Woking News

There is a lot coming up in Woking over the next couple of months, including some new and returning events, and it's time to look ahead for a new event next Spring.

A Place to Eat

The first Woking Food Festival takes place in the town centre from 13 to 15 September.  The event promises the Tante Marie Culinary Theatre, well known chefs and up to 50 local and regional food and drink stalls.   I am particularly pleased to see this event come to fruition as I made the original suggestion that such an event be held.  I envisaged the event as an opportunity for local restaurants and cafes to make residents and visitors aware of all that Woking has to offer both in the town centre and the surrounding villages.  I hope the price tag for stalls, which seems a little steep, doesn't put off smaller establishments.  The available details are on the Council website here.

A Place to Cycle

The Tour of Britain cycle race returns to Woking for a second year when the penultimate stage goes along Old Woking Road, Kingifield Road and Guildford Road then into Woknig town centre on Saturday 21 September.  There will be short term road closures of between 15 minutes and half an hour as the race passes through.  Cyclists will be heading along to A320 to Ottershaw so a good opportunity for Horsell residents to watch the race pass by.  Leading cyclists are scheduled to be in Woking at 13.55. Full details of the route and timings are here.

A place to dig

Explore the history of Woking by going on an archaeological dig at Woking Palace in Old Woking.  No previous experience is required.  I have takenpart and very much enjoyed the dig for the past 2 years.  I have yet to find anything beyond oyster shells, nails, bricks and small pottery fragments but the dig is a great opportunity to learn more about local history and archaeology.  Last I heard there were still some spaces on the dig which runs on Wednesday to Sunday from 18 September to 4 October.

Email Hannah Potter at education.scau@surreycc.gov.uk if you would like to know more or book a place on the dig.

A place to watch - ‘Live’ events at Ambassadors cinemas

I am excited about the wide range of live and recorded events that are going to be beamed into our local cinema complex. The new programme promises music from Robbie Williams and David Bowie, Shakespeare featuring David Tennant in Richard III and Macbeth with Kenneth Branagh , the Bolshoi ballet and Glyndebourne.  Listings for the cinemas are here but only seem to be available in alphabetical order so look carefully at dates.

Looking ahead to next year ...

A Place to Run

Details have just been announced of the inaugural Surrey half marathon on a course between Woking and Guildford.  This 13 mile race will take place on Sunday 9 March next year.  The route starts at Stoke Park in Guildford, leaves that town via Burpham and enters Woking through Mayford and Westfield before coming into the centre of Woking under Victoria Arch, turning around and heading back to Guildford.  Find out about running, volunteering or watching the race go by.

Horsell Public Space - Mound Update

The Mound in its "full glory"

The mound in Queen Elizabeth Gardens is still there and the space is unusable as we head into the third week of the school summer holidays.  

After my own holiday I chased up the Council as I had not received an update since the end of July.  I have been told that the Council will be writing to the petitioners this coming week.  It is suggested that a solution to the issues identified in the petition will be offered.

I will provide an update once I hear what is being suggested.

News for Horsell

New vicar for St Mary’s

Following the retirement of long standing vicar Rod Jones earlier in the year St Mary’s Church in Horsell has now appointed a new vicar.  Sarah Hayes comes to Horsell from Chipping Campden where she was Curate.  Sarah previously had a career as a city lawyer.  The new vicar does not formally take up the role until October.

Office to residential planning change

There are concerns over a planning application to turn what was the office of Plum products in the High Street into two flats.  A recent relaxation of planning laws nationally means that changes of use from business to residential are encouraged and the planning authority has little control over these changes.  There are concerns that two more flats in the congested centre of the village will only add  to parking problems.

Muslim Burial ground on Horsell Common

The Grade II listed Muslim Burial Ground on Horsell Common is to be restored in time for commemoration of the outbreak of the First World War next year  I am pleased that funding has been achieved to restore the site which was built in 1917 to inter soldiers from the Indian Army.  There are no burials at the site (they have long since been removed to Brookwood cemetery) but the site will become a garden of peace and remembrance.  It is a fantastic spot for a walk so it is great to know the structure will be returned to its original glory.  English Heritage, Woking Council and Horsell Common Preservation Society are working together on the project.

