Wednesday’s AGM was a well attended affair, not least because of the guest speaker’s excellent presentation.
Norman Gravestock gave an entertaining talk on the heritage of Hambledon. Listen to his whole speech here.
Author: Hambledon Web Team
Milford Hospital Redevelopment at Upper Tuesley
There is a planning submission for 120 homes on land adjacent to Milford Hospital. This is a significant development and has implications for existing residents and the surrounding villages.
Here is the Planning Application.
There is also an Online Petition.
HCF reaches £100,000 target!
Generous Hambledonians help us reach our initial target of £100,000!
Hambledonians were certainly in good spirits over the festive season and responded generously to our fund-raising pleas by raising over £35,000 in one month!
A huge thank you to those who helped us raise such large amounts – donations of all sizes were made by many, and together you made it possible for us to reach this first target. Hambledon now has a sizeable nest egg and permanent, sustainable supply of dividends for grant-making. This should go a long way to help us continue to support its many groups and residents, both now and in the future.
How you did it!
You may remember that in our last magazine article, we announced the start of an exciting new government scheme called the Community First Programme. This programme allows any donation to local, permanent funds like the HCF, to be government matched with a further 50% of funding. In addition, we had an offer from an extremely generous, anonymous donor, to match (like-for-like), the first £8,000 worth of any donations received whilst the Community First matching programme was in effect – for us, this is until the end of June 2013. On top of all that, the usual Gift Aid would give us a further 25% of any pre-matched amount.
It was therefore an extremely good time to donate. Locals responded rapidly with donations of around £12,000 and this grew quickly (when matched, and matched again), in to the £30k+ we needed to reach our first target.
Thank you to everyone for all your support. For your donations, your purchase of second-hand books and HCF merchandise, and your attendance at HCF fund-raising events. It all helps. Together we will work to keep Hambledon and its community strong and in good shape!
Fibre Broadband… not here yet
The Surrey Superfast Broadband Team have a website. It has a Postcode Checker so you can see if your line is going to be upgraded. Beware, the system is a little clunky, and it seems to me that the Wormley Exchange (01428) is part of the Surrey CC Project BUT I can’t find any information that indicates that those village residents on the Godalming Exchange (01483) are part of the project. My deduction is that 01483 lines will have to wait for the BT commercial roll-out of fibre. The cabinet at Milford Station, for example, that serves Salt Lane is not due to be upgraded until March 2014.
Surviving Winter Campaign
Following a successful appeal last year, the nation-wide Surviving Winter 2012 Scheme, of which HCF was a part, has now launched again to support older and more vulnerable people through the winter months.
Thanks to your kind donations last year, and this, we now have funds ring-fenced within the HCF to support the elderly and more vulnerable people within our community. Indeed an individual grant to help with the purchase of fuel has recently been made.
If you receive your winter fuel cheque from the government this year and are fortunate enough to be able to offer it to the Surviving Winter scheme, please follow directions on our ways to donate page.
Equally, if your group supports older or vulnerable people within the village and you require funding, or you know of any individual in need of support, please contact us. We act in confidence and grants of this kind are not publicised.
Football Club Grant Presentation
Hambledon Football Club has received a cheque for £99,999 from the Football Foundation at a presentation attended by officials, villagers and local MP Jeremy Hunt.
The presentation was made to Matt Kiley, club secretary, who also gratefully received another cheque of £1,000 from the Hambledon Community Fund.
The two grants have helped Hambledon FC take a significant step forward in realising its dream of replacing its delapidated “hut” with a modern club house. Both recognise the efforts the club has made in its own fund raising over the last few years. Planning permission has already been granted for the new facilities and it is hoped work can start in the New Year.
The Football Foundation grant was made under its “Grow The Game” scheme. The limited facilities at Hambledon’s Badger Park ground restricted the club’s development, with some younger players prefering to play elsewhere and the club having no prospect of promotion to higher leagues until improvements were made. It is hoped that the new clubhouse will be ready for the 2013-14 season.
Winter Weather Arrangements For Hambledon
The current cold spell and today’s light dusting of snow provide a timely reminder of the arrangments in place in the event of severe weather.
Hambledon has an agreed emergency plan, prepared by the parish council, and linked to arrangements at both Waverley Borough and Surrey County Councils.
