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HGV Warnings Signs For Hambledon's Narrow Roads

ImageAdditional road signs warning heavy lorries not to use Hambledon’s narrow lanes are to be erected by Surrey County Council at Milford and Lane End.

The “Unsuitable for HGVs” signs will be placed at the entrance to Station Lane at its junction with Church Road and on the Petworth Road facing traffic approaching from both directions.

The decision to erect the signs follows pressure from Hambledon Parish Council, reflecting the concern of residents that HGVs were using the village as a cut-through.

The majority travel from Milford and, faced with existing HGV signs (pictured) at the Hydestile Crossroads in the Godalming direction, attempt to use Salt Lane or Hambledon Road.

At a site visit, parish councillors told SCC engineers that the existing signs gave the impression that Salt Lane and Hambledon Road were wide enough for HGVs when, in reality, both were as narrow as in the Godalming direction.

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Bands Play On At Merry Harriers

ImageLive music can continue at the Merry Harriers as long as measures are taken to restrict noise nuisance to a neighbour.

A meeting of Waverley Borough Council’s licencing sub committee decided not to remove Julie Stoneley from the pub’s premises licence, but has insisted on improved sound insulation and the use of a noise limiter when bands are performing inside.  The pub’s licence was reviewed after it was found to be in breach of an abatement order issued in April after a neighbour had complained of excessive noise audible inside his home.

The village pub has been hosting performances by live bands since Colin and Julie Stoneley took over and they have proved to be very popular.

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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.

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Tuesley Farm Community Path

ImageThe recently established community footpath across Tuesley Farm has been upgraded with new wooden signs and improvements to the surface.

The footpath was provided by the Hall Hunter Partnership, owners of Tuesley Farm, as a condition of planning permission for polytunnels.

Because it crosses a working soft fruit farm some areas had become churned up by agricultural vehicles.

Harry Hall, who runs the farm, has now provided a hard surface on these area and erected wooden signposts. The path, which is not a Surrey County Council public right of way but may be used by walkers and cyclists, runs from Station Lane, close to the Hydestile Crossroads, to Tuesley Lane where it links up with the roadside footpath to Milford Station, shops, Rodborough School and Milford Hospital.

It has not been possible to secure permission from adjacent landowners for the path to exit onto Hambledon Road, so walkers have to negotiate a short stretch of Station Lane., which has no verge or pavement.

However, it is a welcome addition to the local footpath network and provides an alternative to walking along the narrow Station Lane to reach Milford and the station.

* The Hall Hunter Partnership has been given planning permission to provide accommodation for seasonal workers on land at Tuesley Farm and for the conversion of an exisiting building for this purpose. It has also obtained permission to to install a winter storage reservoir in a field to the east of Tuesley Lane.

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Parish support for "Hoppa" community transport

ImageHambledon Parish Council has agreed a one-off grant of £250 following a request for financial support by Waverley Hoppa Community Transport.

The Hoppa minibuses are a familiar sight on local roads, providing transport for those unable to use scheduled public services. Hoppa’s fleet of vehicles offer accessible, door-to-door community transport for registered local people as well as hospital-related services.

However, Hoppa cannot survive on its revenue alone and requires the additional support of grant funding.

With its fleet of vehicles due for replacement, Hoppa has appealed for financial assistance.

In Hambledon we have a “good neighbour” scheme which can usually help the elderly and infirm keep medical appointments and collect prescriptions. However, our scheduled bus service runs on just three days of the week and is loss-making.

The parish council considered that Hoppa provides a valuable service in rural communities such as ours and would become even more important to Hambledon if the village lost its bus service.

It agreed to provide a grant of £250 to help Hoppa maintain its non-emergency patient hospital service to local health facilities.

If you would like to find out more about Hoppa’s service please click http://www.hoppa.org.uk/

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Lorry stuck again – come on Surrey Highways!

ImageTuesday 2nd Feb:   Salt Lane was blocked again this morning by a lost 40 tonne HGV.    The driver, like most of the stuck lorries, had come from the A3 via Milford heading for Cranleigh.  He gets to the Hydestile crossroads and sees the signs stating “Unsuitable for HGVs” if turning North to Godalming…. so his natural, and not unreasonable, inclination is to go  another, unprohibitted way –  East up Salt Lane (or South into Hambledon) – both are near impassable, yet there are no signs indicating this.    300 yards up Salt Lane he wisely tried to turn around (with help) and travel back to the A3, and caused a log jam of traffic which was cleared by two residents marshalling the cars that were reluctant to back up.    

So the question is what can be done to avoid this?    The problem is the Highways Department signs.  At Hydestile it is far too late to telltrucks to turn around and return to Milford (there is no route for themto proceed down other than turn around). Currently the half-baked and confusing crossroads signs contradict each other.

 Ideally the signs need to be at a point early enough for them not to need toproceed any further, and where there is  a turnaround space.  I thinkthat is the junction of Station Road and Tuesley Lane, OR at the Milford Crossroads before they enter Station Road.  GPS is not entirelyblameless, but proper signs would probably over-ride any drivers thatblindly follow their GPS.

Can we lobby the highways department?

 

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New ice and pothole hazards

ImageSevere weather conditions are continuing to create problems on Hambledon’s roads.

A large pothole has opened up in the middle of the road at Lane End. It is so deep that nearby residents have had to fill it with bricks to reduce the danger of it shredding tyres. In addition, surface water turning to ice makes the road extremely hazardous at this location. Please approach with caution.

The pothole has been reported to Surrey County Council by Hambledon Parish Council. However, the length of time it took to speak to an operator on the emergency number suggests that SCC has been inundated with similar reports from across the county. Although details of the Lane End pothole have been passed to the Highway Department, SCC could not say when the road will be repaired.

There are, of course, other potholes throughout the parish. And with temperatures remaining below freezing point great care should be taken on all the village’s roads.

Potholes and other highways issues can be reported to Surrey County Council here

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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.