Work to upgrade household gas mains in the Lane End area of Hambledon is due to start tomorrow (Monday Jan 4th), and will result in long-term road closures.

SGN, the gas supplier, has previously stated that the work will take up to 12-weeks and that the road from Wormley Lane to Vann Lane will be closed, although access to properties in the immediate area will be maintained.

Hambledon Parish Council has contacted SGN to seek further information. It asked if the road will be completely closed throughout or will it reopen overnight; can pedestrians pass at all times; will there be some periods when the road will reopen; can the council have a detailed programme of works.

It is hoped more information will be available on Monday morning, so please check back with this website.

It may be that the road will remain open as the contractors set up. The one.network website which maps roadworks, shows the initial closure as being between Vann Lane (Cricket Green) and the village hall. 

https://one.network/?119435733&fbclid=IwAR0vWWAbFW_SH3pL5hG14P7308d7y2fyTb-l_ByXgNwj3uMp-meyfUMl1Yc

This website also indicates that there will be roadworks with traffic light control on the Petworth Road, at Phillips garage and half way up Wormley Hill, and, unrelated to Hambledon but worth noting, at Dunsfold between Loxhill and the A281.

 Further information about the Lane End roadworks was published on this website last week and can be found here: https://www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk/?p=14246

From Saturday 2nd January the shop will operate 7 days a week (with deliveries Monday to Friday) and the Post Office will operate 6 days a week but the deli will be closed on Saturdays and Sundays. 

Monday through Friday when the deli is operating, it will be providing a take away service only, no food and/or drink should be consumed on the premises, including using the shops’ picnic tables.

We politely request that all customers wear face coverings in the vicinity of the shop and maintain a safe distance at all times.

The shop’s operating hours will be as follows:

Delivery
5 days a week
Monday to Friday
10:00 cut-off for same-day delivery
[email protected]

Personal Shopping
7 days a week
08:30-14:00
Come to the shop, tell us what you’d like and we’ll get the items for you. Sorry, we can’t allow you inside the shop at the moment.
 
Take Away
5 days a week Monday to Friday
08:30-14:00 (last orders 13:30)
Hot and cold drinks, pastries, cakes, sandwiches, baps, pies and soup to  take away.

Post Office
6 days a week
Monday to Saturday
09:30-12:30
Take cash out, pay cash and cheques in, buy stamps, send parcels, pay bills, buy gift cards etc.

With the Football club back in lock down and no football on the horizon. Hambledon FC have signed up to Run the Month – Marathon Edition.

Please follow the link below to either donate or join the team. Throughout January, run 26.2 miles your way, whether it’s a mile at a time or two half marathons throughout the month. Sign up and raise money to fund lifesaving research and support services for men and their families affected by prostate cancer – the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK. 

https://www.justgiving.com/team/hambledonfc?invite=true

Wishing all our supporters a safe and Happy New Year.

Come On You Dons

Hambledon Road, blocked for two days by a fallen tree between Hydestile and Feathercombe, reopened yesterday afternoon.

Contractors cleared the beech tree which came down in high winds on Boxing Day night. The parish council has been in contact with West Surrey Golf Course, as the tree was probably on its land. The club has agreed to examine other trees on the roadside verge to ensure all are safe. 

Around the village there may be more short delays as Surrey Highways and its contractors deal with any other trees in a dangerous condition following Storm Bella.

* Villagers may be aware from the advance warning signs at Lane End that work is due to start on a planned upgrade to gas mains in the immediate area. This is expected to start on Monday January 4th and is forecast to last for approximately 12 weeks.

The work will require the long-term closure of Lane End, from its junction with Wormley Lane to Vann Lane and Cricket Green. SGN, the gas provider, states that the work is necessary in order to replace old metal mains with plastic pipes to individual properties on Lane End.

Hambledon Parish Council is in contact with SGN to see what measures can be taken to lessen the impact of the road closure and it is hoped to provide more information soon. In the meantime, SGN states that resident access will be maintained. It has consulted with Surrey County Council, the highways authority, and has its approval,

The work is to be carried out by Medway Civils and Utilities Ltd on behalf of SGN. The closure is necessary to undertake the scale of the work and to ensure the safety of engineers.

Local residents should have received letters informing them of the work.

The closure means that access to Hambledon village, including the shop, church, nursery school and pub, can only be achieved by diverting through Milford and Station Lane, to Hydestile, or to Chiddingfold, Skinners Lane and Pockford, to Vann. 

Power has been restored to homes in the village following the heavy winds on Boxing Day night, but Hambledon Road remains blocked between Feathercombe and Hydestile because of a fallen tree.

Scottish and Southern Electricity, the power provider for the area, had to deal with a great many power failures across its southern region but reports that its engineers worked throughout yesterday to restore power to approximately 50,000 properties.

Storm Bella brought down trees and power lines across many part of Southern England. Some homes are still awaiting re-connection but SSE states that all in Hambledon are now back on supply.

