Horsell Moor Resurfacing Defies Logic

On Sunday I took a look at the resurfacing work on Horsell Moor. Signs went up a week or so ago advising residents and other users of the road that it would be closed overnight on a couple of days over the last week.

I was pleased to hear that this road was to be resurfaced because the work was much needed.  There are potholes and damaged road surface all along the road.  However I was a bit puzzled because I had also heard at a county council meeting that Horsell Moor was on a standby list for resurfacing.

Part of Horsell Moor is now resurfaced

On further investigation I came to understand that the main part of Horsell Moor would be resurfaced but the section from Brewery Road to 1A Horsell Moor was not being done at the same time.

The Dividing Line
Resurfacing only part of Horsell Moor

This seemed totally illogical but imagine my shock when I realised that only the section of Horsell Moor from near the children's playground to Arthurs's Bridge Road and the part of the road outside the cricket club and children's nursery entrance has been resurfaced.  This leaves the main residential section of the road and the two other entrances from Brewery Road untouched.

Where is the logic in resurfacing just part of a road when the whole of the road is quite clearly in need of this treatment.

What is the financial logic in getting all the equipment to site, having it delivered on huge low loaders, bringing all the workmen to the site just for one small section of road.

Potholed road left untouched on Horsell Moor

On top of this I am told by residents that notices they received about the works implied that the whole road was to be resurfaced.  I have also heard that councillors were aware only part of the road was to be done.  Well maybe the county councillor is aware but I was never even told the road was to be resurfaced, despite receiving general public notifications about road works.  I learnt from being told by residents and noticing the signage on the road.

More time to pay Council Tax

Woking Council has always collected Council Tax for Woking, Surrey and our police and fire services in 10 instalments. There is one advantage of this to residents.  For two months of the year there is no Council Tax to pay.  The advantage to the Council is that all the money is collected earlier in the year and it provides greater certainty in future budgeting.

This year dear old Mr Pickles, the Local Government Minister told councils that they must offer residents the opportunity to pay Council tax in 12 instalments.  I must admit I hadn't realised that other authorities already offered this option.

Woking Council don't seem too keen to promote the longer payment terms as they have hidden information about making the choice on the back of local council tax bills.

If you would find it easier to budget or make council tax payments over 12 months just give the council a call and ask them to revise your payments.

With some residents being asked to contribute to their Council Tax payments for the first time or to pay more of their Council Tax bill this year as I set out here this could be of some help.

As one road opens ... an entrance closes

Triggs Lane open

I was delighted to find out last Thursday that Triggs Lane was to re-open to traffic the following morning.  I knew drivers in my own area of Horsell and across the borough would be relieved that one traffic nightmare was over.  The work was finished a whole four weeks ahead of schedule.  Thanks are due to a number of local councillors and county council officers who worked hard on getting the work done in the shorter time.

The speed of the work, which took two thirds of the anticipated time, seems to show just what utilities can achieve when pressured.  All too often the county council seem much too lenient in allowing utility companies to close roads and disrupt key routes.  There is no doubt works need to be done.  Triggs Lane needed a new gas main, but all effort should be put in to do the work in the fastest time possible. 

Woking Council which helpfully put a notice on its website advising the road was closed until late March has to date failed to advise that the road is now open again.

UPDATE 27 February - Woking Council now has an update on its website - 5 days after the road re-opened 

Lightbox entrance closed

Meanwhile today I found out that the front entrance to The Lighbox is closed while works are done on access to the bridge over the canal.  I had heard in passing that this was to happen but I had no idea when or for how long.  

I have no doubt the work is necessary but why could the Council not let people know this was going to happen?  I haven't walked by yet to see but I am told there is no advance signage of the closure.  There is nothing on the Council website.  There is a notice on the Lightbox website where I learnt the closure began on Monday 25 February and will last for up to 3 weeks.  It would have been nice if this information had been given to ward councillors and some signage would be helpful.  I did drive past tonight and the way the site is cordoned off it looks as if the Lightbox is closed.

