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Village Is Runner-Up In County Photo Contest

ImagePhilip Underwood has been named runner-up in a competition to find a portfolio of photographs that best illustrate life in a Surrey village.

The competition was run in conjunction with the annual Village of the Year contest. Philip, a parish councillor, entered a series of pictures which can be seen in the “photos” section of this website.

His success brings with it a cheque for £50. The winning village in the photo compeition was Wood Street.

It is the first time that a photo competition has been run alongside the main Village of the Year contest, which is organised by Surrey Community Action and sponsored by the brewers Fullers. Hambledon won this prestigious title in 2008. This year’s winner was Brockham.

Having won the Village of the Year title recently, Hambledon has not re-entered since but Philip decided to have a go at the photo competition. He has received a certificate, shown here, which will go on display at the village community shop.

Philip, a keen wild life photographer, took pictures at the shop, Oakhurst, the cricket green and the church as well as showing parish clerk Jane Woolley at work. He concentrated on people, rather than the locations, and each told its own story – a snapshot of village life.

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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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Village Church: Funds needed to secure its future

ImageThe future of Hambledon’s parish church cannot be assured without new funding, its rector has warned.   The Rev. Simon Taylor took the opportunity, as guest speaker at the annual Parish Assembly, to outline the funding crisis that Hambledon and many other rural parishes face.  Put simply, St Peter’s Church does not generate enough money to pay for itself. He said it currently relies on around 27 “very faithful people” to fund its ministry. They give around £70,000 a year but it requires in the region of £100,000 to run and insure the church, pay the salary and accommodation of its minister and provide pastoral care and support.

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Registering Your Septic Tank

Environment Agency regulations on registering septic tanks have changed since the article in the September edition of the parish magazine went to press.

There was a requirement to register your system with the agency by the end of this year. This is now under review and the deadline has been removed.

The lastest information can be found on the agency website at www.environment-agency.gov.uk under the “Homes and Leisure” section and it will be necessary for householders with septic tanks to check for future developments.

In the meantime, the agency’s position is as follows:

“The requirement to register small domestic sewage discharges from septic tanks and package sewage treatment plants has changed in England. The requirement to register was a result of regulations made in 2010 by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Welsh Government, as part of the implementation of the European Union Water Framework Directive. Registration was considered to provide the lightest touch approach to meet legal obligations.However, we are now undertaking a joint review with Government on the requirement to register small domestic sewage discharges in England, details of which will be announced in the next few weeks.

While the review is underway, we will not require the registration of small domestic sewage discharges, including septic tanks, in England – although householders can still register if they wish.”

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HAMBLEDON HERITAGE LIVE!

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The Hambledon Heritage Society is developing a series of guided walks encouraging the exploration and understanding of Hambledon and its historic landscapes.

The first in this series will follow the footpaths and bridleways through part of the Hurst. This guided walk will enable us to become aware of layers of geological and archaeological time and discover the history revealed in the landscape.

Join us on Sunday  26th June at 11:00am. We will meet at the entrance to the disused Nutbourne brickworks. The walk will take circa 2.0 hours with pauses for observations, briefings & questions.

A small, minimum donation of £2.00 per adult is requested but children will be free as part of the Society’s philosophy of encouraging our younger villagers to better understand, enjoy and become enthusiastic about,  OUR  VILLAGE HERITAGE.

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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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Update on Hambledon's Winter Planning

Wednesday 1st December

ImageOnce 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. Continue reading →

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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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Parish Council Gives Conditional Support to Nutbourne Development

Hambledon Parish Council has agreed to support the proposal to build a country house estate on the site of the former Nutbourne Brickworks at Roundals Lane, subject to satisfactory legal advice on a covenant it has been offered by the developers.

The majority of villagers who expressed an opinion on the planning application by Millgate Homes urged the parish council to support the proposal.

The priority for parish councillors was to obtain the best possible outcome for Hambledon and they made it clear to the developers that many issues had to be examined before such support could be forthcoming.  As a result Millgate came back to the parish council with a significant concession. It would transfer a piece of Nutbourne land to the parish which would be given the benefit of a covenant restricting building on the neighbouring development site to one large country house and further restrict its use to that of a single-occupancy home. However, Millgate made the offer conditional to the parish council agreeing to support its application. This condition was unacceptable to councillors.

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English Heritage "Lists" Village Phone Box

ImageThe traditional red phone kiosk outside Hambledon Village Shop has been given a Grade II listing by English Heritage on the grounds of its architectural and historical significance.  The listing gives the box protection from removal at a time when British Telecom is reducing the number of public phone kiosks across the country.

 

In 2008 Stewart Payne asked English Heritage to consider listing the kiosk on behalf of Hambledon Parish Council, giving reasons why the kiosk should be protected.

English Heritage informed him this week that its criteria had been fulfilled and BT and Waverley Borough Council would be informed of its listing. Continue reading →

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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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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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