However, Surrey Highways teams have had to deal with many blocked roads due to fallen trees and have not yet managed to clear the fallen beech lying across Hambledon Road, close to Potters Hill. Walkers can divert on to the path on the edge of West Surrey Golf Course but the road remains impassable to vehicles.

If any villager is still experiencing problems, useful contact numbers for emergency services and public utilities can be found on this website on the winter weather advice section or in the November parish magazine.  If in difficulty, please contact Stewart Payne, Hambledon Parish Council emergencies coordinator, on 07831 393561.

Parts of Hambledon are without power today (Dec 27th) following the overnight high winds caused by Storm Bella.

There are also trees down in and around the village, including a beech that is blocking Hambledon Road between Hydestile and Feathercombe. Surrey Council highways dept is aware of this.

Scottish and Southern Electricity, the power provider, has been notified of the failures and has already managed some re-connections. It reports more than 50 power failures across its southern region, so engineers are working across many areas and some homes can expect to be without power for some time.

Hambledon Parish Council is in contact with Scottish and Southern. 

In the meantime, Hambledon residents can find all emergency contact details on this website and in the November parish magazine.

If anyone has specific problems, or is in need of assistance, the council has an emergency coordination procedure in place and help may be available. In the first instance please contact Stewart Payne on 07831 393561.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAMBLEDON, from the village website team.

Throughout this extraordinary year, the website has kept our community informed and alerted. It has done so with the help of many village organisations and individuals.

In particular, the website was the platform for the Sunday Reflections, a series of observations on our changed lives as our little village went into the prolonged Spring and Summer Coronavirus lock-down. We thank all our contributors

At the end of August, we concluded the Reflections on a cautious note. We acknowledged how residents and village organisations had pulled together to see us all through a challenging time and that restrictions were easing. But we added: “We all know that the virus is still at large”.

Since then, we have had encouraging news of vaccinations. However, we have also witnessed a second wave of infections. Now Hambledon – in common with many others parts of the country – is about to enter Tier 4 restrictions as further measures have become necessary to try to combat the spread of Covid-19.

We are still in difficult and worrying times. But the spirit of our community is undiminished and we can look forward to resourceful 2021 as we, once again, rise to the challenge.

And it is in this spirit that we send our best wishes for the new year ahead, and look forward to playing our role in helping keep our community connected and focused.

The Village Web Team

Christmas Services Update 22 December

We are delighted to offer everyone a choice of online services on Christmas Day, and limited access to worship in person.

Please join us online from 9am for the traditional Carol Service recorded in Hambledon for Christmas Day, and at 10am for the contemporary family benefice service which will be broadcast live from the Old Rectory, Busbridge.  Go to:  https://www.youtube.com/bhcgodalmingonline.

Following Saturday’s news we feel we have no option but to ensure people’s safety and to stand alongside our own and nearby local communities by asking people not to gather to worship on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. There will be no live-congregation gathered at Hambledon Church on Christmas Day.  The Christmas Eve nativity trail has also been cancelled in Hambledon.

The Christmas Eve Drive In Carol services at Godalming College are going ahead, and a restricted number of those who signed up early to the 10AM Christmas Day services at Busbridge and Hambledon will be invited to the 10AM online broadcast service from the Old Rectory. We wish to prioritise those who are alone and not online.

On Christmas Day, there will be a Benefice Said Holy Communion in one kind (15 mins) at Busbridge Church at 9AM, primarily for those not online and alone. Booking required and numbers are limited. If you know someone this applies to, please help them book here.

If you know anyone who is not on the internet or isolating, please give them the number for the Daily Hope telephone line: 0800 804 8044.

In case of a pastoral emergency, contact the church office on 01483 421267 to find out which member of clergy is on call over Christmas and New Year.

Finally, you may be interested to read the latest Rector’s Reflection: Worship over Christmas and in the New Year.

With our prayers this Christmas,
The two Simons
Rev Simon Taylor and Rev Simon Willetts

There’s some bad news and some good news.

Whilst we can see a light at the end of the Covid tunnel, we’re also aware that there’s a way to go until we can all don our party dress and get intimate. 

So the bad news is that we’re not comfortable planning a full schedule of events for the Hambledon Midsummer Festival in 2021. To do so would require us to make some financial, and other commitments, without being confident that conditions will permit a safe event to take place. So we are postponing the three day festival to midsummer 2022. Jazz On The Green will take place on Friday 17th June 2022, the Fete and the Summer Ball will take place on Saturday 18th June 2022 and Church On The Green and the Classic Transport rally will take place on Sunday 19th June 2022.

The good news is that we do think it will be possible to host a one day, safe, outdoor village event with live music, other entertainment and plentiful food and drink on the Cricket Green on Saturday 19th June 2021.

In addition we hope to hold the annual Hambledon Village Shop BBQ on Saturday 28th August 2021.

More details will follow, in the meantime please save the dates. We all deserve a party.

