Redundant office space at Witley Station is being made available as a base for a local community group or charity and any organisation interested is invited to submit a proposal.

The space is within the main building on Platform 2 and was once part of the station master’s house. It consists of a single ground floor room and three office rooms on the first floor.

The rooms are being offered at a peppercorn rent, initially to August 2024, although a longer term may be available. No sub-letting is allowed.

The closure of Hambledon Road on the approach to the Hydestile Crossroads is expected to be lifted by early afternoon today (Wed Nov 30th).

However, road closure signs may remain in place because the responsibility for removing them rests with another contractor, not the road repairers! So the advice is to ignore the signs from this afternoon and passage should be possible.

On a separate issue: Readers of the December parish magazine may have noticed that two different start times have been given for the Midnight Communion at St Peter’s Church on Christmas Eve.  Continue reading →

If you are wondering who is responsible for the latest village road closure – this time on Hambledon Road at Hydestile – do not blame the usual suspects. Blame a badger.

The road is completely closed in both directions, preventing any through traffic and causing a lengthy diversion through Witley and Milford.

Unfortunately an error appeared on page 10 of the December issue about the price increase for subscribers to the Parish Magazine. The start of the second paragraph correctly reads “Unfortunately, the annual subscription has gone up to £9.00” but there is an error later on in the reference to cheque payments where the price was incorrectly given as £8.00.   

Whether you pay online or by cheque, the annual subscription price for 2023 is definitely £9.00. Apologies for any confusion caused. 

After a two year break the traditional Village Christmas Party will be held at the Village Hall from 8pm on Saturday 17th December. Tickets are £20 each. There will be live music from The Likeness, grazing boards (included in the ticket price) and a licensed bar.

Tickets can be purchased on-line using this link https://ti.to/hambledon-festival/christmas-dance-2022.

As construction work on the Orchard Farm affordable homes development finally gets under way, consideration needs to be given on what to call the new access road.

The housing association English Rural has permission to build nine homes on land between the A283 Petworth Road and Wormley Lane. The existing Orchard Farm building has been retained and sold together with some paddock land. Seven affordable properties and two open-market bungalows are to be built on the remainder.

PLEASE NOTE: MIDNIGHT COMMUNION AT ST PETER’S STARTS AT 11.30PM, NOT 11PM AS INCORRECTLY GIVEN ON POSTER BELOW.

Tickets for this event can be purchased on line using this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/xmas-gathering-tickets-461750537287

For the first time in a while Hambledon has a host of activities to look forward to during the Christmas period. In addition to the Church activities, there are a number of other events planned. We’ve made a list and we’ve checked it twice.

Saturday 3rd December – Hambledon Nursery School Christmas Fair – details to follow.

Saturday 10th December – Christmas Special at the Coal Yard – details to follow.

Thursday 15th December – Carols around The Christmas Tree at The Merry Harriers – Mulled wine and festive treats. Hosted in the garden with firepits and by candlelight around the tree. From 7pm.

Saturday 17th December – Hambledon Village Christmas Dance at the Village Hall –details to follow. Tickets available here: https://ti.to/hambledon-festival/christmas-dance-2022

Tuesday 20th December – The Merry Harriers Christmas Quiz. Call the Harriers for bookings it’ll be busy and loud. 7pm start. It’s not really about the quiz…

Saturday 24th December – Christmas Carols at the Village Shop. Back after a 2 year hiatus, the ever popular Carols at the Shop; midday Christmas Eve with the Hambledon Shop Village Choir, mulled wine and mince pies.

The Hambledon Community Fund was established in 2008 to provide a permanent and sustainable fund for the benefit of individuals, groups and organisations in our village.

Please take a look at the Autumn newsletter to find out about recently awarded grants.

More information about the fund can be found here: HCF

The industrial action affecting bin collections has ended. Waverley have commented ‘we are delighted that Biffa and their staff have ended their dispute and that all services are now running.’

Normal services are expected across Waverley from today and all bins will be collected according to the usual schedule.

You can check your normal collection days here:

Waverley Borough Council – Rubbish and recycling collections

UPDATE 6/11/2022

Please follow this link to see the latest advice from Waverley Borough Council regarding industrial action being taken by refuse collectors.

https://www.waverley.gov.uk/Services/Bins-and-recycling/Bin-collection-strike-action

Waverley Borough have released further information regarding the talks between Biffa and the GMB: 

“Following an improved pay offer from our contractor Biffa to their staff, a further ballot was held by the GMB this morning. Whilst the offer was rejected, most of the staff elected to continue to work in the spirit of goodwill, we are grateful that they have decided not to disrupt services whilst continuing to negotiate on terms with their employer.”

There will be partial disruption expected as some staff have chosen to withdraw their labour.

Please put bins out according to the regular schedule. If the bins are not emptied, leave them out as there may be delays – they may be collected in afternoons and through to Saturday.

More information will be released via the Waverley website.

GMB union members working for Biffa, the council’s waste contractor, have voted for industrial action. This strike action is expected to occur between Thursday 3 November and Wednesday 23 November. It will affect all bin collections and street cleansing services across Waverley. The discussions between GMB and Biffa are ongoing and so may still be averted.

Waverley Borough Council have provided additional advice about what to do with your waste and recycling during the industrial action and answers to common questions can be found by visiting www.waverley.gov.uk/binstrike(opens in new tab). More information will be released as it becomes available.

An open letter on behalf of horse owners in Hambledon

Dear Hambledon residents, 

We are writing to ask for your help ahead of Guy Fawkes night and the associated fireworks. Last year several of us were subjected to localised fireworks that caused severe distress and injury. In the worst example, an injured horse at Hydon Farm had to be repeatedly sedated by a vet and in one other, sustained a serious injury. For those of us trying to calm them and prevent injury, it was truly awful to witness. 

Whilst we understand people like to celebrate, and at organised events support that, it is a very stressful time for those of us with animals, particularly horses.