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Lane End Closure – Parish Council Told Road Cannot Reopen Until Work Finishes

Hambledon Parish Council has been in regular contact with gas supplier SGN, which is responsible for the work currently being undertaken by contractors to upgrade mains at Lane End.

This work has resulted in the road being closed to all traffic for a period of 12 weeks. A diversion of approximately three miles is required for those who would usually enter or exit Hambledon village at Lane End.

The parish council is aware of the inconvenience this is causing and has been pressing SGN to see if traffic light control could allow Lane End to reopen.  SGN has said that on grounds of safety and to ensure compliance with Covid-19 regulations, this is not possible.

Here Robin McKeith, parish councillor responsible for maintenance and highways issues, explains the latest situation.

The upgrade of the gas main on Lane End commenced on 4th January. The Parish Council has since had a conference call, together with numerous telephone calls and email exchanges, with SGN.

It has been told that progress is currently ahead of plan. Should there be any delays the parish council will be made aware.

The possibility of reopening one side of the road, under traffic light control, has been raised. However, SGN consider this unsuitable.  The narrow road would not allow the safe passage of pedestrians and vehicles. The requirement is to have a minimum running lane of 3.25M for HGV and LGV and a 0.5M safety zone, and this has been deemed unachievable at this location.

A scheme that supports small local businesses which suffer a genuine loss of trade because of the work is available from the SGN website:  https://www.sgn.co.uk/help-and-advice/customer-service/compensation

In case anyone in the community would like a little more information about the work being carried out, SGN have provided a generic link to a video to explain the replacement work in general terms, here: https://sgn.co.uk/our-gas-works/working-your-street and have provided a telephone number for any queries: 0800 912 1700

The Parish Council will continue to request SGN review this situation regularly to minimise inconvenience to the local residents and to complete the works ahead of schedule.

For further information on the gas mains work, please look at previous news stories on this website.

 

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Nursery School Faces Up to Challenging Times

Hambledon Nursery School has met and resolved a host of challenges as it remains open during the latest lock-down to provide early-learning to local children, in accordance with Government policy.

With junior and senior schools all shut, head teacher Kate Walford and her team, assisted by the Trustees, have had to deal with a range of issues in recent months including anxiety among staff and parents, several cases of Covid-19, and the difficulties posed by teachers having to cope with providing home-schooling for their own children.

The school has had to close one of its two classroom, but continues to provide a safe and happy environment for those youngsters still in attendance.

The Trustees, the Parish Council, the Church and parents have each expressed their heartfelt appreciation to Kate and her colleagues for keeping going in such difficult times.

Here Kate provides the village with her latest report.

The start to 2021 is one where the phrase ‘things can only get better’ springs to mind.

We are all aware that the new year brought with it further challenges as we weather the storm which comes with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

For Hambledon nursery school this signified an uncertain start to the spring term as the third national lockdown was declared. We have had to close our provision for the 2-3 year olds due to staff shortages at this very difficult time. However, we hope this closure will be short lived and that we will reopen the room for this age group after the February half term.

Adjusting to life in a lockdown can be very difficult and the cause of much anxiety.

I have heard it said that although we are all in the same storm, we do not all nave the same tools to ride the storm out. Some are fortunate to have access to strong boats with sturdy sails, others have but flimsy canoes to try to keep themselves afloat.

We find that at the nursery, though we may feel adrift in this storm, we are once again lucky enough to work in an environment that is an island of calm in the storm. Here the important business of play, joy, laughter and learning through having fun continues as it should and brings those of us fortunate to work here much hope for the future.

I think that spreading a little of that hope and joy within the community of Hambledon is most important. The nativity trail in December 2020 which ran into early January 2021 was met with many happy responses. The nursery received some wonderful feedback about the children’s many different crafts which represented different elements to the nativity story and how they had brought much enjoyment to those who walked past.

Following the success of this trail we certainly hope to make more in the future. At the end of this spring term our usual Easter service will perhaps not be possible and so I would hope once again to make an Easter trail to spread the message of hope and of new life that comes with that time of year.

I firmly believe by that stage we shall have many more reasons to be positive and hopeful in the form of the expanding vaccination programme, reduced rates of infection and the very gradual but very tangible return to normality for us all.

 

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New Windows for the Village Hall

Those who read the parish magazine will already know that the Village Hall Committee have been planning on replacing all the existing single-glazed windows at the hall with double glazed ones.

This is in order to reduce heat loss to make the hall warmer, less damp and reduce our carbon footprint. We hope that it will also mean a reduction in heating expenses.

We have looked at various options and have decided that replacing them with wood-effect UPVC is best. The main consideration is the reduction in the need for upkeep in the future with UPVC. Wooden windows need repainting every few years and the committee feels that it is important to reduce annual costs as much as possible now and for future committees and Hambledon residents.

The windows will be in the same style as they currently are, which is casement for the entrance hall, store rooms and toilets and sash windows for the main hall. The kitchen window has already been replaced with UVPC and we are very pleased with that. It is now draught-free and looks almost the same as the original.

We are in the process of applying for a grant for the cost of the work.

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Hydons Ball – Action to End Inconsiderate Use

The National Trust, assisted by local volunteers, is taking measures to prevent a small number of downhill mountain bike racers from damaging heath and woodland on and around Hydons Ball.

All countryside locations owned by the Trust are currently experiencing a big increase in visitor numbers during the Coronavirus lock-down and Hydons Ball is no exception. Walkers are urged to exercise only in their local area, to only use established footpaths and to avoid packed car parks and leaving litter. Horse riders are asked to only use bridle paths.

