Tag Archives: Haslemere

Statement: Retiring as Haslemere’s Surrey County Councillor

As Haslemere’s retiring first Independent Surrey County Councillor, I am delighted to have been asked to share some perspectives on representing the town at County Hall. 

My message to the next County Councillor is that a community mindset trumps any political affiliation.  

My own experience shows that being free from the constraints of party politics has enabled me to challenge and speak up for the best interests of our community. 

Having as my only motivation the desire to serve the town has enabled me to bring together positive and collaborative partnerships in projects and initiatives that serve our town.  

I am an accidental politician, drawn to stand for the first time in 2013 having been so appalled as I witnessed Surrey County Council (SCC) planning to install parking meters throughout the town. 

Revenues from the parking meters were estimated to run into hundreds of thousands of pounds annually, with no clear benefit to the town and obviously negative impacts on local people and businesses.  

I was appalled that such a radical and negative change to our town could be ushered in by the back door with minimal public engagement, so I decided to challenge the closed shop and back room deals of the then one-party politics in Haslemere. 

They were exciting times – some may recall Haslemere’s second street demonstration since 1912, when hundreds of residents marched through the town to protest against the parking meters in support of our local traders and independent businesses. 

The event that sealed my decision to fight for the community was a Surrey and Waverley Local Area Committee meeting in Witley Village hall where local councillors were going to approve the parking meters in the town. 

Posters and banners were forbidden so we wore yellow t-shirts printed with the slogan “Haslemere demands a proper process and consultation”.

I had in my possession copies of letters from the clergy in Haslemere objecting to the installation of parking meters around churches.  

I was shocked to hear the committee chair state that there were no objections to the proposals, so I stood up twice and challenged this.  

Much to the amazement of the crowd, in response to my request that objections from the churches be properly considered, the Chair called for a security guard to physically remove me from the meeting and I was escorted out the building. In today’s world of zoom meetings, I am sure this would have gone viral, Handforth-esque! 

Following the meeting, a letter was sent to the Leader of SCC, setting out the case for a judicial review due to the total failure by SCC our then County Councillor to listen to the community… the meter plans were dropped. 

So shocked at what I had witnessed, I decided at the very last minute to stand for election as the first Independent for Haslemere.  

I did not expect to win but wanted to fire a shot across the bows of the tribal politics, to demand that Haslemere’s electorate deserved better.  Stunned, I won by the narrowest of margins, just 20 votes.

Much of my first term was spent challenging the established ways of local politics and being innovative including using social media (@HaslemereFirst). 

Although I will have been seen at first as an irritation to the party-based groups in the town, at Waverley as well as at County Hall – evidenced by fellow councillors often coughing comically and rudely rolling their eyes when I spoke – my desire to create a mindset of community-focused and transparent representation for the town resonated with local residents. 

My majority in 2019 increased from 20 to 1500, more than all the votes cast for the other party-political candidates put together.  This mandate has given me greater confidence to speak out for the town and to push back when decisions are not in the town’s best interests or do not faithfully represent the wishes of local residents.

I am proud to have called for public scrutiny of many issues, including challenging: councillors who vote against the wishes of their constituents on protecting our green spaces, cuts to the fire service in our area, lack of adequate budgets for mental health provision in Surrey and proposals to saddle the town with massive debts for an unnecessary multistorey car park. 

I have not been afraid to stand up for, and support residents and community groups, for example, where I played a lead role in the successful campaign to save the Alzheimer’s Centre, now The Hunter Centre and successfully lobbied SCC to enable the outstanding Stepping Stones school to expand into Undershaw in Hindhead. 

Throughout my term of office, I have consistently spoken up on the key issue of climate change and sustainability.   As a member of the SCC Climate Change working party developing the recent Climate Change Strategy, and on the Highways and Environment committee, I continually pressed for rigorous policy making to reduce carbon emissions. More locally, as a founder member of Haslemere Vision, the Neighbourhood Plan and as a member of the Town Council Neighbourhood Plan working party, I have supported the clear priorities of the community to protect the precious green countryside, rich in biodiversity that surrounds the town.  

