Tag Archives: Members’ Allocation

Haslemere Independent County Councillor Update

Here is an update of my activities as Haslemere’s independent Surrey County Councillor over the past few weeks:

Meetings attended since my last update
Meetings attended at County Hall, Kingston

Mar 15, 2016 Full Council (Agenda, minutes and webcast here)

April 21, 2016 Economic Prosperity, Environment and Transport Board (Agenda and minutes here)

May 9, 2016 Haslemere Station Travel Plan finalising meeting with SCC Sustainable Transport team (link to final STP document)

May 10, 2016 Residents Association/Independents group meeting

May 17, 2016 Full Council (Agenda, minutes and webcast here)

June 9. 2016 Economic Prosperity, Transport and Environment Board (Agenda and draft minutes here)

July 5, 2016 Residents Association/Independent Group meeting

July 12, 2016 Full Council (Agenda here)

Waverley Local Area Committee meetings attended

Mar 16, 2016 SCC Highways Merrow, with Planning team to discuss PIC/SIO6 developer funding available for Haslemere highways schemes

Mar 18, Waverley LAC (Agenda and minutes here)

May 31, 2016 Waverley Youth Task Group, Godalming: presentations by Future Steps providing 1:1 Early Help, and Eikon outreach work as part of Waverley Local Prevention Framework.

Waverley youth task group - Eikon Bus

Waverley youth task group – Eikon Bus

June 17, 2016 Waverley Local Area Committee, Haslemere Hall (Agenda and draft here) See 2 paragraphs below:

Highways Budget 2016/17: Revenue Maintenance £237,173, Capital Maintenance £457, 242
Haslemere and Western Villages Task Group will receive approximately £120,000- to be divided equally. Of these funds 70% has to be spent on highway maintenance. I have been working with the Highways team on the list of priorities- to be finalised mid-July.  To include – drainage and highway surface improvement Sturt Railway Bridge and section of Sturt Road; sections of Kings Road, High Lane and Lower Street (at junction with Sandrock) resurfacing,
Project Horizon resurfacing: Blackdown Lane completed spring 2016, however Liphook Road-Sturt Road has been placed on a reserve list.  I am challenging this decision.

There is wide spread concern among councillors about the lack of information for members about Project Horizon, roads dropped from the list, little if any information about future plans.
Project Horizon 5 year Pavement Maintenance Programme – a new £21m scheme, an attempt to address an unacceptable level of deterioration of pavements.  Waverley LAC members raised their concerns that only one pavement scheme is planned in Waverley 2016/17 (a long stretch in Cranleigh) and that decisions over priorities were not based on local member knowledge.
I was re-nominated as the Waverley LAC committee representative on the SCC Friends and Family Committee

June 21, 2016 Waverley Local Area Committee private informal meeting, Farnham Town Hall

Haslemere Town Council meetings

Mar 17, May 12, June 30 2016 Haslemere Town Council – SCC Highways update and
Haslemere Railway station major works. Minutes/agenda here:

Meeting with HTC and SCC 17Mar16 – Minutes

Meeting with HTC and SCC 12May16 – Minutes

Meeting with HTC and SCC 10JUN15 – Agenda

South West trains are carrying out major improvements, a new cycle hub for 190 spaces is being built, works to improve the forecourt have just started and an additional deck on the station car park will commence in late August 2016.

Agreeing a forecourt design has involved many meetings, and numerous partners – including SWT, Network Rail, SCC Highways and Passenger Transport with input from Station Travel Plan survey findings.

The challenge is how to meet the needs of all station users, when there is such limited physical space – the station built in the 1850s was never intended to cope with 1.7 million passenger journeys/year.  Forecasts indicate passenger numbers will continue to increase, the large housing developments planned for Dunsfold, Bordon, Fernhurst and Midhurst will add further pressure on Haslemere station and the surrounding roads.  Building an additional deck on the carpark will provide an additional approx. 110 spaces, a temporary solution to the need for further parking capacity. I believe we need innovative, creative planning to cope with future demand, while maintaining the character of Haslemere as a small market town.
Disruption during the car park works, while challenging offers potential opportunities for travellers to find new ways of getting to the station- an on-line survey to www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/haslemerestationaccess to see if there is demand for a Hoppa trial for commuters to the surrounding villages.  Passengers can also check out SCC Travel Smart website www.travelsmartsurrey.info for travel information to the station. For more information, read an earlier blog post here.

