An update on Wednesday 12th February: Hambledon Parish Council has had some positive news about the road closure. Surrey County Council believe they have fixed the issue causing the water to pour down the road. SCC’s drainage team have been on site today and cleared a root that had grown into and blocked a drain. Thames Water now has until Friday to backfill the hole and make the road passable.

The advice in the Bernard Cribbins comedy hit song The Hole in the Ground was: “Don’t dig there, dig it elsewhere”.

In Hambledon, as fed-up residents will know, the holes in its roads are no laughing matter. As for where they are being dug, it is not just “there” but “elsewhere” as well.

Hambledon Road at Rock Hill has been blocked since January 29, when Thames Water arrived to fix a recurring water leak. The hole is still there, the road remains impassable, and no one has been on site for a week.

Since then, there have been closures, for different reasons, on Church Lane and Hambledon Road at Hydestile. New Road approaching Witley Station is due to be closed for four days from next Monday, again by Thames Water. All this follows many other closures this winter, leaving villagers fed up and frustrated.

The Cricket Club AGM will be taking place on Tuesday 25th February 2025 @ 8.00pm at the HCC Pavilion.

It’s a great opportunity to hear about developments for the season ahead, so please come along if you can.

A three bedroom property on the new Livery Close development has become available to rent. Applications are being accepted between Thursday 30th January – Sunday 2nd February. Applicants must be registered for housing with Waverley Borough Council and those with a connection to Hambledon are prioritised. Further details are available via English Rural.

Hambldeon Village Trust Trustees are delighted that Kevin Deanus, Surrey County Council Councillor for Waverley and Eastern Villages, has confirmed that we have been successful in a grant application for the new shop roof. A magnificent £20k has been allocated to our village project from the SCC Your Community Fund.

This has made a significant change to the fund-raising thermometer which now stands at approximately £75k. Work continues to finalise the tendering process.   

A very big thank you to Kevin Deanus and everyone who has donated so far. The shop is at the centre of our community and it will be splendid when it has a roof which is watertight and secure, whatever the weather.

Village residents joined with many others from across the Godalming, Busbridge and Hambledon Minster to say farewell to its rector, Rev Simon Taylor, as he and his family leave after almost 15 years.

At a packed service at Godalming Minster on Sunday (Jan 5^th), Simon spoke with great fondness of his time serving the local church community, while others spoke of his achievements and challenges. He was given a big round of applause, and cakes, coffees and sparkling wine were served. Among other pieces of music, the Minster Choir gave a rendition of Handel’s Zadok the Priest.

This winter, Hambledon has already experienced disruptive weather, and more is forecast.

Tomorrow (Saturday January 4th), a brief period of heavy snow is predicted for the late afternoon and evening, followed by heavy rain.

It is worth remembering that Hambledon Parish Council has an Emergency Plan in place in the event of severe disruption or health risk and details of this follow.

If you need help, other than that of the Emergency Services, please contact Stewart Payne, chair of the council and he and other volunteers will do their best to lend a hand where needed. Contact details are at the end of this article.

• Despite the problems snow can bring, it also creates beauty, as this photo of Church Lane taken in January 2010 shows.

Hambledon Parish Council has an Emergency Plan procedure in place in the event of harsh winter weather bringing disruption to the village.

However, there are many simple precautions villagers can take to make sure they can cope with cuts to power supplies and phone lines, a problem that has affected Hambledon in the recent past and usually caused by high winds or heavy snow.

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Back in the summer three organisations – two from the village and one Surrey wide – got together to agree how to manage donations for the Hambledon Shop Roof Appeal in the most financially beneficial way.  This article also appears in the December edition of the Parish Magazine and provides a summary. 

HVT + HCF + CFS reach MOU for HVS roof appeal, as Debbie Calverley, chair of HCF (and TLA expert!) explains

A public consultation on the the first draft of Surrey County Council’s Rights of Way Improvement Plan has been published. Surrey County Council would love to hear from you. Back in February 2024, Surrey County Council first asked for input to the plan. The plan helps shape the way local highway authorities identify how to make the rights of way network more useful to the public and gives a strategic approach to managing public access. Many residents took part in the initial survey which will have been used to inform this new plan.

As listed on the Rights of Way website the plan is required to:

• Refer to other relevant plans and strategies that may affect use of the network, including structure plans; local plans; healthy living; leisure; tourism; transport and community strategies
• Assess where the existing rights of way network is considered to be deficient and where it could be changed to better reflect current needs
• Assess the extent to which the rights of way network is accessible to blind and partially sighted people and those with mobility problems
• Indicate how any identified deficiencies could be remedied

The first draft of the plan can be found here. Surrey County Council have asked for feedback via a survey which is available until Sunday 9th February 2025, so there is plenty of time to consider it:

Rights of Way Improvement Plan Statutory Consultation – Surrey County Council – Citizen Space

More information can be found on the main website here.

After many years of campaigning, the whole of Hambledon village is now within an HGV exclusion zone. This means that a driver/owner of a lorry over 7.5 t weight is breaking the law if it enters the zone, unless on a local delivery or operating from a base within the zone.

Emergency and public services vehicles are exempted.

The ban replaces the previous advisory notification, a blue sign largely ignored that simply stated a road was unsuitable for HGVs. Now, all roads at the entrance of the zone have signs with a red diagonal line.

Hambledon resident Paul Osborne, Surrey County Councillor Kevin Deanus and Hambledon Parish Council pressed for a ban repeatedly over the past few years. The exclusion zone required careful consideration to ensure that, in banning HGVs from Hambledon’s narrow lanes, other nearby villages were not blighted. There also had to be a public consultation.

The result is one of the largest HGV exclusion zones in the country and covers not just Hambledon but all adjacent parishes. First time offenders will receive an official warning but repeat offenders can be fined or prosecuted.

Many in Hambledon were greatly saddened to hear of the death of one of the village’s most popular and respected residents, Norman Gravestock.

Norman, who was still very much involved in community activities until well into his nineties, died a few weeks ago and his family have asked for his funeral details to be made public.

The service will take place at St Peter’s Church at 11am on Monday 9th of December.

Norman will be remembered fondly, especially for his involvement with Oakhurst National Trust cottage and for his knowledge of all things Hambledon, brought to life with his presentations at the village hall. He remained active until the last, taking part in the weekly Bridge nights at the Merry Harriers until the week of his death.