Welcome to my blog. I am a former local journalist who now works in PR and a Conservative and community activist in Woking and Horsell. This blog will keep updated on local issues as well as my interests and quirky news stories.
The Horsell Residents Association newsletter The Resident is now online in the form of a WordPress blog and I have added the link to the left hand side.
The current editor Sarah Johns took over from me last year and is doing a great job of making the magazine’s format even more attractive, broadening the scope of the news stories and taking it online. There is also a Twitter feed @HorsellResident.
Well worth a visit or a follow.
Despite the Question Time fever, the finale of Masterchef and the Man Utd v Bayern Munich game, we ran clean out of chairs at Horsell Village Hall this evening for the Horsell Residents Association AGM. Sometimes these evenings can be a draining experience but never with HRA – Rob Harris keeps a firm hand on the tiller and ensures that all the official business is dealt with in 30 minutes or so before we welcome a guest presentation.
Last year, it was Marilyn Scott of the Lightbox, this year Paul Rimmer and David Robbins of Horsell Common Preservation Society gave the audience a good grounding in the history, management and natural aspects of the common. HCPS is a superb organisation that does a lot of work for our environment in Horsell that one suspects would be a good deal less well done if left to other authorities to achieve. Membership is only £10 and can be attained here.
I addressed the meeting for a couple of minutes on the LDF character studies that I think could be important in helping to preserve some of the more unique areas of the village. Given that the old Urban Areas of Special Residential Character, which gave some form of assurance to those in areas of urban heritage merit, are disappearing, I think it’s vital for us to put our views forward about the areas that we consider important now. If we don’t, it makes it very difficult at a later stage to oppose planning applications in areas on the grounds of urban heritage and preserving the streetscene.
The old UASRC are a good place to start – The Ridgeway, Grange Road, Heath and Castle Roads, but not necessarily exclusive. Waldens Park Road, Kettlewell Hill and Manor Road are also areas with historic properties in them that speak about the village’s history. It would be a shame if we did not act now to give them the best possible chance of being preserved. I’ll be totally honest with you; my experience of the planning system is that it is an inequitable rich man’s game - a system where central government dictates the rules to local residents via their planning authorities to the benefit of big developers. Developers can afford agents, planning experts, legal advisors and to play the appeals process - residents can rarely match this.
But what we must do is make sure that we give ourselves the best possible chance by taking advantage of what democratic elements the system does afford and that is what I would like to see happen.
Finally, if anyone’s not a member of HRA, please consider it - we really would like to be able to do more but need more members and income in order to give residents a better service.
Some very sad news to taint an otherwise bright Easter weekend – Sir Alec Bedser, one of the greatest cricketers of his generation and long-standing Horsell resident, died yesterday aged 91. Many more senior residents will remember the heyday of the Bedser twins (his brother Eric died in 2006) in the 1940s and early 50s and his exploits for England, when he carried the attack at a time when there was precious little support as England emerged from the cricketed hiatus of the Second World War.
There are a variety of very good obituaries to him in many of the nationals today. But many in Horsell will have known him personally, living as he did in Carlton Road for so long. I was lucky enough to meet both twins at the Surrey History Centre in 2003 launching an exhibition on Surrey County Cricket Club but had no further contact with them until I wrote the obituary for Eric in the Woking News and Mail three years later. Most people would want silly reporters somewhere else on the death of a loved one – not Sir Alec, who phoned the paper up personally to make sure that we got his brother’s factsright.
After, I met Sir Alec on various occasions and he espoused everything good about sport. Eric bequested an amount of money to Horsell Residents’ Association, which the association uses to fund achievement prizes for the village’schools. For some time in the 1970s, Sir Alec ran a youth and sporting club at Horsell Village Hall, where signed potraits of the twins are now on permanent display. Generous with his time and wisdom, there was nothing of the modern-day sporting prima donna about Sir Alec. He would talk with gusto about the modern game and while, yes, he was very definitely of the old school, he never left you in any doubt what he meant. And that’s less common than you’d think.
Both twins were passionate about their sport and also believed in the value of community, of selflessness and that sport was an act of athleticism and competition, yes, but also of pleasure and entertainment for the paying public. Their sense of duty to Surrey, England and those around them was a rare thing and Horsell and Woking have been blessed to have the Bedser twins play the part they did in our story.
When I outlined my idea of a Community Question Time for Woking, I had no idea that BBC Question Time would be coming to Woking on April 7. It is the same evening as the Horsell Residents’ Association AGM, which I will be going to instead. It goes without saying that I’m more bothered about dealing with Horsell issues than bearing witness to the ongoing BBC operation to stop the Conservatives winning the general election.
It will, though, be interesting to see who sits on the panel. There are five panellists on QT and the balance is usually one member of each of the political parties, with two extra panellists. Here’s my tips for the best choices:
Conservatives
Best Choice: Phillip Hammond, Michael Gove or Jeremy Hunt from the Conservative front bench team as they are relatively local.
