Once again Hambledon is in the grip of snow and freezing conditions, so it is a timely opportunity to review what plans have been put in place for this winter.

No one will need reminding of the disruption the village suffered during the heavy snow of January, when Hambledon was effectively cut off for a week and without power for three days.

This winter snow has arrived early, but the parish council has been working to ensure residents are not held hostage to the weather to the extent they were ten months ago.

With the help of Andrew Povey, our county councillor, we have been assured that Hambledon is included in the Priority One gritting network. This means that when freezing conditions are forecast, Hambledon Road will be treated along its full length through the village, although not until major roads have been gritted first.

This did not happen earlier this year because Surrey County Council was, in common with many other highways authorities, low on grit.  Officials have assured the parish that it is well stocked this year. However, side roads will not be gritted.  Peter Knight, at Burgate Farm, has kindly agreed to clear village roads of snow, when necessary, and has been provided with a snow plough blade by SCC. He is still waiting for engineers to visit him to make the necessary adaptations for it to be fitted to one of his tractors but this is scheduled to happen within the next few days.

If council snow ploughs do not reach Hambledon he is prepared to work his way through the whole village but will attend to smaller roads if Hambledon Road is cleared by SCC.

The county council grit bins at the top of Church Lane and Roundals Lane have been filled. The parish council believes that it would be helpful to have another grit bin in the centre of the village, perhaps beside the village shop, for use on public roads and paths.

The cost is expensive: SCC charges £2,500 to provide an additional bin but will fill it each year as part of a 10-year maintenance agreement with the parish.  Although bins can be obtained elsewhere for a fraction of the cost, the council will not fill them.  To help resolve this problem, Dr Povey has agreed to make available £1,000 from his councillor’s allowance to go towards the cost of providing a council bin. The parish council must now decide whether it can fund the remaining sum.

In the meantime, residents are urged to take their own sensible precautions. Always carry a shovel and a sack or piece of old carpet in your car to help should you, or a fellow motorist, get stuck. Make sure you know if your car is front or rear wheel drive, so that you know where to apply the sack and clear snow or ice.

And it is a good idea to stock up on your own supplies of sand and grit as the supplies in the bins are for highways use and not for private drives, paths and forecourts.

The snow earlier this year brought down power lines. The parish council has urged the electricity company to carry out maintenance to ensure this does not happen again, but this is an issue largely out of its hands.

The two photograps show the snow-covered view from the Greensands Way and sheep feeding in nearby fields.