On June 14, 2016 a SCC/SWT communications event was held at the railway station: SCC Sustainable Travel Team ran Personalised Travel Planning training to passengers, SWT displayed forecourt and car park plans followed by an open community evening event at Georgian House Hotel.  (Link to recent plans).

SCC Sustainable Travel Team ran Personalised Travel Planning training to passengers

SCC Sustainable Travel Team ran Personalised Travel Planning training to passengers

SWT Travel event at the station

SWT Travel event at the station

Station Information Event

Station Information Event

Haslemere Station Community Rail Partnership

Mar 15, 2016 South West Trains stakeholder conference, SWT Basingstoke campus – SWT franchise ends June 2017, they plan to work with community on their franchise bid notably via the Community Rail Partnerships.

Mar 22, April 27, May 25, 2016 Haslemere Community Rail Partnership- established to promote Haslemere railway station as a “gateway” for visitors both to the town and the surrounding countryside, for the benefit of the businesses and town community. Improving the aesthetics and signage at the station forecourt and approaches is also a key goal.  The partnership has now been formally registered with ACorP- the national Association of Community Rail Partnerships.  Benefits include match funding for station forecourt improvements from SWT, with statutory agreement for future franchise holders to continue this funding support.  The previously vacant station shop has now been refurbished as a community information hub.
Haslemere Highways site visits and key issues.

Local Highways Issues

I have organised regular site meetings with residents, and SCC Highways and parking teams. Issues addressed include Critchmere – property flooding issues, Hindhead – pedestrian crossing, St Bartholomew’s Church and Tanners Lane – parking and concerns over pedestrian safety, Woolmer Hill – parking/bus blocking,

Three Gates Lane, traffic speed reduction ITS scheme is still incomplete: SCC Road Safety Working Group has explained that this is due to a back log of VAS (Vehicle Activated Signs) installations and the need for traffic management during the works, the 2 funded new VAS on the approaches to Three Gates Lane have unfortunately been delayed for over a year.  Currently planned for July/August, 2016.

Shepherds Hill/Lower Street highways works to improve pedestrian safety, completed May 2016.

Weyhill zebra crossing, works started late June, 2016 – currently the footway has been left purposely unfinished to allow the electricity board and Skanska to go in and supply the columns. Snagging to the unfinished section has been carried out, Keir have been asked to make some changes to improve it. It is hoped the electricity board will be going in very soon to carry out the works.

Bunch Lane, additional wooden posts to prevent verge parking to be installed.

Lower Street/Shepherds Hill pocket park – Town Council have asked to take ownership from SCC, still awaiting confirmation of the legal costs involved.

Some of the local events attended:

Mar 17, 2016 Woolmer Hill School music concert – contributed £680 funding from my members allocation

Left to Right for photograph Susan Stathers (Chair of Governors), Toby U (Yr7), Clare Talbot (Headteacher), Matthew Nash (Head of Music), Mille B (Yr 9), Nikki Barton, County Councillor, Eloise H (Yr 7)

Left to Right for photograph
Susan Stathers (Chair of Governors), Toby U (Yr7), Clare Talbot (Headteacher), Matthew Nash (Head of Music), Mille B (Yr 9), Nikki Barton, County Councillor, Eloise H (Yr 7)

April 19, 2016 Haslemere churches meeting to support local councillors, Camelsdale Vicarage

April 23, 2016 HM Queen Elizabeth II 90th birthday parade, Haslemere (more here)

April 24, 2016 St Georges Parade, Beacon Hill – all local scouting groups

May 2, 2016- Haslemere Charter Fair, judged the Town Crier competition (more here)

