Uncategorized

PC Meeting – 20th April

The PC holds a monthly meeting.  As a result of social distancing, legislation has been passed in order to allow local government meetings to happen virtually via video conferencing platforms as otherwise the PC would be unable to meet.  Residents will be aware that we are currently consulting on our draft neighbourhood plan.  The draft plan highlights three sites that the steering group are proposing for development.  Victoria Asset Management (VAM) have asked to make a presentation in response to the latest draft of the NHP.   The NHP consultation was due to end on 22nd April (we have now extended this by 2 weeks to run to 6th May) which is why VAM are presenting at the April PC meeting. Some parishioners have expressed concern that this presentation is being held at this time and not at a meeting where all interested members of the public are able physically to attend. The Parish Council appreciates these concerns. It does, however, feel that these proposals should be made public as soon as practicable, if only to ensure that parishioners, and in particular anyone who might be significantly affected by them (eg prospective purchasers of the new properties at Water Meadow Place), know of their existence.  The facilitation of the presentation implies neither support nor objection on the part of the Parish Council for the proposals, but it does provide an early opportunity for important questions to be raised and responses challenged.  Residents are welcome to attend the meeting as they would be under non social distancing rules.  Should you wish to attend the meeting please contact the clerk at elsteadpc.clerk@gmail who will share the meeting code and instructions.  Anyone unable to attend may submit their question to the clerk who will ask it on their behalf.  A list of questions and answers will be publicised after the meeting. The Parish Council would also be happy to receive any comments or representations subsequent to Monday 20th's meeting, which will be considered in the context of the review of the draft NHP. Residents should note that this an initial presentation (in response to the draft nhp) and the PC will point out to VAM that if they wish to pursue their proposals further we would expect them to arrange for a full public consultation process to be held in the village as soon as the Covid 19 restrictions permit. The PC has successfully held a few meetings via video conferencing including a planning meeting earlier in the week which was attended by a number of residents and the format worked well.  Zoom may be accessed via computer or mobile.  The PC does not monitor Facebook during the day so any queries  are best addressed directly to the clerk at elsteadpc.clerk@gmail.com who will then reply and post on facebook if necessary.  The agenda and VAM presentation can be found on the meetings page of the PC section of this website.

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18th April 2020
Coronavirus

Update from Voluntary Action SW Surrey

Dear Colleagues, Following the circulation of our weekly newsletter yesterday, some updates have been made to the article about Citizens Advice Waverley. Please see this information below and contact them for further details. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us. Best wishes, take care and have a lovely weekend. The team at VASWS. Coronavirus Crisis: Citizens Advice Waverley - Working Together We Can WinPlease see a message below from Citizens Advice Waverley: "Coronavirus has made an unprecedented impact on people’s lives, Yet, in these most challenging of times, the emergence of community support groups has been a shining light.In addition to the fantastic work that your group is doing, Citizens Advice Waverley is here to help people in your community - whoever they are and whatever their problem.How we help:If people in your community have been affected, our Advisers can provide advice about a range of issues: Employment Claiming benefits Paying your bills Housing problems Relationship breakdowns.In addition, our The South West Surrey Domestic Abuse Outreach Team is continuing to help during this period. Domestic Abuse is any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16-years-old or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality.Contact us at Citizens Advice WaverleyAlthough our offices are closed at the moment, your community can contact our team of more than 60 home-based Advisors:• Email – for a fast response, please complete our online form at: Citizens Advice Waverley email form - https://waverleycab.org.uk/enquiry-form/• Phone – if you need to speak with an Adviser, call our Adviceline: 0344 848 7969Our advice is FREE and INDEPENDENT.Contact our Domestic Abuse TeamThe South West Surrey Domestic Abuse Outreach Team is continuing to provide support during this period. Our Domestic Abuse Team includes qualified Independent Domestic Violence Advisers who provide practical advice and emotional support. We will always listen, support and believe. Call us on 01483 898884 (Mon-Fri 9-4pm) or email swr@swsda.org.ukOnline support:Your community can also access a huge amount of online self-help material:• Citizens Advice Waverley website - https://waverleycab.org.uk/coronavirus-crisis/• Citizens Advice Waverley Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/WaverleyCAB/Twitter - https://twitter.com/WaverleyCAB• National Citizens Advice information site: Coronavirus: What it Means for You - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/health/coronavirus-what-it-means-for-you/• Advice on the most popular topics relating to the impact of Coronavirus- https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/coronavirus-if-your-employer-has-told-you-not-to-work/o If your employer has told you not to work -https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/coronavirus-if-your-employer-has-told-you-not-to-work/o Check what benefits you can get - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/coronavirus-check-what-benefits-you-can-get/o If you can’t pay your bills -https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/if-you-cant-pay-your-bills-because-of-coronavirus/o If you’re self-employed -https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/coronavirus-if-youre-self-employed/My requestPlease can I ask you to spread the word to your community group - a social post or e-mail would be ideal. And if there is any way that we can help your community, do not hesitate to contact me personally at mailto:ceo@waverleycab.cabnet.org.ukThank you for your support.Kind regards and stay safe.Phil DaviesCEO at Citizens Advice Waverley Voluntary Action South West Surrey39 Castle Street, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 3UQ, GBvoluntaryactionsouthwestsurrey.interests.meRegistered number: 05841344Charity number: 1116293

