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News from Ockham Parish Council November 2023

  • We were delighted to be joined by two local police officers at our November Parish Council meeting. The police officers were interested to hear about life in Ockham. They urge everyone to report all crime even if you feel that the matter is minor. Issues to report might include bike theft, antisocial behaviour, parking on double yellow lines etc.  The best way to report a non urgent crime or suspicious activity is by calling 101 or going by online https://www.surrey.police.uk/ro/report/ or via their facebook livechat https://www.facebook.com/SurreyPolice/?locale=en_GB

 

  • The Inquiry for the FWA is ongoing (until 1st December) and OPC/WAG/RHS continue to be well represented by our experts. We are still fundraising towards the target of £200,000 needed to help pay for all the professional expert help required. A significant shortfall remains so if you are able to donate, it would be very much appreciated. All donations of any amount, from a few pounds upwards all help enormously. Account name: Wisley Airfield Action Group, sort code: 20 35 35, account number: 10574287 (or by cheque delivered to Helen Jefferies, Alms Heath Cottage). Very many thanks for all donations to date.

 

  • There is a planning application for up to 200 dwellings for the Land East and West of Hatch Lane, Ockham GU23 6NU. Application no: 23/P/01607.  This is the third ‘parcel’ of land that makes up Allocation A35 on the FWA. OPC are working on an objection letter and we will share some objection points very soon via OHRA mailing list and VAWNT.  Please look out for this and object.  This application relies heavily on the infrastructure delivery for the Taylor Wimpey part of FWA and we have stated to GBC that we believe the application is premature and we encourage you to state this in your objections.

 

 

  • OPC are still looking for someone to lead in a local cross parish Climate Action Network group. Are you able to help?  If you would like further details, please contact our clerk, Alyson clerk@ockhamparishcouncil.gov.uk

 

 

Please contact our Parish Clerk with enquiries: clerk@ockhamparishcouncil.gov.uk

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Invite to Ockham Residents to meet Local Police Officers

PC Smale and PCSO Chapman have been invited to meet Local Residents tonight at  7.30pm at All Saints’ Church Ockham. The Parish Meeting will be held after.

Been advised that the path from the Car Park to the Church is slippery, please take care and bring a torch. Thank you

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Essential gas main replacement Ockham Roundabout – including weekend closure (Friday 20 to Sunday 22 October)  

From Monday 02 October to Monday 04 December, SGN will be carrying out essential work to reposition and reinforce the gas main infrastructure located under the Ockham Roundabout in Wisley. We’ve planned these works in collaboration with the team carrying out the A3 / M25 Junction improvements.  Our work is not connected to the road improvement works, if you have any questions regarding the gas work please contact SGN.

The current gas main is an old metal gas main with a history of leaks. By repositioning and replacing this gas main, we will minimise the risk of having to return in future for emergency repairs. We also need to complete these works before the demand for gas increases during winter.

Due to the location of the existing gas main, it is necessary to have varying traffic management on the roundabout while we work. For safety we’ll be working under a single lane closures, apart from one weekend when we will need to close the south side of the roundabout – detailed/map below.

Weekend Closure – south side of the Ockham roundabout

Friday 20 October to Sunday 22 October

We’ll be carrying out work across both lanes on the south side of the roundabout, a weekend closure of the southbound A3 slip road and the south side of the roundabout will be required.

The closure will be in place from 7am on Friday 20 October until 23:00 on Sunday 22 October.

A signed diversion route will be in place for road users on the A3 over this weekend.  Access to north side of roundabout from Ripley will be maintained as highlighted in map below.

To help minimise the impact for road users, we’ve planned the closure for a weekend when commuting traffic and school runs are not required. We’ve also planned these works to support the upcoming fireworks display at RHS Wisley.

Bus routes may be impacted – we’d advise passengers to contact their service provider for the latest information about changes to their services over the weekend.

