, rural lanes that surround the airfield site. The only major road in the area is the A281 which is already heavily congested at peak times in the Guildford direction.
It is argued that people will look to “rat-run” on unsuitable single-track country lanes such as Markwick Lane, Salt Lane and Vann Lane to reach Witley and Milford stations, schools and surgeries, all of which are already stretched to meet existing local need.
Hambledon Parish Council has objected to the current Dunsfold Park application on the basis of a lack of supporting infrastructure. It accepts the need for new homes but said the current proposals would put “severe and unacceptable pressure on an already overstretched transport network”. The council has suggested that the planners and developers should consider reinstating the former Guildford to Cranleigh railway line – with a spur to Dunsfold – as a light transit system to help alleviate road congestion, if development goes ahead.
If you would like to read what comments Hambledon Parish Council has made to Waverley on the Dunsfold application so far, please follow this link ,- and then click on Dunsfold Park. Further comment is likely when final plans are known.
In the meantime parishes and the campaign group Protect Our Waverley (POW) will be keeping up the pressure on councillors when they come to consider the planning application and during the representation stage of the draft Local Plan.
A “new town” of 2,600 houses at Dunsfold Aerodrome is among proposals in the new draft Local Plan to be considered by Waverley Borough Council tonight (Tuesday July 19).
The airfield site is already subject to a planning application for 1,800 homes and this total will inevitably rise if the new Local Plan is adopted. Dunsfold Park, owners of the site, has suggested that eventually up to 3,400 houses could be built.
Hambledon Parish Council has objected to the application and has joined with other parishes in the area in arguing that narrow country lanes will not be able to cope with the additional traffic. The only major road near the site, the A281, is already at a standstill at peak times. To avoid this new home owners will be forced to “rat-run” by using single-track rural roads such as Markwick Lane, Salt Lane and Vann Lane to reach Milford and Witley stations, schools, shops and places of work.
If Waverley adopts the new Local Plan, efforts to fight the Dunsfold Park proposals will be seriously undermined. In 2009 Waverley refused a similar housing application for the site, upheld by a Government inspector on appeal. Today, although reasons for objecting remain the same, Waverley is under central Government pressure to build more than 500 new homes across the borough every year to 2032.
Waverley’s executive has already recommended the new Local Plan be formally published and the full council meets tonight at 7pm to consider endorsing this recommendation. If this happens there will be a minimum six-week for representations before the plan is submitted for examination by a Government Planning Inspector.
Protect Our Waverley, a campaign group set up to fight the proposals, will be staging a demonstration outside Waverley offices before tonight’s meeting.
Philip Underwood, fete organiser, and the village website team report on a busy weekend in Hambledon.
An eventful weekend saw the unveiling of a new bench in commemoration of the Queen’s 90th birthday, a very well-attended fete, a packed Midsummer Ball, a special church service…and an exclusive interview with the award-winning author Louis de Bernières.
Louis, whose work includes the acclaimed Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, grew up in Hambledon and wrote about his time here in his book Notwithstanding. Before opening the fete on the village cricket green on Saturday (June 18) he took time out to film an interview with www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk in which he talked candidly about his childhood. The interview can be found here.
He was then in attendance as the new bench was unveiled outside the village shop, overlooking the village pond. It was commissioned on behalf of the village in recognition of the Queen’s 90th birthday and was unveiled by Jane Woolley, clerk to the parish council, who has worked tirelessly for Hambledon in many capacities. She was introduced by John Anderson, parish council chairman.
The bench, carved from local oak, was designed and made in Hambledon by local craftsmen Dorian van Braam and Olafur Mason. Its first occupants were children in fancy dress from the village nursery school.
Louis de Bernières then declared the fete open, remarking that Hambledon was little changed from his childhood days in the 1960s and 1970s.
The traditional fete featured all the usual attractions with games, stalls, bouncy castle, face painting, arts and crafts, food and drink. Children competed in a tug of war, local pooches and their owners took centre stage in a dog show. A popular feature was the display by the Hawk and Owl Show.
When the last stragglers finally left the village green it was time to turn the marquee into a venue for the Midsummer Ball. Several hundred villagers and their guests sat around circular tables to wine and dine and then dance to the music of local band The Likeness.
The following day a Sunday morning service combining congregations from Hambledon and Busbridge churches was held in the marquee, celebrating Father’s Day.
Proceeds to the fete and ball went to support village clubs and activities. Thanks go Philip Underwood and his many helpers, including Hambledon Football Club, for organising the fete and for the hard work of Sue and Ginger Blackman and friends for staging the ball.
A few images from the weekend activities are shown below. If you would like to see the complete photo galleries please click here.