Horsell Policing Update

After a stable period of local policing in Horsell with PC Parish we got a new NSO (Neighbourhood Specialist Officer) during last year.  I never heard that this new NSO was leaving but was told by our local PCSO that another officer was covering our area for the forseeable future.  This seems to be a long term arrangement as another officer Rebecca Holder is now listed as the Horsell NSO.  You can see PC Holder's biography on the Surrey Police site.

Derek Slee continues to be our Horsell PCSO and is frequently seen out on the beat.

Meet both our NSO and PCSO at the regular Police Panel on Thursday 6 February.  The panel is an opportunity for residents to raise any general crime and safety concerns and to set priorities for our local police in the next two months.  The panel starts at 7.30pm and is held at Horsell Village Hall in the High Street.

Start the voting habit early

The House of Commons supported a motion put by Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Williams this week to give the vote to 16 and 17 year olds.  Despite being passed with a large majority this proposal is not likely to become law because it was not a bill but a backbench motion.  Thanks to Conservative opposition to those under 18 voting young people are unlikely to be able to vote from age 16 in the near future.

I thought back through my own voting history and realised that, despite my interest in politics I didn't vote for an MP until I was 26.

There was a General Election the year before I turned 18.  I was living at home and studying for 'A' Levels.  If I had been able to vote in that election I would have done so.  A year later, around the time of taking my 'A' Levels, there were elections to the European Parliament.  I had passed my 18th birthday and voted in those elections.

At the time of the next General Election I was at University.  I had spent six months in a rented property and then returned to live with my parents for six months whilst undertaking a work placement.  In election week I went to stay with a friend in another part of the country.  I was registered to vote at my parent's address but as plans to visit a friend were made late in the day I didn't have time to apply for a postal vote.  I didn't vote.  I suspect that many young people are in a similar situation, moving around and making last minute plans in their late teens and early twenties.

It was then five years until the next General Election so I didn't vote on the national stage until I was 26 years old.  By that time I had stood as a local election candidate and voted in a further European election.

With General Elections now on a five year cycle and usually happening on the first Thursday in May a young person with an 18th birthday on the first Friday of May 2015 would not be likely to vote in a General Election until they were 23 years old.  Miss that one for some reason and they would be 28 years old.

A young person not eligible to vote until early 2016 would miss the 2015 General Election and wait until they were 22 to cast a vote in a national election.  

Surely the time to catch young people and engage them is at school or sixth form college.  Most will be voting in an area they have lived in for a time rather than voting in a town they may only spend a few years in whilst at university.

Why not give young people who are likely to be at home, with some stake in their local society a vote from age 16.  Not all will use their democratic right, not all will feel ready to vote but why not give young people the choice?

Sixteen is the time to get into the democratic habit.

Localising Council Tax - Government Shifts the Burden

Woking Council tonight approved its scheme to "localise" Council Tax.  Essentially this means the Council agreed which groups in the population who either have not previously paid Council Tax or have not paid full Council Tax will have to make at least a contribution to their Council Tax in future.

The Past
Until this year various groups in the population such as the unemployed, carers, those on low incomes and pensioners were entitled to council tax benefits.  These benefits were funded by the government who gave the money to local councils to run local services.

The Future
The Coalition government, in its wisdom, decreed that everyone of working age should pay something towards their Council Tax.  Pensioners were excluded from this latest wheeze and their Council Tax benefits remain unchanged.

Each Council has had to come up with a "Local Council Tax Support Scheme". The government offered a sample scheme and in Surrey the county worked with the boroughs to come up with a framework scheme.

Woking rejected the government scheme, even though if offered money to ease the scheme in for the first year, because of the wide ranging impact it would have had on those who would struggle to pay.

Woking has gone for its own variation of the Surrey framework.  The scheme has the following changes which will come into force from April 2013.

The second adult rebate scheme is removed
Currently if another adult lives with somebody who receives Pension Credit, Income Support, Income-based Job Seekers allowance or Income-related employment and support allowance or has a low income they can claim Council Tax benefit.  This is removed.  This affects 25 people living in Woking.