We appreciate how disruptive lane and road closures are for the local community and our engineers will do all they can to minimise the inconvenience we cause. Our engineers will be working from 8am to 4pm during our work.

If you’d like to get in touch about the gas works, you can speak to our Customer Service team on 0800 912 1700 who will direct your enquiry a member of the project team for response.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

SGN Major Works Team

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News from Ockham Parish Council October 2023

The Public Day of the Taylor Wimpey Appeal against non determination of their application for Former Wisley Airfield 22/P/01175 is on Wednesday 18th October at the Guildford Borough Council offices in Millmead.  Please attend if you can and join the very many members of the public who will be speaking against the Taylor Wimpey proposals. Registration to speak is possible tim.salter@planninginspectorate.gov.uk – although you are not obliged to register and can just turn up on the day to speak or observe.

 

OPC have made a contribution of £18,000 towards the target of £200,000 needed to help pay for all the professional expert help required by WAG/OPC/RHS Rule 6 Party in the enquiry. A significant shortfall remains so if you are able to donate, it would be very much appreciated. All donations of any amount, from a few pounds upwards all help enormously. Account name: Wisley Airfield Action Group, sort code: 20 35 35, account number: 10574287 (or by cheque delivered to Helen Jefferies, Alms Heath Cottage). Very many thanks for all donations to date.

 

  • OPC are looking for someone to lead in a local cross parish Climate Action Network group. Are you able to help?  If you would like further details, please contact our clerk, Alyson clerk@ockhamparishcouncil.gov.uk

 

  • Speeding in our village remains a concern for us all. Our vehicle activated speed awareness signs (in Ockham Road North, Old Lane and Ockham Lane) capture the speed of all vehicles that travel along these roads and we have recently reviewed the data which shows exceptionally high numbers.  Cllr Becky Neish is setting up a speed awareness group: volunteers needed please so if you can help, please contact clerk@ockhamparishcouncil.gov.uk. OPC are also in the process of arranging for the local police to attend a parish council meeting to understand how they can support us as we battle against speeding vehicles. We will let you know when we have a date agreed.

 

  • On Thursday 19th October, there are elections for a new Surrey County Councillor for our area. The Surrey County Councillor plays an important role locally, liaising with residents and the Council about aspects that impact us all such as the local roads, flooding issues, education provision and more.

 

Please contact the Parish Clerk with enquiries

Mrs Alyson Blackwell  – email clerk@ockhamparishcouncil.gov.uk

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News from Ockham Parish Council September 2023

Wisley Action Group (WAG) together with Ockham Parish Council and the RHS are a Rule 6 party for the Taylor Wimpey Appeal against non determination of their application 22/P/01175 by Guildford Borough Council.  The Inquiry starts on Tuesday 26th September at 10 am at the Baptist Church in Millmead.  VAWNT (also a R6 party) will be sending out the details about the Inquiry. Please do attend if you can.  The Inspector is aware that there are in excess of 1400 objections but a crowd on the first day in particular, will help to reinforce the level of local opposition.

 

WAG, with the support of OPC and VAWNT, are fund raising to help pay for all the professional expert help required. Your donations are much appreciated and will help enormously. Account name: Wisley Airfield Action Group, sort code: 20 35 35, account number: 10574287 (or by cheque delivered to Helen Jefferies, Alms Heath Cottage). Very many thanks for all donations.

 

 

Please contact the Parish Clerk with enquiries

Mrs Alyson Blackwell  – email: clerk@ockhamparishcouncil.gov.uk

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News from Ockham Parish Council July 2023