I have also supported Shottermill Infant school’s innovative green waste scheme – funding hot bins to compost school lunch waste instead of it being thrown out for landfill won an SCC award – and was a founding member of Haslemere South Residents Association.

My efforts have also secured funding for critical road safety and improvement projects across Haslemere and Grayswood including building a safe network for pedestrians and cyclists across town and major road resurfacing under SCC’s Project Horizon. . A key priority has been to improve Haslemere for walking and cycling, and gradually positive steps are being taken through bringing together Surrey Highways and our local community Active Travel group

I have thoroughly enjoyed establishing and Chairing groups such as the Surrey Hills to South Downs Community Rail Partnership – this extended the local partnership to link Haslemere with other stations on the line to promote Haslemere as a gateway to the South Downs, Surrey Hills and National Trust countryside – and liaising closely with the community to make sure I distributed every penny of my members allocation funds to support the activities of a wide range of local groups.

The list could go on, but perhaps the key point about my tenure as County Councillor is that, as we emerge from Covid and look forward to a brighter future, the principles of openness, transparency and the independent mindset that is not constrained by any political party is the most effective way for Haslemere’s voice to be heard and the most effective way to make differences for the town that matter.

My challenge is for the next County Councillor to leave their party politics behind, to encourage the post-pandemic spirit of the community working together and simply put Haslemere first.  

I look forward to continue serving Haslemere as an Independent Town Councillor for the Haslemere South ward.

(An abridged account appeared here in the Haslemere Herald last week.)

Surrey Heartlands Covid Partner Newsletter

From: COMMS (NHS SURREY HEARTLANDS CCG) <syheartlandsccg.comms@nhs.net>
Sent: 10 March 2021 17:34
Subject: Surrey Heartlands Covid-19 Vaccination Programme Partner Update 10th March 2021

  Partner update 10th March 2021  
 
Welcome to our regular Covid-19 vaccination update.  This short update will be published and circulated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, in addition to our weekly vaccination newsletter.  If you wish to subscribe/unsubscribe please email us at:  syheartlandsccg.comms@nhs.net   		 
  Large-scale vaccination service to move from Epsom Downs Racecourse to Sandown Park

From 17th May, our large vaccination service at Epsom Downs Racecourse – which people book via the National Booking system – will be transferring to Sandown Park Racecourse.  As the country moves out of lockdown restrictions and plans to phase the return of horse racing events at Epsom Downs emerge, we need to relocate the vaccination centre from Epsom Downs to Sandown Park.   Vaccination appointments for those eligible will continue at Epsom Racecourse until 15th May.  From 17th May all appointments will take place at Sandown Park. Once invited people should continue to book their appointment for the vaccination centre though the National Booking system. We expect the move to Sandown Park to be made without disruption and are grateful to the Jockey Club for their commitment to continue supporting the vaccination programme in Surrey. Local people booking appointments now may receive their first dose at Epsom Racecourse and second dose at Sandown Park. Details on appointment bookings can be found on our FAQS.   The site at Epsom also accommodates a Local Vaccination Service which is managed by local GPs. This service will also re-locate within the same timeframe and it is expected to remain within the local Epsom area.    

National Booking system trialling text invitations for Covid-19 jab

Yesterday NHS England announced that the NHS national team will now start texting people inviting them to book their Covid-19 jab, making it quicker and easier to get an appointment.  Previously all invitations via the National Booking system were made via letter.  Nationally, almost 400,000 people aged 55 and over and 40,000 unpaid carers who are now eligible for the vaccination will receive an invitation by text as well as by letter.   Similar to text messages which are already sent out by many local GP-led vaccination services, the message will include a web link for those eligible to click and reserve an appointment at the large-scale vaccination centres of pharmacies.  The service will also send text reminders 2-3 weeks after the original alert to encourage people to make their appointment if they haven’t already.  Texts will arrive in advance of the standard letter, meaning if the trial is successful the solution could enable the NHS to react faster to changing vaccine supplies and fill appointments quickly.  This will help increase uptake of the jab, particularly as the NHS moves on to younger age groups.  