Benefit is limited to level of Band D Council Tax
Council Tax benefit will only be paid for the amount due on a Band D property.  So if a resident lives in a Band E property they would need to pay the difference between the two bands.  This affects 160 Woking residents.  The difference between Band D and Band E Council Tax was £346.20 in 2012/13.  I made the point at the Council meeting that this may impact those who happen to live in a more expensive area who would need to find several hundred pounds more per year when food, gas and electric prices are already rising.

Minimum weekly benefit payment of £5
if the Council Tax benefit due is less than £5 a week it will not be paid.  Doesn't sound too bad but as I said at tonight's meeting this could be £200 a year for someone on a low income who is already struggling.  This affects 275 Woking residents.

Saving limit of £10,000
The amount of savings residents can have and still qualify for Council Tax benefit is reduced to £10,000.  This affects 43 Woking residents.

There is a hardship fund to help those who cannot pay what is due under the new scheme.  I made the point at the Council meeting this evening that this smacks of deserving and undeserving poor with those unable to pay having to plead with the Council for help with their bill.

I'm not happy with this scheme but it is sadly something that had to be done.  I am satisfied it is the best of a bad job.  Council officers in Woking really did work hard to find a scheme that had least impact.  The logic of charging more to those who have least is totally beyond me.

Woking Council has partially been able to reduce the impact for those on benefits or low incomes by making "technical changes" to Council Tax.  I will cover those changes in another blog post.

Beware Free Offers - they often come at a price

I had a phone call from my husband today letting me know a company called Landmark Security had telephoned and were offering us a "free" alarm system.  This call immediately rang alarm bells as I had received a similar call from a company called Direct Response last year.  They had also offered a "free" alarm system but a little investigation showed that this offer usually came with hefty charges.  I wrote about the experience to warn residents back in October and reported the company to local police, Trading Standards and the Telephone Preference Service.

I did a little searching on this latest company, who had told my husband that they were in the area and offering a limited number of "free" alarm systems.  It didn't take long to discover that the BBC programme Rogue Traders had investigated Landmark Security.  The Rogue Trader coverage came about after an elderly lady in Surrey had been charged over £7,000 for servicing and monitoring of a "free" alarm system.  The programme set up two scenarios using actors to illustrate tactics employed by the company.  These included spending up to three hours with prospective customers, insisting prospective customers sign up there and then to get a "free" system and accusing those who did not want to sign of wasting their time.

I am now reporting this company to Trading Standards and the Telephone Preference Service.  It is all too easy for us to ignore these calls but as we have TPS we should not receive the calls in the first place.  Older residents and those who live alone may see this as a good offer and could be persuaded to spend a lot of money.  An expert on the Rogue Trader programme says a burglar alarm system of the type offered costs on average under £600 in the South of England.

Before and After Bedser Bridge

A representative of the Basingtoke Canal Society kindly let me know at the end of last week that the new Bedser Bridge was to be lifted into place on Monday.  She had received notification that the canal was to be closed for the day to enable to bridge to be laid across the canal.

Walking to catch the train to work this morning I realised it was probably the last time I would see the canal without a bridge across it so I quickly snapped this shot of the clear canal.

I then saw during the day that the new bridge had been successfully lifted in to place.  I tried to photograph the bridge in place but it was a little too dark by the time I was coming home from work.  Hope Woking Council don't mind me using this picture of the new bridge in place.  I'll try and get one of the same shot later today.

The new bridge may be in place but it is far from open.  There still seems to be a fair bit of work to do on the Horsell side.  We were told the new bridge would be open in "early 2013" but my investigations late last year revealed it could be as late as April (a year after it closed) that we get the bridge back.

UPDATE
Managed to get the same picture as on Monday.  As I reviewed the shot I thought how well the new bridge fits into its environment.  Such a relief that people power won out and we didn't get the concrete monstrosity that was originally planned to go over the canal.