May 17, 2016 Brexit Debate – Haslemere Hall, Paddy Ashdown and Lord Forsyth lively debate in a very packed Hall

Paddy Ashdown (Remain) and Lord Forsyth (Leave) with compere in middle of picture

Paddy Ashdown (Remain) and Lord Forsyth (Leave) with compere in middle of picture

May 19, 2016 Mayor making, Sahran Abeysundara confirmed as new Mayor for Haslemere, Town Hall and July 10, Mayors Civic Ceremony, Haslemere Hall

June 16, 2016 Eagle Radio interview on station works and Station Travel Plan

June 29, 2016 Haslemere Vision Community Land Trust meeting, Haslemere Museum

Surrey County Council Members Allocation 2016/17

Haslemere Waverley Skatepark Open Day, August 11, 2016: Provided £500 grant towards the £2,000 costs of the event. The all-day event of workshops and competitions will be open to all skateboarders and bmx riders ages 7-16 years.

Any Haslemere community group is invited to contact me to apply for a grant, please see previous update (here and here) for a list of grants awarded previously.

Surrey CC Post Brexit

Rising demand for essential services while government funding is falling, SCC is being squeezed from both ends and this is set to continue.   Despite plans to save more than £80 million from the SCC budget this year, the increasing demand and cost pressures on SCC services will wipe these savings out.
The increase in demand for social care services account for the vast majority of this, with pressure set to continue.  By 2020 there will be an additional 6,500 Surrey residents over the age of 80 – many of them needing our support.  As the population of the county grows, SCC is also expected to provide thousands of additional school places, as well as improve the road network and dispose of Surrey’s waste.
Surrey is a significant net contributor to the national exchequer, yet receives one of the lowest financial settlements from the government in return.

County Councillor Update for Haslemere Q1 2016

March 13, 2016: Surrey County Councillor Update:

MEETINGS ATTENDED SINCE MY LAST UPDATE ( Last full summary was Jan 19, 2016 here.)

Jan 26th, 2016: Attended Economic Prosperity, Environment and Highways Board:  Agenda here. At the meeting, in response to a resident experience survey, I raised my concerns about the Local Area Committee, how it functions, and the need for it to be more user friendly.

Subsequently met with SCC’s Community Partnership Team to discuss (March 7th, 2016). My key concerns: public not clear about purpose and function of LAC, distinction between public and private meeting. LAC is a private committee meeting held in public, should be more of a conversation with residents- too restrictive in terms of discussion, officers’ expertise not always fully used, suggest chair should rotate- current chair in post for 6 years, more use of social media before, during and after meetings.

9th February 2016: Attended Full Council: Agenda here.

In this meeting SCC discussed budgets for 2016/2017 to 2020/2021. Here is a press statement from the independent councillors and residents’ association councillors for Surrey County Council. Also, you may be interested to read my colleague, Eber Kington’s Budget Statement during the meeting.

March 10th, 2016: Attended Economic Prosperity, Environment and Highways Board: Agenda here.  In the meeting, there was a Project Horizon Year 4 discussion. I raised the issue of Blackdown Lane that due to an administrative error was not completed as agreed in the Year 3 program. The Project Horizon team confirmed that Blackdown Lane is on the Year 4 program, a date to be confirmed as due to severe central government grant cuts to SCC the final highways budget has not been settled.

March 15th, 2016: Attended Full Council. Agenda here.

OTHER MEETINGS HAVE INCLUDED:

Local Area Committee (LAC) – Community Engagement meeting: how to make Local Area Committee more accessible.

March 3rd, 2016 LAC Private meeting, Farnham:  Agenda items included SCC schools and SureStart Centres

David Hodge, Leader of SCC: Private meeting

Haslemere Conservation Area Appraisal, steering committee meeting, Haslemere Town Council

Had several meetings with SCC Highways team in Merrow

Attended Southwest Trains stakeholder conference, Basingstoke. Working with SWT/SCC/Station Travel Plan. (More below)

NEXT WAVERLEY LOCAL AREA COMMITTEE MEETING:

Friday, 18 March 2016 1.30 pm, Godalming Baptist Church, Queen Street, Godalming GU7 1BA: Agenda here. You can follow local committee updates here on Twitter and here on the web.