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) 		 
  You can find a comprehensive set of FAQs on the local programme on our website here.   
I have had my first vaccination. 
Do I still have to wear a face covering when shopping and can I hug my grandchildren?
Having the first vaccination jab does not guarantee we cannot catch coronavirus but it should reduce how seriously we are affected by the virus if we catch it. This means that even after you have had your first vaccination you could still catch and spread coronavirus to your family and the people you come into contact with. It is therefore really important that you continue to follow current guidance to stay at home as much as possible, continue with social distancing, wear a face covering and regularly wash your hands.   		 
     
  Useful links ·       FAQs ·       NHS.UK Covid-19 vaccine ·       GOV.UK Covid-19 vaccination programme ·       Data release ·       Information on priority groups  
  ———————————————————————————————————————————— Surrey Heartlands Communications Team, 10th March 2021  
   

Surrey Highways – Severe Weather response

Sharing a severe weather response that has been issued to all Surrey County Council Councillors.

Dear Councillors,

As you may have seen already we are expecting some severe weather later today and tomorrow.  Both days will bring a scattering of heavy showers, accompanied by strong winds  (around 50-60mph) in places. 

With the wet weather and saturated ground conditions we might expect to see some localised short term flooding and a number of trees to fall.  This is likely to cause some disruption to travel. 

To mitigate the potential impact on our network we have doubled our resources across the Immediate Response Service, including general crews and well as tree surgery and gully crews. 

If you need to report a highways emergency please use the emergency number 0300 200 1003.

The report it online functions are still available for non-emergencies.

In terms of flooding specifically;

  • If there is a threat to life – call 999
  • If there is flooding across the entire road or pavement – call Surrey CC (Highways) – 0300 200 1003
  • If sewers and foul water are involved – call Thames Water – 0800 316 9800
  • If a main river watercourse is involved – call the Environment Agency – 0345 988 1188
  • If your enquiry is not urgent, please contact our team via flooding.enquiries@surreycc.gov.uk.

Emergency utility works on Wey Hill, Haslemere

From: Surrey Streetworks Team
Sent: 10 March 2021 12:51
To: Nikki Barton <Nikki.Barton@surreycc.gov.uk>
Subject: Emergency utility works on Wey Hill, Haslemere

Dear Councillor,

For your information can I advise you of emergency works being carried out on Wey Hill, Haslemere (Outside property number 22).

SGN need to repair a gas escape. The traffic management that is placed is Two-Way Signals and the estimated end date is the 12/03/2021.

We have requested manual control between 06:30-09:30 & 16:00-18:30 to minimise disruption as much as possible.

I hope you find this information useful.

Kind Regards,

Network Coordinator – Waverley

Streetworks Team

Network and Asset Management Group Surrey Highways

Public Space Protection Order in respect of Anti-Social Behaviour

Proposals are being developed for a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) under the provisions of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to apply within the Godalming Town Council area and within the Borough of Waverley.

The consultation period runs from 1 March until 2 Apriland any feedback would be welcomed to ASBPSPO@waverley.gov.uk . Further information is available on the Council’s web site at https://www.waverley.gov.uk/asbpspo

Woolmer Hill Sports Petition, Haslemere

Residents have been contacting me concerned about a petition circulating that suggests that Waverley Borough Council will not be upgrading the Woolmer Hill sports pitches and pavilion. 

This is misleading and factually incorrect. Mayor John Robini has shared the following statement to Haslemere town councillors from WBC Cllr Mark Merryweather,  Portfolio holder for Finance, Assets and Commercial Services.  He wrote:

The Council has not said or done anything that could reasonably be interpreted as a decline in its support for the Woolmer Hill facility (which it owns) or its commitment to the projects and proposals (from WBC and WHSA) to upgrade both the pavilion and the pitches. Quite the opposite in fact: in adapting to Covid and the Government’s inadequate financial response to it, our “revenue” funding sources have been exhausted and so we have pivoted to finding alternative funding to that portion of the overall projects’ cost that has been lost through no fault of our own. The remainder is unaffected.

It would be highly regrettable if any confusion were to be created (even unintentionally) between the Council’s ambition to invest in the facility and how that investment is funded.

The following is a brief update on where we are.