The Arrogance of Surrey's Conservative County Councillors

Does the arrogance of Surrey's Conservative County councillors know no bounds?

Farnham Caste - location for Surrey Conservative away days

1. At a time of contracting budgets, belt tightening and major challenges facing local government Surrey's ruling Conservatives took 26 Conservative councillors and county council staff for two days to Farnham Castle in November.  This working break received extensive press coverage both locally in the Surrey Advertiser and in the national media.  Press stories pointed out that Conservative Local Government Minister Eric Pickles recommends councils "cancel away days at posh hotels".  Mr Pickles recommends using a room in a council owned property or swapping a room with a neighbouring authority.  All very sensible cost saving measures.
2. Ignoring Mr Pickles's advice and seemly unphased by criticism Surrey's Conservatives are planning to do it all over again.  Same venue, another two days away with an overnight stay.  The Surrey Advertiser has the story.
3. The Surrey Advertiser explains that the event is in Leader David Hodge's diary.  It also gives the dates 6 to 7 June 2013.  In addition to the arrogance of spending taxpayers money on away days Conservative councillors are pre-empting the results of elections to the county council due to be held in May 2013.

UPDATE
Surrey County Council Conservatives have now cancelled the away day planned for June 2013.  Lib Dem Leader at the County Council Hazel Watson is still seeking answers on previous away days at the castle.  The County Council are listed on the castle's website as regular users.  It is thought there may have been trips to the castle since 2009.

Two opportunities to Cycle Woking in 2013

Two Woking Bike Events for 2013
Great news this week that the Woking Bikeathon is returning and that Pedal4Charity will take place again this year.

Woking Bikeathon
The Surrey Advertiser brought news of the return of the Bikeathon this week.  The popular cycle event was run by Leukemia Research until 2011.  After their decision to no longer run the event in Woking the Rotary Club has decided to take over the event.  It will take place on Sunday 12 May, setting off from Bishop David Brown School in Sheerwater.  The event will raise funds for local charities including Woking Hospice, the White Lodge Centre, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, The Children’s Society and Woking Community First Responders.

I took part in a very wet but enjoyable Bikeathon a few years ago and will celebrate the return of the popular event by taking part this year.

I understand there will be more details of the 2013 Bikeathon on the Rotary website in the future.

Pedal4Charity
Pedal4Charity today confirmed that their cycle event, run from The Cricketers in Horsell and raising money for Woking Hospice will be back for its 6th year on Sunday 15 September.

Last year this event and associated fundraising by The Cricketers during the year raised £45,000 for our local hospice facilities.

I didn't cycle in 2012, but I did go along and support the event.  I did the course in 2011, when I was lulled into a false sense of security by the relatively easy first half of the ride.  After the stop at the Rose and Crown in Thorpe there was rather harder ride across some very muddy ground.  I had aching thighs for some time afterwards. Despite this I have decided 2013 is the year for the double and aim to take part in Pedal4Charity as well.

Looking back at 2012 - the last quarter

The rain did not abate as one of the wettest years ever recorded entered its final quarter.  We had a very mild Chrismas period to end a hectic last three months of the year.

Woking trains were confirmed as some of the busiest.  The 7.32  from Woking to Waterloo is the second most overcrowded train in the country with a typical load 164% of capacity.

One side of the new bridge arrived at
Brewery Road in December

It was confirmed in December that the new bridge over the canal from Brewery Road to Woking town centre will not be open in December or January and could be as late as April (the date I learned is stipulated in Wilmott Dixon's contract).  However the new bridge has arrived and is on site ready to be put together.

A water main burst in Knaphill on Christmas Day  leaving residents in parts of Knaphill and Horsell without water or with lower than usual water pressure.

Another water supply pipe burst on the A320 on 31 December. Luckily no cars fell into the road and as it was during a holiday period traffic congestion was limited. It still meant residents of Horsell and Woking woke up to no water or low water pressure.  Fast work by Affinity Water meant water supplies were restored within a few hours but this latest pipe burst once again brought calls for action on the local water supply system.