LOCAL MEETINGS

The Haslemere Station Community Partnership has now formally established, via a legal agreement with South West Trains (SWT). Haslemere station is the main transport hub in the town, with over 1.3 million passenger journeys/year. The aim of the partnership, to improve the look of the station with planting, and better signage and also to use the station as a ‘gateway’ to promote Haslemere, its events, community assets, businesses and the wonderful surrounding countryside to both visitors and residents.

NB Station Shop

To date the partnership includes: South West Trains, Surrey County Council, Haslemere Town Council, Haslemere Visitor Information Centre, South Downs National Park Authority, Haslemere Chamber of Trade, Haslemere Fringe, Haslemere Vision and the National Trust. SWT community stakeholder team has match funded any contributions made by partners- to date SWT have awarded £5000, I have awarded £1200 from my SCC Members Allocation.

The station community partnership has been granted a short term lease on the vacant shop at the station. The plan is to create a Haslemere community information point. A team of volunteers, headed by Ken Griffiths has transformed the shop and a launch is planned in the next couple of weeks.

Visual of station shop

Visual of station shop

Haslemere Train Station: I’ve had several meetings with SWT engineers/arboriculture team to discuss the removal of all vegetation along the car park boundary in preparation for the additional deck at the car park. I have been working closely with SWT, pressing for maximum screening to reduce the visual impact of the metal structure. SWT have agreed to plant a screening hedge, with some specimen trees- although behind the current bus layby the pilings for the new structure will be too close to the pavement edge, so no planting will be possible. I am investigating whether a cantilevered, lit shelter would be possible along this section to provide a dry pick up and drop off area for train and bus passengers.

In response to a number of resident inquiries, SWT requires no planning permission for the car park, planning permission is deemed granted by virtue of Part 8 of the GPDO (2015).

I wrote about parking at the station here earlier this year.

St Ives School: Year 5, girls very concerned about litter, and the negative impact on the environment. Accompanied year 5 girls on Lion Green, as they picked up several sacks of litter as part of ‘Clean for the Queen’ initiative. I was impressed by how much they cared about their town, and the environment, how well informed they were and how much they wanted to do something to make a difference.

NB Clean For The QueenSure Start Play Bus, Woolmer Hill, met with local mums and tots on the bus. Sure Start Centre provides excellent support for parents and early years children.

NB SureStartBusHaslemere Society steering group meeting – presentation inviting Haslemere Society  to join the Haslemere Station Community Rail Partnership

Haslemere Station Travel Plan: Haslemere Station Travel Plan: Surrey County Council, in partnership with Haslemere Vision has commissioned a Station Travel Plan with the aim of understanding how people get to and from the station, the issues all users of the station experience, and to identify barriers to accessing the station without the use of a private car. A survey of train users, non-train users, local businesses and other key community stakeholders has been carried out. There was a very high survey response rate, over 1600 responses – all data is currently being processed. Two concluding workshops will be held on March 22nd, 2016 in the Georgian House Hotel. I will publish the final report including all recommendations on this site.

PRESS MEETINGS

Interviewed by BBC Surrey regarding council budget cuts on 3rd February.

Interviewed by BBC Surrey re Shepherds Hill sink hole on 2nd March

COMMUNITY UPDATES

Members’ Allocation for Haslemere:

Here is a final list of recipients for my annual spend

  • Waverley Borough Council: Waverley Skatepark Engagement 2015 –  £300.00
  • Haslemere Table Tennis Club: Woolmer Hill Table Tennis Centre – £1,500.00
  • Haslemere Basketball Club, Setting up a new team in Haslemere – £825.00
  • 1st Haslemere Scouts: Equipment and Storage – £1,105.00
  • Shottermill Junior School: Library Refurbishment Project – £800.00
  • Haslemere Station Comm Partnership: Community Partnership – £1,200.00
  • Haslemere Swimming Club: Training Equipment – £550.00
  • Crossways Counselling Service: Counselling Workshops – £1,300.00
  • Girlguiding, Girlguiding: LaSER South Korea 2016 – £450.00
  • Woolmer Hill School: Community Orchestra Day & Young Musician Evening – £680.00
  • The Wave: Family Fun Day – £600.00
  • Haslemere CAB: Enhancement to Services – £986.00

GENERAL UPDATES

Sandrock. New lighting columns are now installed and connected to electricity.