Horsell Public Space Saga Latest

My request for a clear statement on what will happen next and when in response to resident's concerns about the work at QE Gardens as set out in my last post has failed to provide any clarity.

I have been told by the Council that  "There is no urgency as the site is still work in progress" and that they do not expect to have "a clear position until the autumn planting season".

The Council has offered the reassurance that "The site will be excellent when the job is done".

I have been told that the "matter has been taken out of all perspective" and it is suggested the cooling weather may cool "some of this over reaction".

At the same time a note has been circulated from our local county councillor.  He is trying to assist but the note does not given any firm assurances and is at odds with some of what I have been told.

Amidst all of this, the consultation with residents that I was told would happen when it was explained why my urgent business would not be heard is nowhere in sight.

I am quite clear about what residents want - a flat area returned to the village where children can run around, play football or cricket and where dogs can be walked.  It is a matter of urgency and I am saddened and disappointed that the Council will not commit to work with residents to reach a solution now.

Some progress on Horsell Public Space

There has been some positive progress today on the issue of the slope being added to QE Gardens in Horsell and the loss of flat open space.  I summarise below the key events and where we go next.

Cross section of the slope planned for QE Gardens

Petition submitted
Residents today handed a 500 signature petition to Woking Council.  The petition calls for the Council to "level out the new mound that is being created in our park to retain the original flat playing area".  You  can see the full petition here.  Congratulations to Fiona, Kerri and Natasha for their amazing effort in collecting all these signatures in just a few days.

Democratic process
In the normal democratic process the Council has 14 days to verify and respond to the petition and it is then put before the next meeting of the Council, with a minimum 7 days notice.

The Council met tonight but does not meet again until the end of September. Recognising this I wondered if I could use the item of "Urgent Business" on the Council meeting agenda to highlight this matter and get an agreed way forward.  We can't wait until September.

Urgent Business
I sought guidance from the Borough Solicitor on the grounds for urgent business and felt that this issue met that definition.  The solicitor confirmed to me that it is up to the Mayor to decide whether to allow any item of urgent business.  

I spoke to the Mayor, outlining the issue to her and my reasons for feeling it fitted the definition of urgent business.  Essentially this was that the full scale of the issue only became evident after the deadline for submissions to Thursday's Council meeting and action was needed in the short term, not after the next meeting in late September.  The Mayor agreed to include the item but did mention that she had a pre-meeting with the solicitor and Chief Executive in the late afternoon.

I rather expected to hear more of this before the Council meeting and sure enough I had a call from the Mayor around 6pm.  The Mayor had been 'advised' that the item was not urgent business and not to accept it on the agenda. Conversation then continued with the solicitor who said that no more work would be done and that residents would now be consulted.  

Stopping the work
I did not get a positive response to my repeated requests this week to stop the work but it now seems work will end by tomorrow.  I understand no further work will be done for the moment.  Whether this was the scheduled end of the work or it is a response to my request and the petition I do not know.

Consultation
My conversation with the solicitor on his recommendation that the Mayor did not take my urgent business indicated that there would now be consultation with residents on whether or not we want a slope.  A later conversation I had with another officer of the council suggested this would not be the case.  I have asked for clarification.

The Council Meeting
Despite my request for an item of urgent business being turned down I wanted to get confirmation of next steps in the public domain.  I raised an item of urgent business at the Council meeting asking that a statement be provided.  My request was rejected out of hand.

Next Steps
The next steps are to get confirmation that work has stopped and to get clrify on what consultation will take place and when.

Future shape of Woking Council

Woking Council tonight voted to recommend to the Boundary Commission that the Council should have 30 rather than 36 councillors in future.  If the Boundary Commission agrees (and subject to public consultation) it will mean that each council ward will have around 7900 electors and Woking is likely to be split into 10 wards rather than the 17 it has now.

