surreyCC

by

Superfast Community Action is a success

Our First Success!

Following our intervention, Openreach recently agreed that they will fibre upgrade street cabinet no.26 at the junction of Rake Lane and Station Lane. This is a complete reversal of their earlier decision not to do so. It has undoubtedly been achieved because of the strong resident support that we received, with over 90% of the 140 Enton/Rake Lane area households and businesses who will now benefit having signed up to our campaign.  Community power does work. We are thankful too for support from Peter Martin, Deputy Leader of Surrey County Council.

So what now?

There are a further 80 households and businesses currently served by cabinet 26 that are simply too far from it to benefit from the upgrade when it happens later this year. In addition, there are another 59 properties served by street cabinet 48 (located towards Busbridge, and which is already fibre-enabled), that have seen no benefit. Properties beyond about 1.5 to 2 km from their street cabinet see little or no advantage from fibre upgrade as any speed benefits are lost on the final “journey” from the street cabinet to the front door as data passes along copper or aluminium wire.

Our campaign focus is getting a solution for these 139 households/businesses spanning 13 different GU8 post codes. So far, we have an average of 68% of those households/businesses signed up to our campaign. This is a significant achievement but we are making efforts to increase it.

Where are we with BT/Openreach?

Continue reading →

by

Bus Stops return to Hambledon Road

Bus stop signs and timetables have been reinstated along the route of Hambledon’s 503 bus service.

Only long-standing residents knew where the village bus stops were located following removal of the post and flags over the years. Earlier this year Hambledon Parish Council requested that the signs be reinstated as part of an initiative to raise the profile of the 503 service that links the village with Milford, Godalming and Guildford.

After a visit by Surrey County Council engineers it was agreed that three posts and flags would be re-erected; outside the Village Hall, beside the Merry Harriers and at the bus shelter at the Hydestile Crossroads (pictured below).

alt

Continue reading →

by

Fibre Broadband… not here yet

alt

The Surrey Superfast Broadband Team have a website.  It has a Postcode Checker so you can see if your line is going to be upgraded.  Beware, the system is a little clunky, and it seems to me that the Wormley Exchange (01428) is part of the Surrey CC Project BUT I can’t find any information that indicates that those village residents on the Godalming Exchange (01483) are part of the project.     My deduction is that 01483 lines will have to wait for the BT commercial roll-out of fibre. The cabinet at Milford Station, for example, that serves Salt Lane is not due to be upgraded until March 2014.

by

Winter Weather Arrangements For Hambledon

The current cold spell and today’s light dusting of snow provide a timely reminder of the arrangments in place in the event of severe weather.

Hambledon has an agreed emergency plan, prepared by the parish council, and linked to arrangements at both Waverley Borough and Surrey County Councils.

The parish has been assured that if snow is forecast Hambledon Road, from Lane End to Hydestile and beyond, will be gritted by Surrey County Council. This same stretch of road is also listed as a priority route for snow clearance.

Once again Peter Knight of Burgate Farm has agreed to use a plough blade provided by the county council, fitted to one of his tractors, to clear roads that will not be swept by SCC. These include Salt Lane, Vann Lane, Roundals Lane and Cricket Green.

Continue reading →

by

Superfast Broadband Update 2012

altFor those of you that completed the Superfast Broadband Questionaire, here is an update:

Superfast Broadband in Surrey – the latest position 


Surrey County Council is following a competitive dialogue procurement process to select a private sector company to extend the roll-out of broadband in Surrey to those areas that are not commercially viable for the private sector to invest alone. The aim is to ensure that homes and businesses can access superfast broadband and make use of the benefits it offers, no matter where they are located in the county. 

Final proposals were received from two bidders in June. These provided detail on issues such as technology, deployment, speeds and cost. The proposals were evaluated against a set of criteria, which took into account both cost and quality to find the best solution for Surrey. 

On 24 July 2012 Surrey County Council’s Cabinet considered the proposals and took the decision to award the contract to the preferred bidder. 

Next Steps 

The project is now in a ten day standstill period, as required by the Public Contracts Regulations (2006). 

The contract will be finalised with the preferred bidder and signed during August. 

At this point the County Council will be in a position to provide further details around this ground breaking, superfast broadband contract for Surrey. A joint press release shall be issued with the Supplier and a bulletin will be circulated to provide information. 

Surrey County Council will work with the Supplier to develop the deployment schedule. Information on where and when superfast broadband will be deployed will be available in the Autumn. 


Superfast Broadband Project Team 
Surrey County Council 

Webmaster’s comment:

Dont forget to register your interest for BT to extend their BT Infinity coverage to Hambledon.  If more residents expressed their interest in BT Infinity the logging of this demand may give BT a greater impetus to roll out towards Hambledon.  So please use their BT Infinity availability checker and confirm your interest so we can build a weight of demand. Just go here:  http://www.superfast-openreach.co.uk/where-and-when/

by

Threat To Hambledon 503 Bus – Have Your Say

 ImageThe 503 bus which connects Hambledon with Milford, Godalming and Guildford could be scrapped next year.

The twice weekly service, operated by Stagecoach, is subsidised by Surrey County Council. The council is looking to make financial savings and the 503 is one of several rural routes facing the axe.