PAVILLION

There are 3 Pavillion project blocks underway:

1. “Main” Works. This covers (i) Feasibility, designs and planning; (ii) the Cadet build works comprising the ground floor extension and remodelling; (iii) the main WHSA build works for the lift, stairs and small front terrace, and (iv) the build stage project costs. Estimated cost: c£0.5m, and funding:

  • Up to the 2017/18 budget, the £0.5m estimated cost was to be funded 100% from a £1m Wey Hill project “enabling” budget. However, in 2017/18 that funding was not only cut by £250k but also made conditional on progress of the Wey Hill project.
  • No attempt, let alone progress, was made to secure alternative funding to replace that £250k cut until 2019/20. Alternative sources have been identified and are being progressed sufficient to fund if successful.

2. “Upgrade” Works. This comprises works by WBC on (i) energy efficiency in the plant room, LED lighting and insulation, and (ii) repair or even replacement of the roof. Estimated cost: c£95k / £130k

  • No attempt was made to secure funding prior to the 2020/21 budget, when we included a £70k General Fund revenue contribution as part of a package including outside sources. However, that £70k contribution was, reluctantly, one of the 14 contributions that had to be reviewed in the 2020/21 Covid Contingency Revised Budget which the Council passed 49:1:0.
  • Part of the contingency review included prospects for alternative funding, and other sources have been identified sufficient to fund if successful.

3. “Grant” Works. These comprise WHSA projects, supported by WBC, that fall into 2 main areas (i) extended front terrace and second stair; remodelled first floor, and rear balcony, and (ii) side terrace and refurbishment of changing rooms. Regardless of the cost of these proposals, it has always been intended by both WHSA and WBC that they will be wholly funded from external grants to be procured by WHSA (from, for example, Sport England and the London Marathon). WBC have and will continue to support that.

PITCHES

WHSA has ambitions to improve the paying pitches at the facility. As with the Pavillion “Grant” Works, the costs will be wholly funded from grants to be procured by WHSA.

For completeness I should add that:

  • WHSA requested a funding update directly and privately from officers even before the Budget was considered by Council in February, but nevertheless were provided with an appropriate response that communicated the uncertainty of the funding environment; and Liz <Townsend> and I have also recently received representations from WHSA which we’ve passed to officers for assessment and cross matching with previous project & financial data.

Haslemere Vaccination Update

Vaccinations started this morning at St Christopher’s Church. All is running smoothly. I’m liaising with Surrey County Council and Waverley Borough Council to ensure there is sufficient parking for NHS staff and for those being vaccinated who need to park close to the church.

Dedicated parking for NHS staff has been set aside in the Wey Hill Fairground carpark. The car park is busy with workers from the nearby construction site so, more spaces will be found in Weydown Road/Fairground short stay if needed. 

Please note, the Covid testing centre has been moved from Weydown Road car park to Godalming tomorrow, Fri Feb 26- Sat Feb 27th to make space.

I have agreed with the NHS team that from March 8th when schools re-open. vaccinations will start later-at 9.20am until 5pm- to reduce morning traffic congestion around St Christopher’s Green/Wey Hill as much as possible. 

The plan is for 200 vaccines/day at St Christopher’s, with a rolling program of vaccinations 3 days/week to deliver 200,000 Covid vaccines to cohort 6 over the next few weeks.

Anyone that received first Pfizer jab in December will have their 2nd jab at GLive where the space and facilities are better suited to the Pfizer health requirements. St Christopher’s in Haslemere will only be giving AstraZeneca jabs.

Officer reply regarding delays caused by temporary lights

I have had many requests to address the delay at the temporary lights at Tesco by Lion Green.

Here is an officer reply received today:

Sent: 12 February 2021 13:22
To: Nikki Barton <Nikki.Barton@surreycc.gov.uk>
Subject: Surrey Highways Reference: 1794388 – LION GREEN, HASLEMERE Dear Cllr Nikki Barton,

Thank you for your recent enquiry which has been logged as follows:

Reference number: 1794388
Location: LION GREEN, HASLEMERE
Details: Traffic Operations – Delays

We have asked our contractors to run the portable traffic signals on Manual Control for busy periods. Unfortunately portable signals can never be as “intelligent” or efficient as permanent signals and some delays are unavoidable.