0 Comments
18th April 2020
Parish Council

Letter from Elstead Parish Council to SCC re Bonfire Hill Drainage Issues

BONFIRE HILL DRAINAGE ISSUES – PLANNING APPLICATION WA/2020/0363 (BONFIRE HILL) 1 I refer to your correspondence with Waverley Borough Council (WBC) in connection with the above planning application. I should explain that I am Chairman of Elstead Parish Council, which has serious concerns about the adverse impact of this proposed development on flood management in the village. 2 In your latest letter you say SCC as the Lead Local Flood Authority has no objection to the application, provided an acceptable SUDS scheme is put in place. I am not sure how familiar you are with the Bonfire Hill site, but I should explain that it is an area of elevated land which dominates the centre of the village of Elstead. It contains numerous springs and many of the names of the surrounding roads (Springfield, Springhill, Springhaven) reflect this characteristic of the land. In wet weather, the springs flow mainly to the north, north-west, and north-east towards the lower lying centre of the village, depositing large amounts of surface water into the quite inadequate ordinary water courses adjacent to the highways. 3 During recent flood events (notably this winter, in 2013/4 and in 2001) the amounts of water coming off Bonfire Hill have led to serious flooding of gardens, roads and on occasion dwellings in the village, in spite of action taken by residents to dispose of the excess. Your colleagues in SCC in highways and in flood control (Steve Lindsey Clark and Ian Fowler) will be very familiar with the issue. One neighbour has reported that in February this year he had to deploy pumps to remove floodwater at the rate of at least 5.6 litres/sec coming from just one of the many springs on Bonfire Hill, over a period of several days. 4 The proposed development would involve the construction of 30 dwellings around the lower slopes to the north, north-west and north-east of the site (ie cutting across the direction of flow of most of the springs). The drainage survey commissioned by the developer has determined that the surface water arising from the land cannot be disposed of using infiltration techniques, so the proposal is that this water (which will inevitably increase as a result of the construction of impermeable surfaces arising from the development) should be released into the foul drainage at a rate not exceeding 4 litres/sec. This is the maximum flow which Thames Water, the foul drainage authority, has agreed to accept. 5 It seems from the documents submitted by the developer and your own comments that no surveys have been carried out of the specific hydrology of the site. The calculations provided by the developer suggest that the amount of surface water to be disposed of is based simply on the area of land on the development site. In fact, the topography of the site and the adjacent land suggests that much of the water coming off the hill arises from the even more elevated land to the south, where the land continues to…

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16th April 2020
Coronavirus / Roadworks / Travel

Moat Car Park – Closed

Due to lots of non essential vistors to the MOAT CAR PARK on THURSLEY ROAD, making it difficult for police to enforce current regulations, the car park, in conjunction with NATURAL ENGLAND will be closed from tomorrow.Please DO NOT travel in your vehicle to the car park or use the THURSLEY ROAD to park on.

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11th April 2020
Uncategorized

St James Church – online services & new website

The Parishes Churches of Elstead, Thursley, Shackleford and Peper Harow have a new website. Check it out at https://parishesofetsph.org.uk/ We also have a YouTube channel for our Sunday Serviceshttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4f9VwGYIzNyd90CDjtF8eQ/ Facebook page coming soon!

