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.