NB Sandrock photo

Shepherds Hill sink hole repaired. Updates were here and here and also on my Facebook page and Twitter feed. Thanks again to all for their patience whilst the works and investigations were carried out.

Lion Lane Post Office Update. I received this letter from the Post Office about the closure of their operation in the former Coop, now M&S, supermarket in Lion Lane.

NB PO Letter (click on image to enlarge)

South Downs NPA Volunteering Opportunities Map – which enables organisations with volunteer opportunities to promote these opportunities to a wider audience. Here is a link to their website and map.

LittleLumpy is an annual cycling event which raises funds for the Haslemere Fringe. It has 4 routes with a new family-friendly route this year. Early bird discount ends March 2015. Check out the Little Lumpy website here. Their early bird registration fee ends 31st March 2016.

littlelumpy

Haslemere Annual Town Meeting with a talk about Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations plus town volunteer awards will be on 23rd March 2016 (click on picture below to read invitation).NB Haslemere Annual Town MeetingSouth West Trains Travel Promotion.

SWT are offering advance off-peak day return tickets for just £15 adults & £5 kids, to over 170 destinations across the South West Trains network! You can save up to 78%*! Runs until 30th April. For more information: www.southwesttrains.co.uk/promotion.aspx

Hindhead Tunnel Story

Can you help complete the Hindhead Tunnel story? Circle Eight have recently announced that its next local interest production will tell the Hindhead Tunnel story from pipe dream to reality. The film will also tell the history of the A3 at Hindhead and will examine the impact the Tunnel has had on the Hindhead area since it opened nearly 5 years ago. They are eager to collect the views, stories and anecdotes of people who live and work in the locality. In particular they would be very keen to view any film or video local people may have of the area in the past and of the Tunnel construction. If you believe you have something to contribute to the film, please contact Michael Orford at michaeleo@btinternet.com or on 01428 644871.

Changes to Surrey’s Recycling Centres

Please see this link re SCC’s Recycling Reduced Hours. Also see here for information about recycling in Haslemere.

Parenting Puzzle Course

Please see here about the Parenting Puzzle course organised by Tennyson’s Sure Start Centre on Wednesday 4th May 2016 12.30pm – 2.30pm. Crèche provided. To be held at The Hen House.

Applications for funding are welcome

Each Surrey County Councillor receives a members’ allocation of £10,600 per year. This year’s must be allocated by the end of February, 2016.  Funding applications must meet the following criteria:

  • projects must benefit the community and be inclusive and accessible to all
  • meet the Council’s agreed policies or priorities
  • one off projects
  • supported by the local County Councillor
Excluded or restricted projects:
  • political organisations
  • delivery of the national curriculum
  • on going revenue costs
  • statutory obligations of other authorities
  • retrospective bids are discouraged

Please contact me if you would be interested in applying for funding for a community project at nikki.barton@surreycc.gov.uk.  The application process has been simplified and is now a straightforward process.  Once an application has been agreed, funding is transferred to the applicant within 2 weeks.

In past years some Haslemere organisations (to name but a few) that have successfully applied for funding include The Citizens’ Advice Bureau, First Haslemere Scouts, Haslemere Hockey Club, Haslewey, Woolmer Hill, Haslemere Library.

CAB laptop bought with contribution from SCC

CAB laptop bought with contribution from SCC

SCC has funded arts & crafts project at Haslemere Library

SCC has funded arts & crafts project at Haslemere Library

SCC has funded Haslewey Brighter Futures course

SCC has funded Haslewey Brighter Futures course