The parish has been assured that if snow is forecast Hambledon Road, from Lane End to Hydestile and beyond, will be gritted by Surrey County Council. This same stretch of road is also listed as a priority route for snow clearance.
Once again Peter Knight of Burgate Farm has agreed to use a plough blade provided by the county council, fitted to one of his tractors, to clear roads that will not be swept by SCC. These include Salt Lane, Vann Lane, Roundals Lane and Cricket Green.
Village Shop Celebrates 20 Years as a Community-run Venture
Hambledon Village Shop and Post Office has reached the significant milestone of 20 years since it was reopened as a community-run business.
A celebratory party was held in the village hall on Friday (Nov 16) attended by many of those involved in setting up the shop two decades ago together with the current management team and volunteers.
Virginia Bottomley, who as local MP was asked to reopen the shop in 1992, returned to the village to toast its continued success, paying particular tribute to the villagers whose vision, hard work and generosity got got the shop reopened and the many volunteers who have kept it going since.
“If Britain is a nation of shop keepers then Hambledon is a village of shopkeepers,” she said.
Hambledon has had a village shop since at least 1850. It closed in March 1991 as, like so many other small shops, it lost out to supermarkets. It was a grievous loss to a rural community like Hambledon and older people in particular missed the convenience of a general provisions store and Post Office.
Two things happened that were to galvanise a team of villagers to take matters into their own hands. The Rev Christopher Blissard-Barnes, then vicar of St Peter’s Church, preached a sermon on the value of community spirit, saying that it would be wonderful if the shop could be reopened.
£99,999 Grant For Hambledon FC Clubhouse
A grant of £99,999 from the Football Foundation means that Hambledon Football Club will be able to start work on its much-needed new pavilion and changing rooms at its Badger Park ground in the New Year.
The award of the grant has been greeted with delight by The Dons as it makes the long-awaited new facilities a reality rather than an aspiration. Planning permission has already been obtained but work could not start until significant funding was obtained on top of that already raised.
The grant, made by the Foundation under its “Grow The Game” fund, means that the club has a good chance of having the new club house ready for the 2013-14 season.
Matt Kiley, club secretary and first team player, said: “This money, along with grants already awarded from Waverley Borough Council, Surrey Community Fund and the Surrey Playing Fields Association, together with the club’s own fund raising efforts, enables us to put our building plans into place. Exciting times area ahead for the club.”
However, fund raising will continue as another £10,000 is still needed.
Paul Thorogood, chief executive of the Football Foundation, said: “I commend Hambledon FC and the Surrey FA for working tirelessly to secure this funding and I look forward to seeing the end result in the near future.
Hambledon FC will be presented with its grant cheque at a ceremony attended by club members, the Football Foundation, Waverley Borough and Hambledon Parish councillors and local MP Jeremy Hunt.
Repaint for Village Shop Phone Box
The red phone box outside Hambledon Post Office and stores has been given a repaint by BT, with the Crown picked out in gold in this Queen’s Jubilee and London Olympic year.
The kiosk, which is of the iconic K6 design, was given listed status by English Heritage in October 2010. Recently the paint had peeled and faded and the parish council requested a repaint, which was carried out two weeks ago. The interior has also been repainted.
BT had proposed removing the kiosk three years ago because the number of calls made from it had declined with the widespread use of mobile phones, but this was resisted by the council and others. The parish council asked English Heritage if would consider listing it and an inspection was carried out.
The kiosk is of the classic design by Giles Gilbert Scott and was first introduced in 1935 on the occasion of King George V’s Silver Jubilee. English Heritage concluded that the Hambledon box, situated in a picturesque landscape next to a pond and post office, within a conservation area and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, “contributes to the exceptional rural setting in which it stands”. It was given Grade II listed status.
It now looks splendid with its fresh coat of paint. Although the box cannot now be removed, BT may remove the phone apparatus, subject to further consultation, sometime in the future. So please pop in and use it. It makes a pleasant change from a mobile phone. But remember: you will have to buy a phone card from the village Post Office as the kiosk no longer accepts coins.
Waverley Core Strategy
The final draft of this document, which represents the Borough’s spatial planning strategy for the next 15 years, is now available for consultation and comment. For further details go to Clubs and Organisations/Parish Council/Legislation on this web site or visit Waverley’s own site at www.waverley.gov.uk.