0 Comments
9th April 2020
Parish Council

Bonfire Hill Application

Residents might already be aware of the planning application for Bonfire Hill that is currently live on the Waverley Borough Council planning website.  Residents are welcome to submit their comments on this application - please copy and paste the following link where you will find the application http://planning360.waverley.gov.uk/planning/search-applications#VIEW?RefType=GFPlanning&KeyNo=422598&KeyText=Subject.  A copy of the Parish Council’s response may be found listed in the documents part of the application, and below.  A letter from Elstead Parish Council to Surrey County Council regarding drainage issues can be found here - https://elsteadvillage.co.uk/parish-council/letter-from-elstead-parish-council-re-bonfire-hill-drainage-issues/ Anyone wishing to submit their comments is reminded to ensure that they do it before 17th April 2020. BONFIRE HILL – PC RESPONSE TO PLANNING APPLICATION WA/2020/0363 1 Elstead parish Council strongly objects to this application for 30 dwellings on land at Bonfire Hill, Elstead. 2 The application site is an area of elevated land dominating the centre of Elstead village. It is outside the Settlement Area, within the Metropolitan Green Belt and within the Surrey Hills AONB. 3 The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes it clear that housing development within the Green Belt is generally inappropriate, except in very special circumstances. 4 The WBC Local Plan Part 1 (LPP1) requirement for the Elstead and Weyburn Neighbourhood Plan (NHP) area is to provide land for a minimum of 160 new dwellings over the LPP1 period (2013-32). This particular site was put forward as one of those to be considered in the process of determining which sites within the NHP area would be most appropriate for housing development. In all, 9 sites were assessed by the NHP team’s professional advisers, Aecom. The Bonfire Hill site was the only one of the 9 sites which was deemed to be in the ‘red’ category (ie entirely unsuitable for development), principally on account of its adverse landscape impact. Aecom stated that the site was: ‘Highly visible from surrounding properties the north, east and west and would be highly visible from the wider AONB/AGLV due to its location on a plateau’. 5 The latest draft of the Elstead and Weyburn NHP was published for consultation on 11 March 2020 (this draft supersedes the earlier draft published in 2018, prior to the release of the latest version of the NPPF). The new draft NHP identifies 3 sites within the NHP area which would more than meet the outstanding requirement for new dwellings (63 in all, taking account of dwellings already built and outstanding planning consents). These do not include this application site. 6 The NHP draft (para 5.18) also states: ‘Bonfire Hill is a locally important green space in terms of landscape character, historical value and recreational value. Any development on Bonfire Hill will not be supported’. This provision was included to reflect the views of local residents on their response to the NHP ‘Big Survey’ of 2015, which indicated that large numbers of parishioners wanted to see Bonfire Hill protected and definitely not developed. 7 Further, Bonfire Hill, in its entirety, is designated in the NHP draft as Local…

0 Comments
9th April 2020
Parish Council

No dumping at either phone box please

Following a recent post, the Parish Council kindly asks that residents do not place any unwanted childrens' items (or other) in the telephone box at the end of Beacon View Road (or Milford Road). Whilst this idea comes from a good place and is well intentioned unfortunately this will only encourage fly tipping. The telephone box must be left for its purposes that of enabling emergency phone calls. If a resident would like to turn the phone box into a community project the Parish Council will be very pleased to hear from you. Please contact the Parish Council via the clerk: elsteadpc.clerk@gmail.com with your idea and details on how it will be managed. Phone boxes can be adopted for £1. Please can anyone who has placed any items in the phone box kindly remove them by the end of the day - we thank you for your understanding.

0 Comments
9th April 2020
Coronavirus

ELSTEAD FOOD BANK

Take what you need. Donate if you can. BRITISH LEGION BARN, THURSLEY ROAD, ELSTEAD Open on Thursday at 10.00am-11.30am. Queue outside the entrance and keep well apart. Leave through the kitchen. Donations: Food donations can be left at the Spar or at the British Legion any day 9.0 am to 6.0 pm. Cash donations to: The Reverend Hannah Moore 01252 705941 rector@stjameschurchelstead.com If you cannot come to the Food Bank and need help call EER on 01252 411 745

0 Comments
8th April 2020
Coronavirus

Statement regarding COVID-19 from South West Surrey Domestic Abuse Outreach Team

www.swsda.org.uk Whilst individuals, families and the country as a whole face increasingly difficult and uncertain times during the COVID-19 pandemic, it becomes even more important that we work together to ensure that those who may be vulnerable or at risk get the vital support they need. Although inconvenient for many, the current government measures should increase our safety, but for survivors of domestic abuse and their children home can be a place of fear and often danger. We know that the risk to survivors and their children will increase as ‘social distancing’, self-isolation and the financial impact of the pandemic becomes a reality. Perpetrators often attempt to isolate their partners from family, friends, work and community and the pandemic provides them with an increased ability to do so. We know each year at Christmas survivors are more likely to experience incidents of abuse as families are forced together and perpetrators consume alcohol more frequently providing them with further excuses for why abuse has occurred. Similarly, during economic instability and previous recessions, rates of domestic abuse have increased. We are therefore facing a complex and scary picture. We are also concerned that survivors’ ability to seek support from services like ours will become more difficult as perpetrators spend more time at home. Survivors have shown us their incredible abilities to risk manage and safety plan in crisis situations, so we have over the years learnt from the ‘experts’. In this time of crisis we would like to reassure survivors, other professionals and our communities that we are still here. In order to adhere to the government guidelines around ‘social distancing’ and ensure our workforce can continue to safely deliver core services, we have of course had to take certain steps. With immediate effect we have had to postpone all face to face work including group work. Until further notice we will provide Outreach support via telephone and we are working with partners in the voluntary and statutory sector to ensure the needs of survivors and children are considered and met. We need our communities more than ever to help us continue to provide life-saving support for survivors and children, so please consider doing the following; Please listen out for your neighbours and call for help if you think someone is at risk. If safe to do so, please reach out to anyone you believe is in an abusive relationship and encourage them to contact us for advice and support, in particular around safety planning during these times. If it is not safe for the survivors themselves to contact us then we are always willing to support friends, family and any professional, so they can safely pass information on. Above all be kind, survivors and children more than ever need to know that when they are ready you are there for them and that there is support available. You can ring our helpline on 01483 898884 Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm Your call will be answered by a trained Domestic Abuse…

0 Comments
8th April 2020
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