The key Conservative rationale behind this reduction appears to be that other areas with a Conservative majority are doing this and it saves money.

As Liberal Democrat Group Leader I proposed an amendment for a reduction to 33 councillors.  The Liberal Democrats felt this could still save money but would be a more realistic reduction whilst giving more flexibility to reflect natural communities in ward boundaries.  We also suggested the Council look to save money by moving from papers to electronic  materials and posting and sending items by courier less.

Our amendment was rejected.

Latest on Horsell Open Space Decimation

Woking Council has responded to my request to stop work at QE Gardens, Horsell in order that a solution may be found to meet the needs of residents and the project.

They say that the work will be completed and it can then be reviewed.  Completion is due on Friday.

I have explained that we know exactly how the area will look as we have now all looked at the later planning application in some detail.

We do not want a slope we want a relatively flat piece of land returned to Horsell.

I have reiterated my request for work to stop and discussions to take place on a way forward.

For the background to this issue see my original post here and updated post here.

Horror at Decimation of Horsell Public Amenity Space

*** BREAKING NEWS  ***

Public concern is growing and I have now asked the Council to stop work on this area until a solution can be found that works for residents and the project.
 
*** BREAKING NEWS  ***

Finally I have some answers on how a public amenity area at Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Horsell came to be destroyed.

Ten days ago I blogged on resident's horror at the loss of a public amenity space.

I set out the following questions and I now have some answers ...

How could this be major change to our local landscape be described as a minor amendment when it dramatically alters and renders virtually useless a public amenity area?

Council officers insist that this is a minor change and that it was clear from the original planning application what was to be created in this area.  Here is the graphic which showed those who looked at the plans online (assuming they could find a suitably old version of Internet Explorer) and people who attended Horsell Residents Association AGM, what the area would look like.

Graphic showing layout of Horsell Civic Space. Note blue/green wavy line to left of Bowls Club. Is this meant to indicate a slope?

The text to the left of the area refers to excess material being used to stabilise slopes and to creating gentle parkland landform.  I don't know about anyone else but I read this as improving the existing slope not creating a whole new, bigger, steeper peak that takes over the area.

Who took the decision to make this minor amendment and who (other than residents through the planning process) was consulted on the decision?

No direct responsibility has been taken for making the decision on this. The architects working for the Council on the project drew up the plans.  Initially they hoped to get them agreed by Planning without the submission of a planning application.  The insistence is that this was always intended.  The plans submitted for the later planning application show what is intended.  No such plans were included in the original planning application.

Statutory planning consultation was carried out on the minor amendment but only with homes on the High Street, Hill Close and Bury Lane.  The wider resident population (including this local councillor) knew nothing of this. I am unclear as to whether Conservative councillors were aware. One councillor talks of closely following progress on this project.  Was this missed or was she happy for these changes to the plans to take place?

Are any policies breached by the loss of public amenity space?

Apparently not because the space is not lost, just changed.  I am told it can still be used and Natural England "recommend slopes" for children to play on.  Children had slopes before, they enjoyed playing on the incline to the Bowls Green.  Children also had a flat area to play ball games and run around.  They don't have that flat area any more.

Diagram submitted with later application showing full extent of incline

The image above shows, from left to right = a tree from the residential boundary, then the proposed re-routed footpath, a huge slope and the hedge to the Bowls Green.

Has a safety assessment taken place?

I am told there are no safety concerns despite potential users of the footpath being surrounded by a mound 4.49 metres high on one side and boundary fences on the other side.

A new question is just why do this at all?

Retention of spoil on site will presumably save a lot of money.  Is this a way of reducing project costs?

What Next

Anger is growing in Horsell.  With schools due to break up this week parents are particularly angry and many have time available to let the Council know their views.

I am fully behind those who object to this decimation of our local amenity space.  I want to find a way forward that gives a relatively flat space back to residents as soon as possible.