Hambledon Jubilee Activities Raise £8,747
The Hambledon Fete and other events held on the Diamond Jubilee weekend in June, raised a remarkable £8,747.08 for villages causes.
The Parish Council has sent congratulations to the many people who helped organise and run activities for making them such a success. To raise such a large sum in a small village of just 750 people is a great achievement.
The fete itself raised £5,167.08, and this has been evenly split between Hambledon Football Club, Hambledon Cricket Club, St Peter’s Church and the village Almshouses.
The Jubilee Ball, run by Sue Blackman, raised £3,580 after expenses, and from this £1,000 was donated to the Hambledon Community Fund and the remainder split between the above organisations.
The Parish Council, which provided £1,000 towards the cost of the marquee and other expenses, has acknowledged the success of the events and has sent its thanks on behalf of the village to all those who organised, promoted, helped run and took part in the weekend of activities.
Superfast Broadband Update 2012
For those of you that completed the Superfast Broadband Questionaire, here is an update:
Superfast Broadband in Surrey – the latest position
Surrey County Council is following a competitive dialogue procurement process to select a private sector company to extend the roll-out of broadband in Surrey to those areas that are not commercially viable for the private sector to invest alone. The aim is to ensure that homes and businesses can access superfast broadband and make use of the benefits it offers, no matter where they are located in the county.
Final proposals were received from two bidders in June. These provided detail on issues such as technology, deployment, speeds and cost. The proposals were evaluated against a set of criteria, which took into account both cost and quality to find the best solution for Surrey.
On 24 July 2012 Surrey County Council’s Cabinet considered the proposals and took the decision to award the contract to the preferred bidder.
Next Steps
The project is now in a ten day standstill period, as required by the Public Contracts Regulations (2006).
The contract will be finalised with the preferred bidder and signed during August.
At this point the County Council will be in a position to provide further details around this ground breaking, superfast broadband contract for Surrey. A joint press release shall be issued with the Supplier and a bulletin will be circulated to provide information.
Surrey County Council will work with the Supplier to develop the deployment schedule. Information on where and when superfast broadband will be deployed will be available in the Autumn.
Superfast Broadband Project Team
Surrey County Council
Webmaster’s comment:
Dont forget to register your interest for BT to extend their BT Infinity coverage to Hambledon. If more residents expressed their interest in BT Infinity the logging of this demand may give BT a greater impetus to roll out towards Hambledon. So please use their BT Infinity availability checker and confirm your interest so we can build a weight of demand. Just go here: http://www.superfast-openreach.co.uk/where-and-when/
Hambledon selected for National Archive Project
At the start of the year Surrey History Centre chose our website as one of three Surrey websites to be part of a new archiving project in association with the National Archives. I am pleased to say that the project is now completed. This is a super feather in the cap for Hambledon.
A page on their website gives further details and also includes a link to the archived version of the Hambledon Village site. More information is also available on the National Archives website.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/web-archiving-pilot.htm
Website upgrade – COMPLETE
You may have noticed a number of website outages in recent weeks. Our original choice of website host has proven less and less reliable in recent months – so the web design team have decided to move the website hosting to another provider that will hopefully offer a more reliable service for Hambledon’s website. The transfer took place over the weekend.
Mic Coleman Awarded British Empire Medal
Mic Coleman has been awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Jubilee Birthday Honours “for services to sport and to the community in Hambledon”.
Mic has already been recognised locally for his unstinting work, particularly in relation to the village cricket and football clubs, but now his achievements have been acknowleged by Buckingham Palace.
His BEM was announced in the 2012 Birthday Honours List, published at the weekend. This was the first list since 1993 to have receipients of the BEM, which was reinstated to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
The BEM is sometimes referred to as the “working class” medal as it celebrates the achievements of ordinary people and the dedication and hard work they put into their communities. Mic was one of 293 people from across the UK to receive the medal this year.
The medal was founded in 1917 but scrapped by John Major, in 1993, shortly after he became Prime Minister. David Cameron announced last year that he was reinstating the medal.
Mic has been a stalwart of village life since moving to Hambledon in the 1950s. He has worked tirelessly for the football and cricket clubs, becoming president of both, he is a past chairman of the parish council and has been involved in helping run a host of activities including the fete and produce show.
He and his wife Sylvia celebrate their diamond jubilee wedding anniversary this year.
The whole of Hambledon sends it congratulations to Mic on a richly-deserved honour.