The county council is currently reviewing its options and details can be found at www.surreycc.gov.uk/busreview If you want to find out more or make a comment on the proposals please visit this website.

You can also make your feelings known at Godalming Library between 10am and 1pm next Tuesday (December 6th) where SCC transport officers are available to discuss the issue.

In addition the parish council is meeting with SCC later on the same day.  It has made details of the proposals available in the village shop and is asking for users of the 503 to make their views known.

If you use the bus please tell the parish council how important it is to you.

As many regular passengers are elderly it is likely they will not read this website. So if you know of someone in Hambledon who is a user of the 503 please draw their attention to the form in the shop, or comment on their behalf.

SCC is considering replacing the bus with an “on-demand” Hoppa-style minibus. More details will appear on the website and in the January edition of the parish magazine.

In the meantime, please make sure your views known to the parish council as well as giving your opinion to Surrey County Council – in person or on-line.

by

Superfast Broadband – Survey

As part of his brief as Secretary of State for Media, Culture and Sport, Jeremy Hunt has launched a campaign to promote superfast broadband.  As our local MP, he is also working closely with Surrey County Council to ensure that, by 2015, everyone in South West Surrey will be able to access speeds of at least 2 Mbps and that 90 per cent of households and businesses will have access to superfast.  These will soon be necessities of every day life so, to ensure that Hambledon does not get left behind, it is important for all of us to register a demand now.

The best way of doing this is by completing the Surrey Strategic Partnership’s Superfast Broadband survey. The Parish Council has therefore arranged for everyone to receive a copy of the survey and hopes that all households and businesses in the village will complete and return it, either by e-mail or by post.  The responses will be used by Surrey County Council to support its conversations with industry and help secure funding for the project.  It is currently in discussions with five selected companies and aims to place a contract with one of them by next July.

Superfast Surrey Survey

by

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 →

by

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.

Continue reading →

by

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.

Continue reading →

by

Lorry stuck again – come on Surrey Highways!

ImageTuesday 2nd Feb:   Salt Lane was blocked again this morning by a lost 40 tonne HGV.    The driver, like most of the stuck lorries, had come from the A3 via Milford heading for Cranleigh.  He gets to the Hydestile crossroads and sees the signs stating “Unsuitable for HGVs” if turning North to Godalming…. so his natural, and not unreasonable, inclination is to go  another, unprohibitted way –  East up Salt Lane (or South into Hambledon) – both are near impassable, yet there are no signs indicating this.    300 yards up Salt Lane he wisely tried to turn around (with help) and travel back to the A3, and caused a log jam of traffic which was cleared by two residents marshalling the cars that were reluctant to back up.    

So the question is what can be done to avoid this?    The problem is the Highways Department signs.  At Hydestile it is far too late to telltrucks to turn around and return to Milford (there is no route for themto proceed down other than turn around). Currently the half-baked and confusing crossroads signs contradict each other.

 Ideally the signs need to be at a point early enough for them not to need toproceed any further, and where there is  a turnaround space.  I thinkthat is the junction of Station Road and Tuesley Lane, OR at the Milford Crossroads before they enter Station Road.  GPS is not entirelyblameless, but proper signs would probably over-ride any drivers thatblindly follow their GPS.

Can we lobby the highways department?

 

by

New ice and pothole hazards

ImageSevere weather conditions are continuing to create problems on Hambledon’s roads.

A large pothole has opened up in the middle of the road at Lane End. It is so deep that nearby residents have had to fill it with bricks to reduce the danger of it shredding tyres. In addition, surface water turning to ice makes the road extremely hazardous at this location. Please approach with caution.

The pothole has been reported to Surrey County Council by Hambledon Parish Council. However, the length of time it took to speak to an operator on the emergency number suggests that SCC has been inundated with similar reports from across the county. Although details of the Lane End pothole have been passed to the Highway Department, SCC could not say when the road will be repaired.

There are, of course, other potholes throughout the parish. And with temperatures remaining below freezing point great care should be taken on all the village’s roads.

Potholes and other highways issues can be reported to Surrey County Council here

by

Village debate following recent power loss and snow-blocked roads. What can be done?

ImageFollowing the recent heavy snowfall, which led to lengthy power cuts, Hambledon Parish Council has written to Southern Electric (Scottish and Southern Energy) requesting it gives serious consideration to replacing overhead with underground cables and, in the meantime, trims back branches beside powerlines on a more regular basis.

Many residents have expressed their concern about the electricty supply as well as the failure by Surrey County Council to grit or clear village roads, all of which were unpassable for several days by anything other than four-wheel drive vehicles.

Several residents have asked what measures could we take as a community to prevent such lengthy disruption in the future.

It has been suggested there should by a village-wide campaign to urge Southern Electric to install underground cables as a matter of urgency. It has also been proposed that we recruit local contractors, ground workers and farmers to use their equipment to clear roads on our behalf.

This, of course, raises issues of cost, practicality, insurance and liability.

The Parish Council, at its last meeting on January 12, 2010, resolved to consider establishing a village emergency plan and would like to hear the views of residents by promoting a debate on this website. What are your suggestions?

So what do you think? What were the problems and what could be done to minimise the disruption next time? Please post your comments here on the forum.