Horror at loss of Horsell Public Space

Residents of Horsell who have walked past Queen Elizabeth Gardens on the High Street in the last week or so can't have failed to notice major changes to the landscape.  Land to the side of the Bowls Club has been dug up and earth has been piled up towards the edge of the bowling green.

Dramatic landscape changes

I was first alerted to what was going on by residents and went along to see for myself last week.  My immediate reaction was to assume the land, which provided a flat, but sloping surface was being flattened in preparation for a diversion of the footpath which runs between the Bowls Club and the Village Hall.  A footpath diversion is required to allow for a small extension to the Village Hall and the new Scout Hut which is being built behind the Village Hall. 

Further investigation revealed that the plan is to create a steep ridge, running up to the Bowls Club with the diverted footpath running along the edge of the area.  

This is how the area looks now.  It will be grassed again, but a public amenity space where residents walked dogs, children ran around and played ball games and the location for children's sports events at last year's Jubilee celebrations has been removed and will not return.

 

How Did It Happen?

It took me some effort to track down how this had happened.  After searching I found the planning application PLAN/2012/0915.  The application is described as 

"Amendment to planning permission reference PLAN/2012/0225 for a minor amendment to landscaping details that retain spoil on site and re-profile proposed soft landscape areas". 

This is far from a minor amendment.  Apart from showing the proposal to divert the footpath the original planning application for the new Scout Hut and Village Hall extension makes no mention of any work on the land on the west side of the bowling green.  How can wholesale destruction of a public amenity area be described as minor?

Informing Councillors and Residents
Having tracked down the planning application I was very puzzled because it did not look at all familiar to me.  Councillors receive a weekly list of the latest planning applications and I always take a least a glance at all of the Horsell applications.  I had not seen this one.  Investigation revealed that this application had somehow not made it on the weekly list when it was submitted in October.  It did make it on the other list that councillors receive on the outcomes of applications (in January) but as it referred  to a "minor amendment" and I assumed it referred to land around the new Scout Hut I looked no further.

Neighbouring residents were consulted through the usual planning process.  One resident raised concerns.  I imagine others merely read the words "minor amendment" and looked no further.


Next Steps
I am very unhappy and concerned about this horrific loss of public space and  have written to council officers asking:

- How could this be major change to our local landscape be described as a minor amendment when it dramatically alters and renders virtually useless a public amenity area

- Who took the decision to make this minor amendment and who (other than residents through the planning process) was consulted on the decision

- Are any policies breached by the loss of public amenity space

- Has a safety assessment taken place


UPDATE 22 JULY 2013

Finally have answers to the questions above.  Click here for part 2 of this saga.

How should Woking Borough be governed in future?

Current Woking Borough Wards

Every fifteen years or so the boundaries of local government are reviewed by an independent body the Boundary Commission.  This happens at different times for each authority.  Surrey boundaries were reviewed in the last few years and county councillors were elected on the new boundaries in May this year.  It is now the turn of Woking borough to review its boundaries.

Reviewing boundaries is a lengthy process.  Councillors were advised that the review would happen earlier this year.  Woking Council will decide by the end of July how many councillors it will need in future and whether it wishes to continue electing them by thirds (a third of the council is up for election in each of three years) or in "all-up" elections that happen only every four years.

There is a consultation here that asks for your views on this initial part of the boundary review.  Responses are required by 19 July.

Over August the Boundary Commission will look at what Woking has submitted and we will know the future number of councillors and frequency of elections by September.

Then the fun starts ....

From September onwards Woking has to look at how wards (the areas within which councillors are elected) are constituted.  There will be a range of issues to consider including appropriate population size - so each councillor represents roughly the same number of residents; communities and inevitably political parties will have an eye to to areas that are "winnable" for them.

The Council will work on ward boundaries over the remainder of 2013 and then report to the Boundary Commission.  The Commission will consult on the initial proposals, take any responses and then consult again if there is any revision in the proposals.  All this will run through to 2014.  An order for the new Woking boundaries will be set before parliament in 2015 and the first elections on the new boundaries will be in 2016 - 3 years after the process started.