Additionally, a section of mountain bike enthusiasts who seek the thrill of riding down steep slopes at speed, creating their own trails, are damaging flora and fauna as well. Locally this is a problem on Hindhead Commons, the Devil’s Punchbowl and on Blackdown. Here in Hambledon a group of volunteers called the Friends of Hydons Ball have put up posters asking people not to create new paths and trails, or dig jumps and berms.

With the support of the NT, they have placed brash piles and dead tree trunks across unofficial paths. Matt Cusack, lead ranger for the area, said: “This is a national issue, but we are concerned about what has been happening on Hydons Ball and are grateful for the assistance of local volunteers.” Bikers trails, which utilise steep slopes, bumps, dips and jumps, have been blocked and brash placed in hollows and on mounds. Matt has felled several small scrub trees to create additional obstacles to downhill biking.

Downhill mountain biking is a major problem, he said, and the Surrey Hills has become a popular destination. “This is very damaging, but there are signs that the measures we are taking at Hydons Ball are achieving results. They seem to have moved on.”

Continue reading →

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Brown Bin Waste Collection Suspended Indefinitely

Waverley Borough Council has announced that it has suspended its “Brown Bin” fortnightly household garden waste collection service until further notice.

This is due to the impact on staffing levels resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Collections stopped from this Monday (January 11, 2021).

Please look at the link below for more details and a full statement:

https://www.waverley.gov.uk/info/200084/recycling_rubbish_and_waste/1273/garden_waste_collection_service

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Lane End Closure – Latest

Work is now well underway at Lane End to replace old gas mains, and the road is closed to all traffic.

The parish council has been in regular contact with SGN, the gas provider, and has asked if the road could remain open to vehicles, perhaps with traffic light control.

However, as the photos show, wide trenches are being dug and space must be allowed for use by machinery and to allow for safety and the required social distancing under Coronavirus rules.

The work, which started on Monday, is expected to last for 12 weeks, with vehicles diverted via Milford, a distance of approximately three miles. For those heading south, an alternative is Vann Lane, Pockford and Chiddingfold.

A footpath beside the excavations has been provided and access to adjacent properties will be maintained. The road closure is between the Wormley Lane and Cricket Green/Vann Lane junctions on Lane End.

Robin McKeith, the Hambledon Parish councillor with responsibility for highways and maintenance issues, said: “Following a slow start to the roadworks on Monday the 4th January, the gas main work has progressed significantly, and a large trench now stretches as far as the bus stop.

“The Parish Council is in regular contact with the engineers responsible for the maintenance, and will continue to monitor the progress of the work to keep the village updated on the committed 12-week timetable. 

If you have any concerns, please contact the Parish Council”.

The council has asked SGN is it can provide a schedule of work so that residents can be assured the timetable is being adhered to and the work completed as swiftly as possible.

For more information about the project please look at previous news stories on this website.

 

 

 

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Lockdown 3 – Where to find help and advice

The Government has announced that England is to enter a third lock-down from today (Tuesday January 5th) and the message is to stay at home wherever possible.

As with the previous lock-downs, this presents many challenges.

Please use the Coronavirus Village Information and Coronavirus Support Funds links on the right to find out where help is at hand.

Here in Hambledon, our village shop will remain open and orders can be placed online for home delivery within the area. Please use the Product List and Ordering link on the right for details.

The nursery school can remain open as early-years learning is excluded from the order for schools to shut. St Dominic’s is likely to remain open, catering for children with special needs.

Hambledon church services remain on-line, but weddings and funerals can be held within limitations.

The village pub, the Merry Harriers, must remain closed. Local take-away outlets can stay open, but for food and soft drinks orders only.

Local food shops, garden centres, and building supply businesses can remain open, all others must close. Doctors, dentists and vets are open.

This website has links on its right-hand menu to organisations offering help and advice. These include Hambledon Parish Council, and if anyone has any specific problems that they cannot resolve, please contact Stewart Payne on 07831 393561 or any other parish councillor. Please note that Mike Parry has resigned and his place has been taken by Ali Scott-Bishop, so if you have kept the advice leaflet delivered to all homes at the start of the first lock-down, please amend accordingly. 

All parish councillor numbers can be found on this website together with many others which may be helpful in the weeks ahead.

Please remember that the Foodbank is always grateful for donations and the various support funds welcome financial contributions to enable them to continue to their work. 

Finally, the Government’s latest National Lockdown Guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/949536/NationalLockdownGuidance.pdf

 

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Lane End Long-term Road Closure- UPDATE

Work to replace old gas mains at Lane End, Hambledon, started on Monday (Jan 4th), as previously announced, and will result in the road being closed for the duration of the project, which is expected to last 12 weeks.

Road closure and diversion signs are in place. Once excavation work gets under way the road will be closed at all times, the parish council has been informed.

The closure involves the section of Lane End, between Wormley Lane and Vann Lane/Cricket Green. Diversion signs instruct motorists to divert via Petworth Road (A283), Milford and Station Lane to Hydestile, and the same route in reverse for those leaving the village.

This is the quickest route for most, but for those living on Vann Lane and Upper Vann, a diversion via Pockford and Skinners Lane to the A283 on the outskirts of Chiddingfold may be more convenient.

Continue reading →

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Lane End – Road Closure due from Monday January 4th

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

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Hambledon Village Shop – Update Friday 1st January 2021

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.

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Run the Month Marathon Edition

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

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Road Reopened – But Major Disruption to Come in January

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. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Power Back, Road Still Blocked – Update

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.

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Power Failures in Hambledon

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.

 

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SEASON’S GREETINGS

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

 

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Christmas Services Update: 22 December

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