  • Great news! You will have heard that GBC Planning Committee refused application 22/P/01175 for Former Wisley Airfield when they met on Monday 10th This was in line with the GBC Planning Officer’s recommendation. However, as you know, the application now goes forward to Appeal in September 2023 (as Taylor Wimpey applied for an Appeal due to non determination some weeks ago).
  • To participate in the Appeal process, OPC together with WAG and RHS make up a Rule 6 party. VAWNT (Villages Against Wisley New Town), West & East Horsley Parish Councils and Send & Ripley Parish Councils will also participate as Rule 6 Parties.  There is a lot to do but we have a strong case and thanks to the many experts in planning, air quality, ecology and traffic, we are currently working on our detailed evidence.
  • If you are able to contribute to the WAG fighting fund, the details are as follows: ACCOUNT NAME: Wisley Action Group, SORT CODE: 20 35 35, ACCOUNT NO: 10574287
  • The National Highways work on M25J10/A3 continues and is proving to be very challenging for us all. If you experience any problems as a result of the roadworks – traffic queues, delays etc, please report these to info@nationalhighways.co.uk noting in the subject of your email that your complaint relates to M25J10A3 works. We want NH to know how very impactful their works are on the local community. You may have heard that there are very many more trees to be felled in September. We are investigating this to see if there is anything we can do to prevent this happening. NH have told us the trees are to come down for enhancement works.

 

  • It may not have rained much recently, but we are aware that local flooding is a huge problem after rainfall. Cllr Neish and Cllr Shepherdly are in the process of setting up a local Flood Forum. More information to come soon.

 

 

  • Following the May elections, we have 3 new ward councillors for Lovelace and Send. Cllr Pat Oven from Guildford Greenbelt Group has so far attended all our parish meetings and is taking an active interest in our area. Our grateful thanks to Pat.

 

Please contact our Parish Clerk with enquiries: clerk@ockhamparishcouncil.gov.uk

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News from Ockham Parish Council June 2023

  • We have pleasure in welcoming Councillor Becky Neish to Ockham Parish Council.

 

  • Wisley Action Group (WAG) together with Ockham Parish Council have been accepted as a Rule 6 party for the Taylor Wimpey Appeal (more on this below). This will ensure that we will see all the Appeal documents and information and will have an opportunity to participate productively in the Appeal process.

 

  • The Former Wisley Airfield is not a sustainable site and fails to meet planning law in multiple ways. Taylor Wimpey’s application 22/P/01175 for 1700+ homes on an area of natural greenspace (90% green), will have a negative impact on local ecology, local roads, flood risk, local services (schools, education, sewage provision).  Please write to the Planning Inspectorate:  salter@planninginspectorate.gov.uk using reference: APP/Y3615/W/23/3320175 advising of your objection to their proposal. Email vawnt.group@gmail.com if you would like some pointers for your objection letter.

VAWNT Meeting at East Horsley Village Hall – Thursday 15th June at 7 pm

Villages Against Wisley New Town will be updating the local community on the latest news regarding Former Wisley Airfield (FWA) in light of the Appeal Taylor Wimpey have put forward against non determination of application 22/P/01175 by Guildford Borough Council.  Please do attend if you can.

 

 

 

Please contact the Parish Clerk with enquiries

Mrs Alyson Blackwell  – email: clerk@ockhamparishcouncil.gov.uk

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News from Ockham Parish Council May 2023

We enjoyed a fascinating presentation from Chris Campbell representing Surrey Amphibians and Reptiles Group at our Annual Parish Meeting on 16th Thank you Chris both for stepping in when our booked speaker cancelled due to ill health and also for generous sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm with us. We hope you might be persuaded to lead a walk (or two!) on Ockham Common this summer so we can all learn more about the myriad wildlife there.

Following the local elections earlier this month, we have three Guildford Borough Councillors for Send Ward and they all represent Guildford Greenbelt Group (GGG). They are Pat Oven, James Brooker and Jason Fenwick. We hope to meet them all soon at one of our Parish Council meetings.

We have pleasure in welcoming Councillor Chloe Shepherdly to Ockham Parish Council and look forward to working with her over the months to come.