I am on the boundary working group at the Council and am looking forward to having a part to play in this process.  The working group will take account of consultations with the public and be talking to local interests on how to best represent our area in future.

Arthur's Bridge Safety works only solves half the problem

Work has taken place at the Arthur's Bridge / Lockfield Drive road junction as anticipated in my blog post of a few weeks ago. 

It is not quite as I was expecting.

The far side of Lockfield Drive from Horsell, heading towards Harelands Roundabout has been improved. The run up to the traffic lights is now a single clear lane.  All good. But ...

What about the road in the other direction? To my mind this is where much of the problem lies.  Vehicles coming from Harelands Roundabout race to the lights in the right hand lane.  Cars leaving Arthur's Bridge turn out and right as the lights are changing.  On several occasions this has led to collisions.  

Why has Surrey gone to so much effort to only fix half of the problem?

I am trying to find out.

Looking forward to going on safari

Lucy enjoying the 2012 Garden Safari

June is the safari season in Horsell.  Yes, that's right, the village of Horsell hosts its 11th annual Garden Safari on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 June.  

There won't be too many big beasts prowling the streets but there will be 25 gardens to visit over the two days.  

Opening hours and tickets

Gardens are open 11am to 5pm on Saturday and 12pm to 5pm on Sunday.  Buy tickets from Spar, Needle and Thread or Lisa Jones hairdressers in Horsell High Street or at The Lightbox.  Tickets cost £7 per adult (children go free) and include a map of the gardens and details of extras available at each location such as refreshments or plant sales.

The Safari is always a great event with new and old gardens to see, some delicious cakes and even wildlife (usually nothing more vicious than chickens).

Visitors drive, cycle or walk around and you can go to as many or as few gardens as you wish.

Pares Woodland Garden

A special feature of this year's Garden Safari will be the opening of Pares Woodland Garden.  I've blogged here on how the vision of one man and the hard work of the 2nd Thursday club transformed an overgrown piece of land behind the High Street into an inviting woodland garden.  Now you can come and see the finished project for yourself.  Grand opening Saturday 15 June at 10.30 and then open as for the rest of the Safari over the weekend.

Supporting community facilities

Funds raised from the Garden Safari go towards the upkeep of the Village Hall and in recent years has contributed to both new flooring and a new boiler.

Any Questions for a Friday Evening

St John's Church, West Byfleet where
Any Questions was recorded 24/5/13

I had an enjoyable Friday evening as an audience member for Any Questions.  For those unfamiliar with the programme it is a Radio 4 current affairs panel discussion, similar to Question Time on television.  

The Location

This week's edition was recorded at St John's Church in West Byfleet.  I've driven past St John's church many times on my way through West Byfleet.  It is located just past Waitrose, at the traffic light intersection, an area I learnt that was once known as Byfleet corner.

I am not a church goer but I am always interested in, and appreciative of the architecture of ecclesiastical buildings.  St John's is a large church, and we were told in the introduction to the evening that it has a growing congregation.  The church has a huge wooden vaulted barrel roof and walls of Doulting stone. Unusually there is just one stained glass window in the church.  The church celebrated its centenary last year, having been designed by Caroe, a leading light in the Arts and Crafts movement and built by local builders Tarrant in 1912 at a cost of £9,908.  The organ came a year later and cost a massive £1,000.

I digress, but we did spend quite a while sitting around waiting for the recording to start so I had time to take all this in and read the helpfully provided leaflet about St John's.

Any Questions

The evening proper began with a 'warm-up' from a BBC producer, currently with Newsnight but about to move to the Today programme.  He regaled us with some amusing stories and there was an opportunity to ask questions about BBC news.

We had all been invited to submit questions and I put in a few before taking my seat for the evening.  It was to no avail.  Ten questions were selected and the questioners were invited to take seats on the front row - no roving microphone at this recording.  The last question chosen was told it was to be asked first, for the dry run, to check out microphones and sound levels.

Finally to the guests.  