After seeing tonight’s news we feel we have no option but to ensure people’s safety and to stand alongside our own and nearby local communities by asking people not to gather to worship and sing carols tomorrow (Sunday 20th).  There will be no live-congregation gathered carol singing on Sunday 20th December.

Please join us online at 10am at https://www.youtube.com/bhcgodalmingonline

We are delighted to offer everyone at traditional pre-recorded carol service on our youtube channel from 9am onwards and we will be offering a livestream family carol service at 10am, from the Old Rectory. Simon W, Simon T, Margot and others will be involved in this.  Please join us online at 10am. Not in person at 10am, 4pm or 6pm

Please watch the website for information about gathering for Christmas morning.

With our prayers this Christmas,

The two Simons
(Simon Taylor, Rector and Simon Willetts, Associate Minister)

The Government today placed large swathes of southern England under rigid Tier 3 restrictions including all of Surrey, with the exception of the Borough of Waverley.

This means that Hambledon remains in Tier 2 but many other nearby areas are now under the toughest rules aimed at combating a rising Covid-19 infection rate in the area.

The new restrictions come into force on Saturday and will remain until the next review.

Waverley includes the towns of Godalming, Haslemere, Farnham and Cranleigh and the villages around them.

Local people should consult with Government guidelines before deciding whether to visit Tier 3 areas, which now include the nearby centres of  Guildford and Woking. In these areas shops can remain open but all pubs and restaurants must shut, other than for take-aways.

It was lovely to see some of you back inside the shop last week taking advantage of the temporarily extended hours to browse our selection of Christmas goodies. 

From today the shop will be returning to outside service only. With the exception of the Christmas period which is described separately below, and with immediate effect, the shop will operate as follows:

Delivery
5 days a week
Monday to Friday
10:00 cut-off for same-day delivery
[email protected]

Personal Shopping
7 days a week
08:30-14:00
Come to the shop, tell us what you’d like and we’ll get the items for you. Sorry, we can’t allow you inside the shop at the moment.
 
Take Away & Eat At Our Picnic Tables
7 days a week
08:30-14:00 (last orders 13:30)
Hot and cold drinks, pastries, cakes, sandwiches, baps, pies and soup to consume at our picnic tables or take away.

Post Office
6 days a week
Monday to Saturday
09:30-12:30
Take cash out, pay cash and cheques in, buy stamps, send parcels, pay bills, buy gift cards etc.

Go to www.bhcgodalming.org/comfort-joy to sign up for Christmas services.

Christmas services at Hambledon Church are outdoors this year to accommodate more people, and so that you can sing carols!

However, face coverings are required, and numbers are limited by the amount of people we can accommodate on the church sites, with 2m distance between bubbles.

Churches are also required to take details from all attendees for NHS Track and Trace.

So please feel very welcome, and invite friends, but help the church to keep everyone safe by signing up in advance.

Hambledon Parish Council has welcomed a new co-opted member to its ranks.

Alison Scott-Bishop is joining to replace Mike Parry, who has stood down after almost nine years.

The next local council elections are not due to be held until 2023. No requests were received for a by-election, enabling the parish council to co-opt a replacement. The process was duly advertised and two villagers registered their interest.

Ali Scott-Bishop and Jane Moore were considered at the parish council meeting held on December 1^st on the basis of written submissions. Councillors said that it was a difficult choice as both had a proven track record of public service to the local community and were clearly suitable.

Ali, pictured below, was chosen on the basis of immediate availability and Jane was asked if she would consider putting her name forward again if a further vacancy should arise.

At the same meeting, Mike Parry was thanked for the dedication and sound judgement he has brought to the council since joining in 2012.

Chairman John Anderson has paid this tribute:

Continue reading →

Kate Walford, head teacher, writes: November saw the children at Hambledon Nursery School marking Remembrance Day, by creating poppy crafts and creating a remembrance garden in grounds of the nursery. The children considered what the word ‘remembering’ means for them. They remembered special times at the nursery, looking back on photographs of activities they had enjoyed. They remembered special times and events for their family and friends. Quite astonishingly, they all managed to sit quietly for a whole 2 minutes to mark the 11^th hour, on the 11^th day of the 11^th month, in an act of thoughtful silence.

Waverley Borough Council has entered into an online partnership which enables residents to order goods and services from a range of independent retailers in Godalming, Haslemere, Farnham and Cranleigh.

“Click it Local” is a virtual high street, with participating businesses showcasing their products which shoppers can order from the comfort and security of their own home.

This supports local retailers at a difficult time while giving shoppers who may be shielding or are reluctant to travel access to goods and services. Only a single online payment is required and deliveries will be made on the same day where possible.

The service started on December 1^st and it is expected that many more retailers will sign up to the scheme.

Details of the service can be found here – https://www.waverley.gov.uk/news/article/679/support_your_high_street_%E2%80%93_click_it_local

The Click it Local website for the Waverley district can be found here – https://www.clickitlocal.co.uk/waverley/