Woking was plagued by arson in the latter part of 2012 with fires in an outbuilding of an Old Woking church, Toad Hall children's nursery and Mayford Village Hall.  It was particularly upsetting that each of the facilities affected provided services for young children.

Parts of Woking suffered from postal theft with local councillors and even our local MP getting involved to demand action from Royal Mail.

Bad news for Woking's retail revival when the Conservative Council announced increased town centre car parking charges against Lib Dem opposition.

The final great Horsell events to round off a fantastic year for the village were the 2nd Horsell Christmas Tree Festival and a revival of the Horsell Christmas Fair.

A small proportion of Woking residents took part in the election of Independent candidate Kevin Hurley as Surrey's first Police and Crime Commissioner. Just 1 in 10 of non-postal voters made it to a local polling station on 21 November.

Town Square in Woking was officially re-opened and re-named as Jubilee Square.

I visited Pares Woodland Garden, an amazing community project to return an overgrown piece of land behind Horsell village to public use.  The area will soon become a real community asset for all.

Woking Council was finally able to launch its Core Plan providing a basis for future planning and development decisions.

Lib Dem intervention was confirmed as successful at keeping Byfleet in the Woking parliamentary constituency. Woking Conservatives had been happy to lose Byfleet to a neighbouring constituency.

Surrey County Council confirmed they would make safety improvements at the Arthur’s Bridge / Lockfield Drive early in 2013.  These are accident prevention measures I first raised in 2010.

Horsell Co-op ended months of speculation by announcing it was moving premises across the High Street.

Our local water provider for Woking was renamed as Affinity.

Looking back at 2012 - third Quarter

Quarter three was a busy but soggy summer that flew by with so much happening.

July to September

Getting dug in at Woking Palace

I had my second ever day of archaeological digging at Woking’s very own ancient monument Woking Palace in Old Woking.

Lewis Hamilton announced he was leaving McLaren to drive for Mercedes in 2013.  Hamilton’s departure brought to an end his 14 year association with the Woking team.

Eleven months after it last happened a car fell into a hole in the road on the A320 caused by a burst water main.  This was September 2012 and a similar incident had occurred on a different part of the same road in October 2011.

There is a lot written everywhere about the Olympics and Paralympics so I won’t say much other than it was an incredible time, great to see the cycle races going through the three villages of Byfleet, West Byfleet and Pyrford and to watch amazing successes on television including Mo’s racing successes, David Weir, Ellie Simmonds in the pool, the track cyclists, the rowers and the sailors and Andy Murray and Laura Robson on the tennis court.  I managed to get tickets to Wimbledon Centre Court where the whole family had a fabulous day watching Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Lleyton Hewitt and Serena Williams wipe her opponent off the court.

Early in July Veolia Water (now Affinity) finally dropped their hosepipe ban as we slipped into an increasingly wet summer.

Woking had its first Party in the Park to launch the Olympics.  A great event with lots of local groups participating and great music from local bands.

Looking back at 2012 - Quarter Two

The second quarter of 2012 was very much dominated by the build up to and the event of Jubilee celebrations.  I was pleased to play a small part in Horsell's massive street party

April to June 2012

Horsell was in shock at the loss of its bridge over the canal for 9 months (little did we know it could be a year!) and I worked hard to ensure the diversion route was clearly signposted and concerns of residents along the route were alleviated.

I nominated Nathan Novelli from Horsell and was delighted that he won Woking Outstanding Achievement Award for setting up his own drama school.

My suggestion to have a Powerpoint display to help any members of the public attending council meetings was rejected by Conservative councillors.  I did achieve one small success in getting planning application numbers displayed on visuals during planning meetings.

Kanye West opens Horsell's new allotments

A new Horsell allotment site was opened by Cleve West and I was delighted to be an invited guest.  I had requested more allotment provision back in 2008.  It was great to see the aim for extra allotment space achieved four years later.

Stamp prices rose to 60p for First Class and 50p for second class.

I was elected as Deputy Leader of the Lib Dem Group on Woking Council.