We have also requested for the stretch of parking bays outside the party shop and Kelway Law to be suspended. This should allow traffic coming down the hill to be able to drive through the parking bays to improve traffic flow and allow larger vehicles to proceed through the works more easily. This is being done from Monday. This should help to alleviate congestion. Please pass on our apologies for any disruption to customers and residents. Thank you.

Once again thank you for contacting us. If you have any further queries or require additional information you may find the following “frequently asked questions” page on our website useful: http://travel.surreycc.gov.uk/faq.aspx

Kind regards


Traffic Operations Team
Surrey Highways

__________________________________________________________________________
The reply was in response to my message below to the team regarding the lights:

Traffic signals team: TESCO lights malfunctioning, Haslemere – The traffic lights at Tesco, Haslemere are malfunctioning- with lights sticking on green/red- with over 20 minute waits to exit the Tesco store. This is leading to conflict between drivers.

Please could this issue be addressed as soon as possible- please let me know when the issue will be resolved.



Many thanks

Cllr Nikki Barton

Mobile Coronavirus Testing – Haslemere

Dear Councillors and Clerks, 

A mobile Coronavirus testing facility is being established in Weydown Road Car Park, Haslemere, from Friday 12 February to Sunday 14 February.  

Testing is available to all those with COVID-19 symptoms, but must be pre-booked online. Booking for this site is open from 5pm the evening before and on the day. 

Residents should book on the national testing portal: visiting www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or call the NHS on 119. 

Those without an appointment will be turned away. 

You can walk into the testing centre, but will still need a pre-booked appointment. 

Please feel free to share with your networks. 

Kind regards,

Communications and Engagement Officer

Waverley Borough Council

Surrey County Council Highways Winter update for Friday 5 February through to Monday 8 February.

Continued rain over the next two days, this combined with lowered temperatures may cause ice and a skid risk.   Looking further ahead there is a chance of snow and dropping temperatures causing further problems on Surreys road.  Surrey Highways are working hard to keep the roads clear, safe and Surrey moving.

Snow

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for Surrey across the weekend – UK weather warnings – Met Office

The current forecast is that we will get snow across the county from later Saturday night early Sunday morning. Significant accumulations of snow are possible, particularly in the east of the county and on higher ground.  The daily winter updates will continue to be sent out with more specific information when treatments are planned.

We have a team of snow ploughs, 4x4s and our snow angels on standby to assist as necessary – they help with clearing pavements and local roads/routes.

We have enhanced gritting and provisions for the testing and vaccinations sites across the county, our routes can be found online along with which roads get gritted – Salting routes in Surrey – Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk)

Winter advice can be found online with lots of links to help you prepare for the ice and snow – Winter advice 2020-21 – Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk)

There is a salting and gritting fact page that we have updated and it has much of the information attached to this email – Salting and gritting facts – Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk)

We will continue to update as necessary throughout the weekend, and our dedicated road and transport updates page will be updated as necessary – Roads and transport updates – Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk)

Rain/Flooding

The river levels remain very high following the recent rainfall and you may have seen that the Environment Agency have deployed a temporary flood barrier at Walton Lane in Weybridge. 

A number of other areas in the county have also seen flooding of roads due to the rainfall and high groundwater levels preventing water draining away. 

The river levels have stabilised and should start to drop over the coming days, however as the catchment remains wet any further rainfall is likely to have an impact.

If there is a threat to life – call 999

· If there is road flooding – call Surrey CC (Highways) – 0300 200 1003

· If sewers and foul water are involved – call Thames Water – 0800 316 9800

· If a main river watercourse is involved – call the Environment Agency – 0345 988 1188

If your enquiry is not urgent, please contact our team via flooding.enquiries@surreycc.gov.uk.

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10 things you never needed to know about gritting…………..

1. Road Surface Temperatures Are Important. When we watch the weather forecast we are advised of anticipated air temperatures. However, road surface temperatures and air temperatures are rarely the same and the road surface temperature is also used to make decisions on when to apply salt. In order to make sure rock salt is used as efficiently as possible, we use high-tech road sensors that are able to determine road surface temperature. They combine the data with local forecasts before deciding whether gritting is appropriate or not. We currently have 11 road sensors at our weather stations across Surrey, and a further 30 sensors in other locations in the process of being installed this year.