Worst: John Redwood, the BBC having confused Woking with Wokingham.
Labour
Best Choice: Barbara Follet, local government minister, to explain why Surrey’s funding disadvantages it so much and prevents the county’s residents from getting the same level of service enjoyed in Labour-voting areas.
Worst: Jack Straw, because that will show that they just don’t care.
Lib Dem
Best Choice: One of the south London MPs – Ed Davey, Susan Kremer or Vince Cable.
Worst: Sarah Teather, same reason as Jack Straw.
The two other panellists usually consist of either two left-wingers or one left-winger and a right-winger who’s easily dismissed by the BBC illuminati as extreme (eg Peter Hitchins, Melanie Phillips, Richard Littlejohn). I feel we need a Muslim panellist to reflect Woking’s population and the fact that it was among the first places in Britain to have a settled Muslim population. Among other choices could be Harry Hill, Eric Clapton, Delia Smith or Paul Weller. I’d be interested in Zac Goldsmith or Jonathon Porritt being on the panel to say what they think of Woking’s environmental agenda.
More likely though, we’ll get someone from a left-leaning think tank and a silly actor who doesn’t know anything about Woking and lives in London. Hopefully, I’m wrong.
Let's keep the development in the town centre and out of Horsell
I attended a meeting tonight on behalf of Horsell Residents Association at Woking Borough Council about carrying out Character Assessments for the Local Development Framework Core Strategy. What this means is that I will be filling in survey details – quite a few of them, actually – about an area in order to provide the council with information it can use when putting together future planning policy.
The area I have chosen is an important one – Horsell High Street between the village school (where Church Hill ends) to the junction with Bullbeggars. This obviously includes the pubs, the village hall and all the shops and so getting the information right is going to take a little while. Among the questions on the survey are positives and negatives about this area and this doesn’t just include planning and built environment issues. I know that we need better parking arrangements in the village centre both to allow people easier access to our shops and make the pavements and roads in the village safer for other cars and pedestrians.
But if there is any other feedback on the character of this area of Horsell that anyone would like to raise, please let me know either by commenting here or emailing me.
In addition, I think that Horsell could benefit from some more surveys being done by residents in conjunction with Horsell Residents Association, particularly in areas of urban heritage value. The whole process should take around three or four hours in most instances, depending on the size of area. All the areas not completed by HRA or residents will be done by the council – they won’t be done badly, but it would be nice to have some control over the information that goes back to the council in the areas of Horsell that we care about most.
So if anyone else would like to do a survey, please get in touch with HRA or Woking Borough Council’s planning department.
I’m really sorry about the lack of activity during the past week or so. I’ve been so busy with wedding preparations, various evening meetings and doing my CIPR diploma that it’s been difficult to find the time in the evening to update. I have a mock Critical Reasoning Test in at the beginning of next week that I’m frantically reading up for at the moment. It’s all interesting stuff about persuasion and the nature of public relations but I’m struggling to fit much else in, especially now the garden is getting going again (our lounge table is covered in seed propagators).
There are a couple of things that are ongoing – notably that I will be involved in a LDF Character Study meeting on March 25 on behalf of Horsell Residents’ Association. Further details will follow.
In addition, on St Patrick’s Day (March 17) I will be splitting my time between the HRA management committee and a Tune In event at HG Wells. My understanding is that’s it’s open to all, so why not come along?
I am trying to keep up with everything on Twitter, which is less time-consuming and can be done throughout the day. Why not follow me if you don’t already?
I did say that I would return to the subject of the Carthouse Lane Allotments, although the target date for this application is not until the middle of February. It won’t be heard at the planning meeting on Tuesday – the agenda for that is now published.
Horsell Residents Association met on Wednesday evening and briefly discussed the application. There were concerns about how allotments and warehouses could be built in close proximity to the Special Protection Area when homes themselves were restricted. This all stems to a useless EU directive that is designed to protect nightjars and Dartford Warblers in southern Spain but has wrecked the housing plans of local authorities throughout the Thames Valley.
Put simply, people keep pets and walk them near where they live. It is those dogs and cats that cause a potential hazard to the habitat of ground-nesting birds and the birds themselves. By comparison, a warehouse or industrial unit creates no similar threat. It’s a completely ridiculous directive but there we go.
The general consensus at HRA was that the application itself is no bad thing, even if it did highlight the silliness of the EU law.
We're lucky to have PC Josh Parish in Horsell
No, not like that - sorry to disappoint. PC Josh Parish knocked on my door about half an hour ago while I was emptying the dishwasher (good job I didn’t have the meat cleaver in my hand when I opened the door) and just wanted to pass across details of the Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team in Horsell, which is basically him and PCSO Kimberley Muir.
I’d be stretching it a bit if I said that I regularly see Josh patrolling these parts but then I’m not here all the time and I know from my experience elsewhere that Surrey Police faces a struggle against budgetary constraints to provide the presence they’d ideally like. Josh and Kimberley can’t be everywhere all the time and they do a very good job for the village – attending HRA meetings when they can, working with councillors and making an effort to communicate with residents to get to the heart of problems before they get out of control.