The wooden canal bridge leaves Horsell

The bridge over the Basingstoke canal was removed in May having been cut off since April as part of works on the new WWF building.

The Queen celebrated her Diamond Jubilee and Horsell celebrated with a street party attended by thousands despite the ever present rain.  This great event spawned the Horsell Second Thursday Club which has went on to launch other community events in the second half of 2012.

Looking back at 2012 - first quarter

2012 seemed to fly by rather quickly.  I couldn't believe that Easter arrived when it did or that it was already summer amid all that rain.  Autumn followed fast behind, then it was Christmas and now we are entering 2013.  I decided to take a look back at the Olympic Jubilee year that was 2012 and was amazed at just how much had happened in the last twelve months.

January to March 2012
Plans were submitted for a new Horsell Scout Hut and an extension to Horsell Village Hall.  The scouts and guides are desperately in need of a new home and I know the extra space will be well used at the Village Hall.

Even my daughter was driven crazy by
the long wait for the new crossing

The crossing from the Lightbox to the Council offices and theatre was finally completed after several false starts – just in time for it to be rendered sadly underused as the bridge over the canal closed.

A report revealed that Surrey was the only police force to increase its number of officers in the previous year.  There was a 5.2% increase in officers in the county.

Brewery Road car park as it had existed for many years closed in February.  We should get a surface level car park back albeit with the WWF offices above it by the end of 2013.

PC Parish who had been Neighbourhood Officer since 2006 left Horsell following a promotion.  We have seen less of his replacement officer but the latest PCSO for our area Derek Slee has done sterling work throughout the year.

Brewery Road car park to building site

Work started to build the new WWF (World Wildlife Fund) headquarters on the site of Brewery Road car park.

Woking Commuter Trains are Crowded - news?

No surprise to learn that a Woking commuter train is at number 2 in the list of most overcrowded trains in England and Wales.  The weekday train that leaves Woking for London Waterloo at 7.32 has a load of 164% says a Department of Transport report covered by BBC News.

Also, at number 9 in the list is a service from Alton to London.  This is the train that leaves Woking at 7.52 for London Waterloo.  It is one of a number of trains that are overloaded by the time they arrive at Woking.  The load on this train is at 152%.

With more flats going up around the station and a key selling point being the fast commute to the capital isn't it time Woking had the long promised new carriages or even a train that starts at Woking.

Patrick Moore in Horsell

Sir Patrick Moore acted
with HADS

As I heard of the death of national institution Sir Patrick Moore last week I remembered that he had a Horsell connection.  I vaguely recalled that he had trod the boards with a local drama group.

My memory alone was not reliable so I did an online search to remind myself of the details.  Horsell Amateur Dramatic Society (HADS) website confirmed my memory.

Patrick Moore taught at St Andrew's School for a short time.  The school is still in Horsell and situated at the end of Wilson Way.  Whilst teaching at the school the man who found fame presenting The Sky at Night acted in five HADS productions.  HADS' website notes that the future Sir Patrick "had an amazing photographic memory".  Apparently he only had to read a play once to know his part.  

The Bedser Bridge Arrives in Pieces

One side of the new Bedser Bridge

I looked out of the window early on Sunday morning to discover there was traffic control on Brewery Road. I had one vain hope it might be Surrey County Council contractors come to find out why the road flooded last week.  But I was soon to find out this was not the case.  

A little later in the morning I went out to take my daughter to a party and learnt the arrival of the new Bedser bridge across the canal was imminent.  I was a little concerned about the pedestrian arrangements during this activity as we were told to wait for the "banksman" and be escorted along the road.   How would the workmen cope with the pedestrian traffic heading into town after 11 on a Sunday morning I wondered.  I needn't have worried.  An hour later after I had dropped off at the party, wandered through the French market, checked out the new Maplin shop on Commercial Way and done a little Christmas shopping; the road was fully open. The bridge, or pieces of the bridge,  two sides as far as I could see, had been safely delivered to the site.