2. Myth – Once the gritter has put salt on the road all ice will melt. This is not true! Spreading salt on the road is only the start of the de-icing process. Movement of salt around the road by traffic is essential to complete the process. Overnight, when traffic levels are low, roads can take longer to melt ice if it has formed.

3. Myth – Spreading salt on fresh snow will melt it more quickly. This is not true! Salt only effectively melts snow when it is less than 40mm deep and traffic can move the salt around.

4. Myth – No matter what the temperature salt will melt the ice. This is not true! Salt is less effective at temperatures below minus five degrees centigrade and takes longer to melt snow and ice in these conditions.

5. How it works; by spreading salt, passing lorry, bus, van and car tyres crush the salt crystals and create a saline solution. This melts any ice present which then washes away into nearby storm drains, leaving roads clear.

6. Gritting is not just about cost – Cost is not the only factor that prevents use using gritting lorries on certain roads. A bigger problem is that some roads and locations are inaccessible in certain locations. This is why we have 1815 grit bins in strategic locations and a small army of farmers who help us with the ploughing and gritting.

7. Gritting is a skilled operation – Gritting requires good driving skills and the ability to operate machinery in challenging conditions, usually in the middle of the night when it’s freezing outside and there is only limited visibility at best. Drivers are City & Guild qualified and have CPC and HGV qualifications

8. The rate and speed of the salt spread is electronically controlled by the lorries. The routes are all GPS tracked with vehicle, speed, location, spread and time on all our routes.

9. We have 11 weather stations across Surrey that give us hourly updates; which show the anticipated air temperature, road surface temperature, wind speed and rain or snowfall. We also have an agreement with neighbouring authorities and Highways England to sue their data. We plan gritting treatments from this information. We also receive a two to five-day forecast every day to help us plan ahead. Each station has a sensor embedded in the road that monitors if the road is ‘chemically wet’ – whether it still has salt dissolved in it from the last treatment or not.

10. The P1 Routes are 39% of the entire counties road network. All treatments are completed within 3 hours.

How are members of staff are involved in gritting? No-one works on gritting full-time. All gritting staff fit their work in around their other full time jobs at the council during the winter season (mid-October to mid-April).

Why are gritters sometimes not spreading salt? This can be deceptive. Gritting vehicles have become more sophisticated, and lorries now dispense the required amount of salt directly down on to the road in a fine spray that you may not see. However, sometimes a vehicle might not be spreading any salt. This might be because:

  • • it hasn’t reached the starting point of its treatment route • it is returning to the depot to refill
  • • It is driving on a road that is not on the gritting route.
  • • it is driving over a section of road that has already been treated by a fellow driver
  • • Treatments are occasionally treated prewet (salt and brine mixed) and treatments aren’t clearly visible

Every gritting vehicle is fitted with a GPS system which tracks its route and speed, and it’s part of the inspector’s job to make sure the lorries don’t deviate from their routes. The system also records at what time and location the vehicle is treating and this is monitored after each run to ensure routes are being treated correctly.

The science of gritting

Although we call it gritting, there is in fact little or no grit involved. What is actually spread on the roads is mined rock salt (sodium chloride). The bottom line is this: salt lowers the freezing point of water, and this is how it helps keep roads clear and safer for driving so that things keep moving despite the freeze. As the salt particles come into contact with the snow or ice, melting begins, and water is produced. This water containing dissolved salt is called “brine.” Brine freezes at lower temperatures than regular water, so it remains a liquid at below-freezing temperatures. The brine works its way further into the snow and ice and eventually down to the road surface. From here, brine can spread out under the ice, breaking the bond between the road surface and the ice. The remaining snow and ice float on top of the liquid brine, allowing traffic to quickly break down into slush. Water freezes at 0°C – the presence of the salt prevents water from freezing until -6°C to -8°C. However, salt starts to become less effective at -5°C and almost ineffective at lower temperatures. In extremely low temperatures, or heavy snowfall, a mix of salt and grit may be used to help vehicles get about. Rock salt needs vehicles to drive over it to work effectively. Vehicles grind the salt into smaller particles to spread it across the road – this means that grit is sometimes not effective when there isn’t much traffic or when there is a lot of snow.