Parish News

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Bus Review – What Parish Is Doing To Keep The 503

The consultation period for Surrey County Council’s Local Transport Review has ended and the authority is now considering the future of subsidised rural bus routes, including the 503 Hambledon service.

Details of the review process can be found here – https://www.surreysays.co.uk/e-i-directorate-programme-group/closed-copy-of-ltr

As part of the consultation Hambledon Parish Council made a submission in support of retaining the village’s only bus service, which is operated by Stagecoach but subsidised by SCC. Here is what the council said.

alt“Hambledon Parish Council is grateful for the opportunity to comment on the Local Transport Review following the request by Surrey County Council for feedback from stakeholders.

The Parish Council is aware of the pressures faced by SCC with regard to funding and the need to review spending.

However, it urges SCC to ensure that Hambledon’s only bus service, the 503, remains in operation as it is a vital means of transport for a number of our more vulnerable residents, mostly elderly, living alone and without cars. (It also hopes for the retention, as a daily service, of the 71.)

Please consider this: Hambledon is a small rural village. It has a community store, but otherwise no shops, no banks, no supermarkets and no doctor or dentist surgeries. None of the above are within practical walking distance. To access any of these residents must use a car, or the bus.

The 503 only operates three days a week, twice in each direction.  This means it cannot be used by commuters or schoolchildren. So its passenger numbers are inevitably limited and this must be taken into account when assessing its financial viability. Continue reading →

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Hambledon's Bus Service Is Reprieved

altTHE 503 bus service, which links Hambledon with Milford, Godalming and Guildford and which was to have been axed under proposals contained in a cost-saving bus review, has been saved.

The route, operated by Stagecoach but subsided by Surrey County Council, is the village’s only public transport service, and the parish council, supported by residents, mounted a strong defence against the proposal to scrap it

Surrey County Council’s Cabinet met on Tuesday (May 29th) to consider all the proposals contained in the bus review following a consultation exercise earlier this year, including the fate of the 503. It agreed that the service should not only be retained but returned to a three days a week service from its current two. This means that, from September 2nd, the service will once again run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, twice in each direction. Currently it operates on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Continue reading →

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Jubilee Party and Beacon

ImageFinal arrangements have been made for the Hambledon Jubilee Party to be held on Monday June 4th on the Cricket Green.

The party is hosted by Hambledon Parish Council and it starts at 8pm. There will be a hog roast, strawberries and cream and a full bar. All who live or work in Hambledon are welcome.

It is a family affair so please come along. There will be background music and entertainment will be provided by magician Richard Kettle. If it is a fine evening the party will be on the green but if it is wet the marquee, erected for the village fete and evening dinner and dance two days earlier,  will be available.

At 10.15 Karin Sehmer, High Sheriff of Surrey, will light the Jubilee Beacon, one of many official beacons across the country to be lit as part of the celebrations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The beacon will not be on the green but at a high point in the village and should be visible to those attending the party.

You will need a ticket to attend and they are available from the Village Shop and the Merry Harriers. Tickets are free but required so that helpers have an idea of numbers.

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Superfast Broadband – Survey

As part of his brief as Secretary of State for Media, Culture and Sport, Jeremy Hunt has launched a campaign to promote superfast broadband.  As our local MP, he is also working closely with Surrey County Council to ensure that, by 2015, everyone in South West Surrey will be able to access speeds of at least 2 Mbps and that 90 per cent of households and businesses will have access to superfast.  These will soon be necessities of every day life so, to ensure that Hambledon does not get left behind, it is important for all of us to register a demand now.

The best way of doing this is by completing the Surrey Strategic Partnership’s Superfast Broadband survey. The Parish Council has therefore arranged for everyone to receive a copy of the survey and hopes that all households and businesses in the village will complete and return it, either by e-mail or by post.  The responses will be used by Surrey County Council to support its conversations with industry and help secure funding for the project.  It is currently in discussions with five selected companies and aims to place a contract with one of them by next July.

Superfast Surrey Survey

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Presentation for retiring Councillors

ImageTwo stalwarts of Hambledon Parish Council, Ron Vickery and Derek Miller, have been thanked for their years of service to the village at a special party in their honour.

They were presented with garden centre vouchers at a gathering of councillors and clerks, past and present, at the home of council chairman John Anderson and his wife Tucker.

 

Ron has stood down after 35 years continous service, making him the third longest serving member since the council was formed in 1884. Derek has clocked up 16 years. Both have made immense contributions to the work of the council.