The main structure of the bridge will be wooden.  It looks so much better than the concrete monstrosity which was proposed initially.

Now we just have to wait for the pieces to be put into place and the rest of the structure around the bridge to be completed.  We were promised a new bridge early in 2013 but my recent questioning suggests it could be Easter before we can cross the canal from Brewery Road again.  If it as late as this that will have been a year we have all had to make the long walk around via Chobham Road and the five point crossing to get into Woking.

Supporting Woking's Voluntary Sector

In my role as Shadow Portfolio holder for Grants I attended and spoke at the annual Woking Council Grants meeting last week.

Woking has a clear process for grants whereby local groups are invited to apply for funding by the end of August each year.  Applications are made through the Window on Woking website.  Applications are considered by the Council and representatives from voluntary groups and recommendations are made to the Executive.

My view doesn't hold much sway with the Conservative Executive but I am allowed to put the Lib Dem view on a number of applications.

Several applications stood out for me on Thursday.

I expressed my surprise that having refused to fund the Neighbourhood Advice Centre (which primarily served Maybury and Sheerwater) last year, giving the reason that CAB were doing work in the area, the Executive has now refused CAB funding for this work.  I spoke in favour of CAB getting extra funding to cover the need in this area.

I was pleased that Outline Surrey received funding this year. Outline provides a telephone helpline and information and organises events for those who are Lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transgender. I have supported the charity's applications for the last three years.  In 2010 no funding was given, in 2011 a small amount was allocated.  This year Outline got their full application.

I spoke in favour of giving CORAM, a group offering life education to school children in the borough, funding for alcohol awareness work.  The work of the group has already been much appreciated in local schools and I spoke based on the experience of my Lib Dem colleagues who are teachers.  Listening to the statistics of the young people affected by alcohol I supported prevention rather than picking up the pieces.  The portfolio holder did not seem keen to fund this part of the programme.  Her view was that the drinks industry should pick up the bill.  I agreed that if the Council agrees to adopt a late night levy this money could be used in future to fund such programmes but money was needed this year.

Why would anyone do this to young children?

St Peter's Church Centre - the blaze which thankfully
burnt out started in an outbuilding at the centre

I was totally horrified, and somewhat incredulous to read today of yet another act of arson affecting a community facility in Woking.  I wrote just over a week ago about the blazes that caused serious damage at Toad Hall nursery in Goldsworth Park and the village hall in Mayford.  I also mentioned the fire at Sayers Croft in Cranleigh, an educational facility used by Woking school children.

Thankfully the latest blaze,  at St Peter's Church Centre in Old Woking, did not do any serious damage.  However the intention of those who started the blaze would appear to have been destructive.  As the Surrey Advertiser reported this episode also involved a burglary, not a factor (as far as I am aware) in any of the other arson incidents.

In the last two cases, St Peter's Church Centre and Toad Hall, it must have been very evident that the premises catered for young children.  I just can't understand why anybody would want to deliberately damage facilities that provide care for young children.

The police did arrest two young men after the Toad Hall blaze.  They have been bailed until January.  I hope there is further progress on these cases and that all our local community facilities remain vigilant until this situation is resolved.

Starstruck Woking

It's been a starstruck few days for Woking.  On Saturday the annual panto kicked off at the New Victoria Theatre starring Stephen Mulhern and Pudsey the dog (winner of Britain's got Talent).  In the audience for Dick Whittington  was comedian, author and extreme charity fundraiser David Walliams.

David was very complimentary about our local panto.

"It's brilliant. Stephen is really funny and Ashleigh & Pudsey 

are so entertaining. Tonight Stephen even got me 

up on the stage. So much fun..!"

David doesn't seem to be alone in his praise for Dick Whittington.  I've seen lots of good reports on the show in its first few days.

But the excitement doesn't end there.  Today the Law and Order UK team were back recording in Woking and Bradley Walsh was spotted in the town centre.  Bradley or should I say DS Ronnie Brooks was on a seat in the vicinity of the Woking Martian.