Frankie's Fish & Chip Shop opened just before Christmas. Their opening hours this week are: Tuesday 29th December - 5pm - 8:30pm Wednesday 30th December - 5pm - 8:30pm New Year's Eve - 5pm - 8:30pm New Year's Day - Closed Saturday 2nd January - Open as usual
As we come to the end of 2020, the Preserve Our Reserve Advisory Committee would like to provide an update to all our supporters with the progress that has been made since we launched the fund at the beginning of June, shortly after the devastating fire that did so much damage. We have been working closely with Natural England (NE) and we are all extremely grateful for the huge amount of community support that we have received for the Thursley National Nature Reserve (NNR). We have all been overwhelmed by the large amount of money donated to the Preserve Our Reserve fund – now standing at over £50,000 - and we are committed to working with all our stakeholdersto ensure that the fund is used carefully for the purposes for which it was donated. We are also looking at ways of adding to the fund. In September, we submitted a detailed application to Waverley for Community Infrastructure Levy funds. We believe that we put forward a very strong case and indeed Waverley confirmed in advance of our submission that our application would certainly appear to ‘tick all the boxes’. We were therefore very disappointed when the deadline for applications was extended until the end of January, therefore delaying any grants being made, but we remain hopeful that we may receive additional funds from Waverley in the Spring. Since the fire, you will have noticed that NE have undertaken significant ‘recovery’ works, including tree safety, improving the fire-break network, and the removal of the damaged boardwalk. These works have incurred significant, unbudgeted costs for NE, but no ‘Preserve Our Reserve’ funds were used for any of these works. NE have not yet come forward with a design for a replacement boardwalk/trail. Whilst we are anxious to move things forward, we do need to look at ideas that provide a long-term solution for the NNR. Replacing like for like may not necessarily be the best solution and we must avoid the temptation to rush into trying to find a ‘quick fix’. NE have to consider a broad range of issues, including the impact on local habitats, future fire risk on the NNR and how this might influence the material/construction type of the boardwalk. And we all also consider it a priority that any design needs to provide safe disabled access. Realistically, it is very unlikely that there will be a replacement boardwalk/dragonfly trail in place before next Spring, and completion of the project may take considerably longer than that. We did raise with NE the idea of making some immediate funding available to them if that would have enabled at least some of the boardwalk to be replaced over the winter, but the cost of even limited rebuilding would have been significant, and the inevitable delays caused by an appropriate tendering and procurement process, together with planning issues, would have made this impractical. In the interim, NE’s priority is to ensure the safety of visitors but of course it is impossible to ‘secure’ the route of the boardwalk from access.…
If you see an MoD Sign closing a track, please do not use it. During Military Training, public access is limited to the Bridleways which are Public Rights of Way.
Pipe cleaning to protect drinking water quality in the Elstead area. SE Water are carrying out maintenance, known as flushing, in the postcode sector GU8 6 to keep tap water running crystal clear.This involves pushing water through the pipes to draw out naturally occurring deposits, such as iron or manganese.Work begins on Monday 27 July and will last for approximately one week.See below for details of the roads affected by flushing or click the link to find out more. Farnham Road, Avenue Row, Broomfield, Hazelwood, Star Cottages, Lower Ham Lane, Orchard Close, Hookley Lane, Silver Birches Way, Hookley Close, The Croft, Springhill, Bankside Close, Hill Crest, Burford Lodge, Milford Road, Thursley Road, Church View Close, West Hill Close, West Hill, Westbrook Hill, Copse Edge, Moors Lane, Ash Lane, Peat Common, Beacon View Road, Red House Lane, Staceys Meadowhttps://corporate.southeastwater.co.uk/flushing?utm_source=All+contacts+27%2F02%2F18&utm_campaign=69539c5395-Flushing+stakeholder+email_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7ba035fd27-69539c5395-59684111
MESSAGE FROM WBC - A mobile coronavirus testing facility is being established in The Wharf car park, Woolsack Way, Godalming, on Saturday 18 July, Sunday 19 July and Monday 20 July. Testing is available to all those with COVID-19 symptoms, but must be pre-booked online. Booking is open from 5pm the evening before and on the day.· Residents should book on the national testing portal: www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-getting-tested· Key workers should book on the government portal: https://www.gov.uk/apply-coronavirus-test-essential-workers People must have an appointment or will be turned away. Children under the age of 5 can be tested but there will need to be 2 parents or guardians in the vehicle – one driver plus one adult in the back to administer the test, as people are not allowed to leave their vehicle once on site. If only one parent is present, they should park away from the test centre and enter on foot, where they will be taken to a different area for testing. Those without transport can walk into the testing centre, but the same rules apply on having a pre-booked appointment.