Ron and Derek are pictured receiving their tokens from John.

 

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Walk the Village To Raise Money For Community Fund

Image The Hambledon Village Community Fund is organising a “Hamble Ramble” to raise funds for its work in supporting the needs of the community.  The walk around the village, taking in places of historical interest, will start at 2.30pm on Sunday June 12th, beginning and ending at Hydon End, Feathercombe Lane.

 

Tea and Pimms will be served at the end. There is a Garden Ramble for those who do not wish to take part in the village walk, suitable for the very young and the very senior. And a quiz will be held for those who would like to test their knowledge.

Entrance is £5 per person. If you enter as a team of five or more the fee will be capped at £25.

The Hambledon Village Community Fund (HCF) is a local initiative to benefit local projects. It is a charitable fund to which people can make donations or leave a legacy and has been set up with the support of the Community Foundation for Surrey.

Once a capital fund has been established, the HCF can award funding from the interest it has gained to local projects; approximately £6,000 a year in perpetuity.

More details on the fund can be found in an earlier news items on this website.

The Hambledon Ramble is an opportunity for villagers to show support for the work of the fund and enjoy a gentle walk in company at the same time.

Tickets are available at the Village Shop or directly from Julie Llewelyn at [email protected] and can also be purchased on the day at Hydon End, which can be found about half way up Feathercombe Lane on the right-hand side.

Please arrive at 2pm so that the walk can start promptly at 2.30pm.

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Waverley Planners Approve Brickworks Country Estate Development

ImageWaverley Borough Council has approved the scheme to build a country house estate on the site of the derelict Nutbourne Brickworks in Roundals Lane.

Members of the Central Area Planning Committe were unanimous in their approval when they met to consider the application by Millgate Homes on Wednesday (May 25th).

The developers had applied to build a mansion house, staff cottages, a gate house, stables and garages on the 220-acre site.   Nearby residents favoured the proposal and Hambledon Parish Council gave its support, but only after securing a covenant that safeguards the site from further development or change of use. Continue reading →

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Draft report of Housing Needs Survey, Hambledon, November 2010

This report, by Surrey Community Action’s rural housing enabler, Mona Johannson, was considered by Hambledon Parish Council at its meeting on 11 January 2011.  It is reproduced in full in the Minutes section of the Parish Council pages on the village web site.  The findings suggest that the village could accommodate a second affordable housing scheme.

A shortfall in affordable housing stock throughout Waverley triggered the Parish Council’s decision to commission the survey, which was carried out during September-October last year.  All households in the Parish received a questionnaire:  35 per cent were returned and 72 per cent of respondents favoured a further affordable housing project.  Both  figures are considerably higher than average response, indicating a good level of support for another scheme to complement the development completed in 2001 at Duncombe Cottages. Information provided by households who felt themselves to be in housing need suggested that a second scheme could comprise five one- or two-bed rented units and two two-bed shared ownership units. However, it must be remembered that these are to-day’s figures.  Until such time as units become available some of the needs will have been met elsewhere and not everyone may still be in need. The Parish Council has adopted the report and will now consider possible sites.   Some were suggested by respondents to the questionnaire but if anyone else has any ideas please let the Clerk know.  Mona Johansson will be getting in touch with households who indicated that they might be in housing need to remind them that, if they have not already done so, they should register with Waverley Borough Council (essential for anyone who requires any form of affordable housing). Mona Johansson will remain involved and, depending on progress made with site identification, Waverley and social housing providers will also become involved in the discussions.

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Church Graveyard Survey -now online

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Hambledon Graveyard Project

In the summer of 2010 three old villagers thought it might be a good idea to research the churchyard at St Peter’s, to re-organise the written records and survey the gravestones before some of the older inscriptions became illegible or disappeared altogether. The aim was to see if family names could be researched (with the help of the internet), and perhaps linked to extant relatives who may not be aware of their antecedents’ burial places.

Two young volunteers, Alex Sehmer and Vicky Grove, took on the work.

The project has successfully tidied up the burial records, and the database is available for anyone engaged in research. It was interesting to note how time-consuming it became when trying to research the genealogy of just one family, let alone 50! However, the records are now ‘alive’ and let’s hope we can keep them up to date!