Trevor Kavanagh, former political editor and now Associate Editor of the Sun - I didn't agree with him once all evening.  

Maria Miller, Conservative MP for Basingstoke and Minister for Culture - totally disagree with her on her recent pronouncements on arts making an economic case (typical Tory who knows price of everything and value of nothing) but she was good in defence of government policy on equal marriage.  Less good on taxation where she seemed a little lost.

Sadiq Khan, Labour MP Tooting for and Shadow Lord Chancellor was the only Muslim to have attended Cabinet meetings when he did so in the latter days of the last government.  I had heard him before on television and found him an atypical Labour minister but he is an engaging speaker with a sense of humour and came across well.

Brendan O'Neill is rather an enigma.  He edits a magazine called spiked, writes for the Big Issue and blogs for The Telegraph.  He had some pretty off the wall views on most issues discussed in the evening but I did agree with him when he called Maria Miller a philistine for her view on funding the arts.

I was of course disappointed that there was no Liberal Democrat on the panel.

And the questions.  Predictably we started with the dreadful events in Woolwich on Wednesday.  One questioner asked if the Muslim community could do more to prevent terrorism and another whether governmnet had over-reacted to the incident.  We covered tax avoidance by successful businesses, equal marriage, funding of the arts and "swivel-eyed" loons.

It was an interesting evening and good to be part of something live, with real people in front of you answering questions rather than a television picture or a voice on the radio.

Finally safety works on Arthur's Bridge / Well Lane?

Signs displayed on Well Lane in Horsell suggest that long promised safety work on the junction of Well Lane / Arthur's Bridge and Lockfield Drive may finally be about to happen.

I blogged back in October that this work was imminent.  Despite Surrey County Council announcing the work it didn't happen at that time. No idea why.

Then, Surrey, with their usual forethought, suggested doing the work in January - at the same time as the closure of Triggs Lane.  It was politely suggested this wasn't a good idea.

Finally, I hope, work will start on 22 May.  That will be almost 3 years since I wrote on my blog summarising the issue and highlighting concerns that had already been made many times.

The junction will be closed whilst the work is done so it will be an inconvenience for some days.  i hope it will be worth it for a safer junction in future.

Getting on your bike in Woking

Lots of people get on their bikes on Woking

Figures released recently by the Department of Transport show that 23% of Woking residents get on their bike at least once a month.  This is above the average for both Surrey (20%) and nationally (15%).

Surrey County Council is now offering local companies funding to provide cycle parking and an agreement to match fund any money raised for changing facilities such as showers and lockers at the workplace.

All good stuff but a few road improvements wouldn't go amiss.  I'm still waiting for a re-paint of the white lines that denote a cycle lane that isn't meant to be a cycle lane on Brewery Road in Horsell

Taking the Lead

Cllr.Ann-Marie Barker and Cllr. Will Forster
 Leader & Deputy of Woking Council Lib Dems

I am delighted to have been elected as Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Woking Borough Council.  I will now lead the 15 strong group for the next year.  My Deputy is Will Forster who I know will provide great support throughout the year.

I have worked with Will and other colleagues to put together the team which will provide clear and constructive opposition to our local Conservative run Council.

We will not oppose merely for the sake of it but we will scrutinise council decisions and provide an alternative to the Conservative view.

My first task this week is to propose my colleague Cllr. Anne Roberts as the next Mayor of Woking.

No county seat but still working for you as a borough councillor

No county seat but borough role continues ...

I was unsuccessful in my efforts to get elected to Surrey County Council this week.  The Conservative candidate won the Goldsworth East and Horsell Village division by just 94 votes.

I won't be representing the area on the county council but my work as borough councillor for Horsell West continues.  I will be up for election again next year when my borough seat comes due.

Thank you very much to everyone who gave me their support.  Sorry that we did not make it this year.

Special thanks that to those who made a direct contribution to the election.  Everyone who helped to speak to the electorate, deliver leaflets or who collected voters numbers on polling day is much appreciated.

