Hambledon Fashion Show is on Thursday, September 14th which is two weeks tomorrow. Ticket sales are slow at the moment which is not unusual at this point for Hambledon events when there’s always a flurry of ticket sales right at the end. However, this time it’s a bit different as in order for the show to go ahead the company running it need us to have sold at least 40 tickets by next Thursday, Sept 7th. If you’re planning on coming then we really need you to buy your tickets as soon as possible, please, so that we don’t have to cancel.

Everyone who has been before will know what a great fun evening it is so tell your friends, buy your tickets and come along to have a great night out, buy some bargain clothes and support Hambledon’s very own lovely catwalk models!

Tickets £7 at the village shop.

As well as the day of the Village Shop BBQ, this Saturday also sees the running of the annual Village Show.

The Categories list for the Show can be found in the Parish Magazine and on line by clicking here.

On the day of the Show, entries can be dropped off from 9.30am – 11.30am at the Village Hall.

It is FREE to enter your items!

After judging, the Show will be open to all from 2.00pm – 4.30pm. Best in Show and the Underwood Cup will be announced at 4.00pm.

The Village Shop BBQ will start at the same time as the Show closes at 4:30pm.

To round the day off there’s live music from Out To Lunch at The Merry Harriers from 8pm on Saturday evening (free entry).

We still have some tickets available but they are selling fast and we will be totting up final catering numbers soon. 

So get your ticket today to avoid an empty plate on Saturday!

We’re hosting our popular annual End of Summer BBQ on Saturday 26th August from 4:30pm to 7:00pm. 

Tickets are available online (click here) and at at the shop: £12:50 for adults and £5 for under 16s.

The ticket price includes BBQ food (with vegan options), salads and an ice-cream plus live music. There will be licensed bars for you to purchase your favourite tipple and soft drinks.

Bring deck chairs and/or picnic blankets!

Rail passengers have been given more time to comment on the proposed closure of hundreds of ticket offices across the UK, including at Witley, Milford and Godalming stations.

Many Hambledon residents use these stations on the Waterloo to Portsmouth line operated by South Western Railway.

The closures (see previous news story here https://www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk/?p=17952 ) are proposed by the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators. Passengers were originally given until July 26 to comment. Following widespread concern, this has now been extended until September 1^st.

The RDG says it wants to close ticket offices as many travellers buy on-line or at platform ticket machines. It also states that it wants to bring staff out from behind counters to provide support to customer on platforms, but it is hard to see how such a proposal would work as small country stations such as Witley and Milford with just two platforms and only one train an hour outside peak times.

If you would like to comment on the proposals, you can do so here – https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/uk-rail-industry/customer-focused-reform/customer-focused-stations.html#consultation

Our photograph below shows the ticket office and waiting room at Milford Station.

The annual Hambledon Village Shop end of summer BBQ will take place on Saturday 26th August, starting at 4:30pm at the end of the Village Show.

As well as the usual BBQ food and salads, there will be live music and licensed bars. Tickets for the BBQ can be purchased by clicking here.

The future of our village bus service, the 503, remains in doubt. But, for the time being, you can make any single journey for just £2 under the Fare Cap scheme.

With the summer holidays here, you can take the family on a cheap excursion into Godalming or, as villager Mary Grove discovered, take a winding and scenic journey all the way into Guildford – just for the sheer enjoyment of the ride.

The 2023/24 Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) bidding cycle is open for bids until October 2023. CIL is collected by Waverley from new developments in the area and then given to local organisations to help fund new infrastructure impacted by these new developments. If you are an organisation that could benefit from Strategic CIL, then applications are now being accepted. More details can be found on the Waverley website: Waverley Borough Council – Bidding for CIL money

Hambledon Parish Council is also in receipt of Neighbourhood CIL, which is a small proportion of the collected CIL, but intended for the same use. Please contact the clerk if you think you are a village organisation that may benefit from this smaller pot – [email protected]

As you will be aware English Rural are currently building a development of new homes in Hambledon. The new homes are due for completion in January 2024. Priority for both the affordable and the open market homes will be given to people with a strong connection to Hambledon. English Rural are asking for anyone interested to please register with them directly.

Waverley Borough Council have now posted their decision on the ‘Agricultural Building’ proposed at Feathercombe Farm. The conclusion reached was:

‘The proposal does not qualify as permitted development and, as such, cannot be
considered under the prior approval procedure. The application must therefore be
refused’

The full officer report can be seen in the below link, whereby both Hambledon Parish Council and Neighbour Objections can be seen to have been given consideration for the decision.

https://planning360.waverley.gov.uk:4443/planning/search-applications?civica.query.FullTextSearch=PRA%2F2023%2F01265#VIEW?RefType=GFPlanning&KeyNo=540280&KeyText=Subject

Hambledon Parish Council held a special additional meeting to consider a proposal by the new owners of Feathercombe Farm to construct what is described as an “agricultural building” in the field known as 14-acre copse between the village church and Hydon’s Ball.

Councillors unanimously opposed the application. The council said that the application did not meet the terms of “Permitted Development” and the building was not for agriculture but for equine purposes in support of the new owner’s polo breeding and selling business. Despite the application stating it was for livestock, it did not meet this definition and was solely for horses, which generally are not regarded as livestock.

Councillors reached this decision at the meeting held at the Village Hall on Tuesday evening (June 27^th) which was attended by a large number of villagers as well as two members of the family that have made the application.

Hambledon residents are probably aware that Feathercombe Farm has been sold and its new owners, Alice and Rebecca Servaes, trading as The Trinity Partnership, will operate the 240-acres of land for the business of breeding, selling and grazing polo ponies.

Villagers may wish to know that the Trinity Partnership has just served notice of its intention to erect a new building in the field beyond the village church.

It is described as an “agricultural livestock building” in documents lodged with Waverley Borough Council. However, on plans also submitted, it appears to be essentially for equine use and the single 47-metre oblong building will contain an office, vet room, 13 stable units, a feed room and storage space. The plans indicate the barn will be built in the middle distance of the view from the church, photographed below.

On the basis it is an agricultural construction, the applicants are not going through the full planning procedure, but instead notifying Waverley of their intention to build. Waverley only has until June 28^th to consider the proposal and reach a decision on whether the application qualifies under the terms of a General Permitted Development. If it does not make a ruling, the building will go ahead.

The new barn, mainly windowless and with a ridge height of 7.4 metres, will be built in the field known as Fourteen Acre Copse, in the far corner where the public footpath reaches the kissing gate into the woodland below Hydon’s Ball.

The annual cricket fixture between Hambledon Village Shop and Hambledon Cricket Club will take place this Sunday 18th June starting at 2pm. Come along and support the teams in what is usually a closely fought contest over 30 overs per side. The bar will be open.

The Cricket Club are the current holders of the trophy