Around Grange Road, I have to say that we have almost no trouble at all but I’m told that there have been a couple of burglaries in the area of late, which given the time of year and the nature of the area is not hugely surprising. It’s good advice to residents across Horsell as the nights draw in – make sure your windows are closed and preferrably locked, that gates are secured and valuable goods not left in sight. Use your alarm if you have one and if you don’t have one think about it - we paid £600 for ours a year ago and while it’s not a small sum, you’ll gladly pay it to get your sentimental items back if you fall victim to these people.
Burglars are often real professionals and they can sweep through a house, pick out the valuable, re-sellable items and get out again in under 10 minutes before your neighbours are even aware they have arrived. The vast majority are highly opportunistic and attracted by open windows, doors, loosely secured entry points and obvious means of easy escape. Don’t get scared; get secured and do everything you can to make your house a risky proposition for them.
I’m grateful to Josh for dropping round to point out an open window on our out-house – while there’s nothing of value in there anyway because it’s unsecure even with the window closed, I’ll be closing it tomorrow so it doesn’t give any unwelcome observers an invitation to visit that they don’t deserve.
Unfortunately, the Chobham Shuttle Bus, whose representatives came to address the Horsell Residents’ Association on Wednesday last week, is to terminate at the end of the month.
The group hasn’t been able to find sufficient funding to give us a chance to extend the service into Horsell to bolster up the no 73 route. I was a little surprised to find this out given that although the need for finances was a topic of discussion on Wednesday, the prospect of imminent closure wasn’t mentioned.
Yet on Friday it appears that that was the decision taken. It’s a great shame for people in Chobham and also that we won’t get a chance to look at a new service for people in Horsell.
Jonathan and I this morning in the Red Lion car park
Last night, I had the honour of being selected as the Conservative candidate for Horsell West at the next local elections, broadly expected to be on the same day as the general election.
Ever since I was a reporter sitting in the council chamber I have felt that being a part of the democratic process was something that I wanted to do and my employment during the past year has left me free to pursue political involvement. Last night, the Horsell and Woodham branch voted to give me that chance and I won’t forget their support – nor the fact that a team, rather than an individual candidate, wins elections.
So what would I bring to the council chamber if elected? I like to think that I have a good working knowledge of local government having reported on and worked for local authorities. I like to think that I understand Horsell’s and Woking’s issues and am able to work logically around possible solutions. I have strong connections with Horsell, having lived here for five years and am a former editor of The Resident, sit on the Horsell Residents’ Association management committee and am in my second term as a trustee of Horsell Village Hall. I also believe I can bring a fresh and young approach to council work to maintain a balance of youth and experience within the organisation as well as use my relationships within the council and community to deliver results.
I’d like to see council tax kept to a minimum to help those who have seen their household incomes drop and costs rise. I am concerned that in the new Local Development Framework there should be scope to maintain the character of villages such as Horsell and protect them from inappropriate development. I would like to see measures introduced to kerb speeding on many of Horsell’s roads, particularly those off the High Street. And I want to work with the police to ensure that they are given the best possible support in dealing with anti-social behaviour in the village and its outskirts. In addition, I favour scoping options for investment in Horsell’s community infrastructure to provide the best possible village facilities for young people and adults alike.
Nationally, I am a liberal Conservative who cares passionately about education, opportunity and social mobility both in Woking and across the country. I believe in the ability the of the free market to deliver prosperity but also in a market that is regulated to ensure it remains a competitive, ethical and reasonable force. You could describe me fairly accurately as a Cameron Conservative.
But in a sense what I think isn’t the point; I’m not the kind of politician who believes that election is merely a mandate to enter a democratic forum and put their personal views forward. Be assured that I have views of my own – don’t we all? – but I would happily put the views of residents first; the job of an elected representative is to represent their electors and their community, not themselves. In other councils, I have experienced the disconnect between local authorities and the people they serve. All to often, members are forced to chose between professional relationships with officers and the views of their electors. Where they choose to go is entirely their own business – but I know where my loyalties would lie.
Finally, I’m not under any illusion about the task ahead. Horsell West is a ferociously marginal seat and whoever the opposition is, it will be very hard work and victory is ultimately in the hands of the voters. I know that I’ve got a great team in the Horsell and Woodham branch behind me and I look forward to working with them to try and convince the voters of Horsell West that am a worthy proposition to represent them in council.
New beginnings
Simon, many congratulations to you and Laura on getting married. Remember marriage is an institut...
New beginnings
Congrats on the forthcoming nuptials Simon and I hope that and the site relaunch goes well!
I'll...
Horsell gardens wanted
Thanks for your reply, Penny.
Horsell gardens wanted
After a slow start finding gardens this year, several new ones came in at the last moment. There...
Horsell gardens wanted
I'm disappointed to read that you have a shortage of gardens this year and wonder if this is stil...