The detailed survey is available as a Google Doc:Hambledon Surrey Graveyard Survey Document

Webmaster’s note:  Now that this survey is on our website it does greatly increase it’s prominance Worldwide.  The Hambledon website has a good Google ranking and so the lists of names will appear in serches made by family history researchers..

 

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Public Meeting To Consider Brickworks Plan October 28th

ImageHambledon Parish Council is to hold a public meeting to hear the views of villagers over the proposed country house estate development at the disused Nutbourne Brickworks site.  The meeting will be held in the Village Hall at 8pm on Thursday October 28th.

 

Millgate Homes have submitted a planning application to Waverley Borough Council (see earlier news item) for a substantial country house, ancillary buildings and landscaping following the demolition of all existing buildings on the site in Roundals Lane.

 

The developer is staging an exhibition of its proposals in the Village Hall on Thursday October 21st between 5pm and 8pm and again on Saturday October 23rd between 10am and 1pm. Refreshments will be provided and representatives of the company will be available to answer questions.

 

Hambledon Parish councillors will also be meeting to consider the proposal but will not make a response to Waverley until it has assessed local feeling at the public meeting on the 28th.   The application can be viewed here at www.waverley.gov.uk

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Report of Parish Assembly 2010

ImageSurrey County Council has no money available for major resurfacing of Hambledon’s damaged roads, but it will ensure repairs are carried out to a higher standard.

This was the promise given by Dr Andrew Povey, who is both Hambledon’s county councillor and SCC leader.

Dr Povey faced tough questioning by villagers at the annual parish assembly where he was guest speaker. Many raised concerns about the appalling state of local roads and the poor quality of repairs.

Dr Povey said the problem of potholes had been made worse by the severe weather and that repairs to the county’s road were underway. He was told by members of the audience that potholes had been a menace and a danger long before this last winter and that the state of the roads was a consequence of SCC’s faiure to carry out adequate maintenace in recent years.

He was also told repairs to potholes were “botched” and that the holes reappeared at the same locations within weeks of being filled in.

Continue reading →

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Village debate following recent power loss and snow-blocked roads. What can be done?

ImageFollowing the recent heavy snowfall, which led to lengthy power cuts, Hambledon Parish Council has written to Southern Electric (Scottish and Southern Energy) requesting it gives serious consideration to replacing overhead with underground cables and, in the meantime, trims back branches beside powerlines on a more regular basis.

Many residents have expressed their concern about the electricty supply as well as the failure by Surrey County Council to grit or clear village roads, all of which were unpassable for several days by anything other than four-wheel drive vehicles.

Several residents have asked what measures could we take as a community to prevent such lengthy disruption in the future.

It has been suggested there should by a village-wide campaign to urge Southern Electric to install underground cables as a matter of urgency. It has also been proposed that we recruit local contractors, ground workers and farmers to use their equipment to clear roads on our behalf.

This, of course, raises issues of cost, practicality, insurance and liability.

The Parish Council, at its last meeting on January 12, 2010, resolved to consider establishing a village emergency plan and would like to hear the views of residents by promoting a debate on this website. What are your suggestions?

So what do you think? What were the problems and what could be done to minimise the disruption next time? Please post your comments here on the forum.

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John Anderson awarded OBE

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John Anderson, long-standing Hambledon resident and chairman of its parish council, has been awarded an OBE in recognition of his contribution to the renovation of St Martin-in-the Fields, London.

John is chairman of the St Martin-in-the Fields Building Renewal Project, which has overseen the restoration of the landmark church in Trafalgar Square and the provision of new facilities for the homeless in its area.

His OBE also recognises his services to the construction industry, in which he works in project management.

In January 2006 St Martin’s embarked on a £36 million building project to restore and transform the church and surrounding buildings by creating what has been described as “a new sequence of beautiful, practical and inspirational spaces to serve the community, visitors and those in need.”

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Jane Woolley receives MBE

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Jane Woolley has been made an MBE.  It was announced in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for her voluntary services to Hambledon. The whole village sends its congratulations to her for her much deserved award.  Jane travelled to Buckingham Palace this week to receive her award.

The list of Jane’s contributions to village life are numerous. She is clerk to the Parish Council; she was fundamental to the setting up of the Hambledon Village Trust which now owns the freehold of the Village Shop; she walked 70kms in 70 hours aiming to raise £7k to help fund a re-fit of the shop and managed to raise in excess of £9.5k; she is an active member of many of the village clubs; the list goes on. Hambledon would surely be a less strong community if Jane Woolley wasn’t a member.