Thank you for your objections to the recent additional documents GBC have uploaded to their planning portal regarding the Taylor Wimpey application for Former Wisley Airfield 22/P/01175.  If you would like any information on this application and / or The Hallam Land application for FWA 23/P/00417, please contact our clerk, Alyson.  VAWNT (Villages Against Wisley New Town) have sent out some notes on both applications which you might find helpful as you form your own objection letters.  The VAWNT email address is vawnt.group@gmail.com Please do object if you have not already done so.

Please continue to report any concerns with potholes, flooding, crumbling road surface, etc with SCC Highways direct: https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/roadworks-and-maintenance/report-a-highway-problem  If you experience any problems as a result of the A3/M25 National Highways roadworks – traffic queues, delays etc, please report these to info@nationalhighways.co.uk noting in the subject of your email that your complaint relates to M25J10A3 works.

Please be aware that if you have a ditch close to your home, you may be responsible for maintaining it. For details on riparian responsibility https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/roadworks-and-maintenance/report-a-highway-problem/drainage-and-flooding/living-next-to-a-watercourse-your-rights-and-responsibilities Maintenance of local ditches by those responsible does ease local flooding so please check the link above.  If you are experiencing issues with flooding of your property, please log them here: https://www9.surreycc.gov.uk/HighwayIssue/WhatIsTheIssue.aspx?Code=FBD

Please contact the Parish Clerk with enquiries

Mrs Alyson Blackwell  – email: clerk@ockhamparishcouncil.gov.uk

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News from Ockham Parish Council April 2023

  • There is an application for construction of up to 70 houses in an area of land that abuts the Former Wisley Airfield, known as Hallam Land. The application number is 23/P/00417. The Parish Council are reading the documents and will revert via Ockham & Hatchford Residents Association mailing list with an update.
  • If you put in an objection to the Taylor Wimpey application for Former Wisley Airfield 22/P/01175, you will have received notification from GBC that there are some new documents about the application. With the support of VAWNT (Villages Against Wisley New Town), we are reading these documents now and as above, we will revert via OHRA mailing list soon. The deadline for response to GBC for both this consultation and the Hallam land is 7th May 2023.
  • The Coronation of King Charles III is coming up and together with OHRA and All Saints’ Church, the PC are arranging a village ‘litter pick’ 10 – 12, followed by a ‘bring your own picnic’ gathering at Ockham Cricket Club from 12 – 4 on Monday 8th May. Everyone welcome!

Please contact the Parish Clerk with enquiries

Mrs Alyson Blackwell  – email: clerk@ockhamparishcouncil.gov.uk

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News from Ockham Parish Council March 2023

 

  • The Coronation of King Charles III will take place on 6th May and together with OHRA and All Saints’ Church, the PC are arranging a village ‘bring your own picnic’ gathering at Ockham Cricket Club on Monday 8th Everyone welcome and lots of fun for family and friends! We are hoping for a good weather day!

 

  • Ockham Parish Council are seeking two new Parish Councillors – Can you help please? The Parish Council meet 11 times a year to discuss all aspects of village life including planning applications. You don’t need any special qualifications, just an interest in our community and a willingness to get involved.  If you are interested in joining us then please contact our Clerk, Alyson on clerk@ockhamparishcouncil.gov.uk 

 

 

  • Thank you to all those who have objected to Taylor Wimpey’s proposal for Former Wisley Airfield (application no 22/P/01175). The PC and a representative from the Ockham Wildlife Group are in touch with West Surrey Badger Group as there are a large number of badger setts in and around FWA. All badgers are protected by the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 and we are very keen to safeguard the local badgers. Do contact planningenquiries@guildford.gov.uk to object again to Taylor Wimpey’s application. Save our Badgers!

 

  • If you experience any problems at all as a result of the National Highways M25J10A3 works, please log them via info@nationalhighways.co.uk The more we highlight any issues and concerns, the more NH will have to hear us.

 

Please contact the Parish Clerk with enquiries

Mrs Alyson Blackwell  – email: clerk@ockhamparishcouncil.gov.uk