Last Sunday, military training was interrupted by many walkers and riders ignoring MoD signs and instructions from troops. Marked Bridleways are public rights of way, but Hankley Common is primarily a military training area and this takes priority over public access. Troops in training use gunfire & pyrotechnics. For your own personal safety and to avoid interrupting training, please comply with signs and instructions from troops. Only three or four intense training days are announced by notice. On those days please explore other local Commons, such as Elstead, Ockley, Thursley, Royal, Crooksbury, Britty, Puttenham, Shackleford, Rodborough, Witley, Mare Hill, Frensham or Hindhead.
Fire crews stand down after 470 acres of rare heath destroyed at Thursley Thursday, 4 June 2020 - Emergency Services by Daniel Gee - Head of Content@danielgeeheralddaniel.gee@farnhamherald.com Almost half of the 1,100-acre Thursley Common, including much of the Thursley National Nature Reserve, has been destroyed (Photo: Lucy Brooks) Printed and digital download photos available Many sites are currently extremely dry, meaning wildfires such as this incident can easily occur and spread THE CAUSE of the blaze that ripped through more than 470 acres of rare, protected heathland at Thursley Common this week – depriving endangered species such as the Dartford Warbler their habitat, and threatening homes in Thursley and Elstead – is still unknown. But the message from the countless villagers, farmers, police and fire crews who spent all hours tackling the wildfire and helping those affected by the blaze since Saturday afternoon is clear and universal: take your barbecues, camp fires and cigarette butts as far away from our bone-dry heathland as possible. Sadly, it’s a message that still doesn’t seem to be getting through, with a group of teens spotted using a disposable barbecue to light a fire at nearby Hankley Common on Tuesday, threatening a second blaze in quick succession. Fire crews have, as of Friday, now left the site – their dampening of the charred heath aided by a short shower of rain on Thursday. But at the height of the blaze over the weekend around 40 firefighters, working on a rotational basis, were tasked with bringing the Thursley fire under control – with the help of four Unimog fire appliances, four Land Rover wildfire units, one high-volume pump, water carriers and command support personnel. This tells only half the story, however, as a huge community effort also mobilised on Saturday, with local farmers joining the fire-fighting efforts (see this week’s print edition) and Thursley and Elstead parish councils quickly establishing rest centres in anticipation of mass evacuations. In the end, these were thankfully not required – nor was Waverley Borough Council’s fall-back rest centre in Godalming – as the blaze was brought under control before reaching homes. Surrey assistant chief fire officer Kasey Beal said: “Our firefighters have done a tremendous job in limiting the fire spread to the commons area, and in preventing the fire from further threatening Thursley village. While the cause of the fire is not yet known, we urge everyone to refrain from using disposable barbecues, having camp fires, and to ensure smoking materials are fully extinguished while enjoying the outdoors.” Pat Murphy, chairman of Elstead Parish Council, added the common was home to numerous rare and protected species of birds, reptiles, plants and insects, and it would take “many years” to get back to its past splendour. “The reserve has been a wonderful place to escape to during the period of enforced lockdown and it is heartbreaking to see the huge areas of devastation,” he said. Mr Murphy gave thanks to the emergency crews who “worked tirelessly in extremely challenging circumstances”. He added: “Special appreciation…
Following the devastating fire at the weekend Elstead and Thursley Parish Councils are now able to share with you details of our joint initiative the 'Preserve Our Reserve' campaign. The following link will give individuals more details and will streamline a way for supporters to donate money and/or volunteer time.This is still early days and we will be working closely with James Giles to see how best to use any donations and volunteers. https://elsteadvillage.co.uk/por-campaign-launch/ The fundraising page is here - https://www.gofundme.com/f/preserve-our-reserve-thursley-nnr-support-fund We thank you for your generous support.