Goldsworth East and Horsell Village result

Conservative                    1343  36%
Lib Dem Ann-Marie Barker  1249  34%
UKIP                                 681  18%
Labour                              441  12%

Turnout 33%

Two out of three ain't bad (but it would be nice to do better)

I've been really pleased in the last week to have helped local residents to solve two niggling problems.

Overhanging trees caused problems

The first was an issue of highway trees which overhang a resident's garden.  When I spoke to the resident a few weeks ago they told me they had tried, unsuccessfully, in the past to get Surrey to cut the trees back but they had not received a response from anybody.  I sent the details off to Surrey to see if anything could be done.  I was delighted to hear back last week that the county agrees the trees need to be cut back and the work will be done in the next few months.

Drains flooded on unadopted road

The second issue was flooding drains on an unadopted road.  I find the concept of unadopted roads puzzling. We don't have many in Horsell but they are quite common on newer estates.  In this case it meant that I couldn't ask Surrey to come and clear the drains because they don't cover that piece of road.  I did however get Thames Water to do the job and it was completed last week.

Brewery Road flooding
still not resolved

I also finally got action on a third issue but sadly it was not solved. This is the flooding on Brewery Road which I summarised the saga of last week.  The county team came out and cleared the drains (which has helped to some extent) but were not able to solve all of the flooding.  As I had suspected there is more than one issue here.  The drains was a part of it.  The very helpful man from highways agreed "the camber" of the road may be part of the issue.  This appears to confirm my theory that much of the problem dates from when the road was resurfaced last year.

The issue has now been passed to the "wet spots" team but highways couldn't give me a timescale for when they would be able to tackle the flooding.

So two out of three isn't bad but it would be nice to do better and get the third resolved as well.

Goldsworth Community Event Had a Big Pull

Community Event at Goldsworth Had a Big Pull

Spent a lovely few hours this afternoon at the Goldsworth Park Big Pull.  This fantastic community event was organised by the Goldsworth Police Team and supported by Goldsworth Park Community Assocation, Surrey Fire and Rescue, Woking Council and Waitrose.

The centre-piece of the event was a competition to pull a police van around Goldsworth Park lake.  The Waitrose team triumphed with Woking Council staff the runners up.  The much fancied firefighters team came in last (but were two men down on the day).

It was great to see all the Lib Dem councillors for Goldsworth and Horsell taking part in the day, including Amanda and Denzil Coulson with their new baby daughter, Bryan Cross, Ian Eastwood on the GPCA stall and yours truly of course.

Children were well catered for with a bouncy castle, inflatable slide, obstacle course, drawing and visits from Peppa Pig and and elephant.  The police offered the opportunity to sit on a police bike and to create a bookmark with your own fingerprint.

Adults could pick up safety tips on burglary prevention, avoiding fire and getting bicycles security marked.

There was an ice-cream van, cakes from Waitrose and burgers and sausages on sale.

The sunny weather added to the occasion and everyone appeared to have a wonderful time.

The Day Two Cranes Met

Saturday was the day two cranes met as the huge crane left the WWF building site on Brewery Road in Horsell.  A section of the road from Chobham Road to the beginning of Horsell Moor was closed all day whilst another crane lifted out the site crane.

Wilmott Dixon had leafletted some nearby residents but it seemed a number were not aware of the road closure as they turned along Brewery Road towards the closure.

Signage on the roundabout at the junction with Arthur's Bridge and Church Hill said "Road Ahead Closed" but didn't make it clear which road was closed or where it was closed.

The only advance notice on the road was A4 notices on lamp posts which said the road would be closed on the weekend of 6/7 April!  When we closed the High Street for Jubilee celebrations last year it was a requirement to display advance notice of the road closure.  That certainly didn't happen with this closure.  Surrey Highways did not have any details of the closure on their website.

It was after 8pm when the workers packed up on Saturday night.  I was told that it was hoped to complete all the work on Saturday (but the road closure does cover Sunday as well) but last time I looked some of the equipment was still on the road.  Hopefully this will be cleared early on Sunday and the road re-opened.