What's all this about Police and Crime Commissioners?

Good question.  Many people aren't aware that in England and Wales (except for London) we will all be asked to vote for a Police and Crime Commissioner in less than 4 weeks time on Thursday 15 November.  In this election Woking votes elect a Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey.

What is the role?

A Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for each county is a Conservative idea to give the public more control over local policing.  The Home Office web site tells us that having a PCC will make police more accountable to the public and cut crime.  The Surrey Police Authority sets out the role of the PCC in more detail here.

Independent candidates

It was originally suggested that elections for a PCC would attract good Independent candidates.  It was implied that it wouldn't be politicians that stood for the roles.  Take a look at the Home Office web site and there is lots of talk about how anybody can stand for these new roles.  David Cameron says it is "a big job for a "big local figure" and the Home Office says "This is an opportunity for people from all walks of life to stand and to make a difference".

Sounds great but the reality is rather different.  A candidate needs 500 signatures to stand.  Political parties have access to the electoral roll all year round so it is easy find signatories.  Independent candidates will only get access when they are nominated and nominations only closed this week.

National elections such as the General and European elections include a Free Post - allowing candidates to send a piece of literature to the electorate at no cost to themselves.  They have to pay for design and printing of the literature but the Royal Mail delivers it free of charge. There is no Free Post for the PCC election.

Party political

Having said the roles would primarily attract non-political candidates the Conservative and Labour parties have gone about putting candidates in every county.  These candidates include several former MPs.  Michael Mates is standing in Hampshire and former Woking MP Humfrey Malins tried to get the Conservative candidacy for Surrey.   Among the Labour party it is also a popular role for past MPs.  John Prescott and Alun Michael are in the running.

Initially the Liberal Democrat position nationally was not to run candidates.  The party recommended that we back good Independent candidates instead.  There was some logic in this approach but when it became clear both Conservative and Labour parties were to stand candidates it seemed illogical to a majority in Woking and Surrey not to give the electorate the choice of a Liberal Democrat candidate as well.

Then came the issue of a candidate. I heard there was a Member in Mole Valley who was interested.  He was a local businessman and former district councillor with experience of policing.

Nick O'Shea Lib Dem PCC candidate

In fact Nick O'Shea is the ideal candidate.  If elected he is excellently qualified to be Surrey's first PCC.  Nick comes from a line of policing. Both his father and his grandfather were policemen in Surrey.  He lives in Dorking now but has lived all across Surrey at various times including in Woking.  He is a trained accountant and he runs his own business so he knows how to budget and make the numbers add up.  He has much knowledge of policing in Surrey.  

On selection he set up a programme to spend time in each of the eleven Surrey boroughs.  In Woking I took him around Horsell and we talked to residents in Graylands about local issues including policing.  Colleagues took him to Goldsworth Park to hear of local issues in that part of Woking.

Nick has a clear manifesto and knows exactly what he would do if elected on 15 November.  See his website here.

Other Runners and Riders in the race for PCC

Julie Iles - Conservative candidate 

Current member of the Police Authority and magistrate.  She supported abortive plans to privatise policing which cost Surrey taxpayers £160k.  Has held positions in the Tory party such as Chair of Southern Women's Conservative Association.

Robert  Evans - Labour candidate 

Former London North West MEP.  Despite being MEP for the area he failed to hold the parliamentary seat of Brent East for Labour being beaten into second place by Lib Dem Sarah Teather. He has also been beaten by Conservatives in Uxbridge .  He appears to have Iived in Weybridge throughout his time of representing London in Europe.  He made a big issue of opposing police privatisation but now that is ruled out he seems to have run out of ideas.

Peter Williams - Independent

Current Chairman of Police Authority and magistrate. 

Kevin Hurley - Independent

Beaten in race to be Tory candidate so is going it alone.  Former police Borough commander.  Says he is standing for the zero tolerance policing ex chief party.

Robert Shatwell - UKIP

Ex police officer and past UKIP agent for local elections in Woking. 

Here in Woking polling cards have started dropping through letterboxes ready for the election on Thursday 15 November.

Byfleet stays in Woking thanks to Lib Dems

Lib Dems keep Byfleet part of Woking

The Boundary Commission has announced its latest proposals for future parliamentary constituencies including Woking.  Having consulted on its initial plans the Commission is now proposing that Woking should keep its current parliamentary boundaries.  I never understood the reasoning behind the changes proposed so this is great news for Woking.  

Original plans for Woking constituency involved the loss of Byfleet and the addition of Pilgrims ward from Guildford.  This meant the loss of a Woking borough ward and its replacement with an area outside the borough and closer to Farnham than Woking.

Byfleet is closely linked to the other two wards in the east of the borough  West Byfleet and Pyrford.  The links between these areas are strong and they are commonly known as the "three villages".  Taking Byfleet out of Woking constituency seemed illogical to local Liberal Democrats.  

Lib Dem Borough councillor for Byfleet Anne Roberts put Byfleet's case at the Boundary Commission's public hearing in Crawley.  Cllr. Roberts pointed out that Byfleet looks to Woking as its major town and administrative centre.  This assertion appears to have been supported by the Commission.

Disappointingly local Conservatives took a different view and the Boundary Commission report refers to “Those supporting the transfer of Byfleet, including the Conservative Party, have argued that it is separated from the rest of Woking by the M25.”  It's hard to believe that local Conservatives were prepared to cast Byfleet adrift because a previous Conservative government allowed a motorway to be cut through the borough.

Pilgrims ward is a very rural part of Guildford.  For much of it the nearest town centre is Farnham.  There seemed no logic in attaching this area to Woking.  It is a ward that elects one Conservative councillor with a large majority so you can see the attraction for one party if this area became part of Woking constituency.

Thankfully common sense has prevailed.  This may all be academic for the moment as the new boundary proposals are unlikely to get through parliament.  However they could return after 2015 so I am pleased that the Boundary Commission now supports the status quo for Woking constituency.

A Safer Junction from Arthur's Bridge to Well Lane

More than two years after I called for action on the accident hotspot that is the junction of Arthur's Bridge Road and Well Lane I am pleased to report that Surrey County Council is acting.

Work is due to start next week to remove the extra lane that exists for a short distance close to the lights on Lockfield Drive.  A number of accidents have been caused as drivers race up the outside lane and collide with vehicles completing their turn out of Arthur's Bridge Road.  Hopefully the removal of this lane will prevent future accidents.

I asked a question of the Woking Local Committee back in July 2010.  At that time I summarised the chequered history of this junction on the blog.  My question called for a safety audit in response to a number of accidents that had happened at the junction.  I was told a safety audit could only be carried out on new road junctions but my concerns would be put to a road safety committee of the county council.

Who should pay to "localise" Council Tax

Have you heard about the government's great wheeze to "localise" Council Tax.  Sounds like a good idea.  Local decisions on local finance.  All makes sense.  That is until you realise that national government is not just giving local government responsibility to make decisions on council tax it is also giving it financial responsibility to pay for council tax discounts.

Until now the government has funded council tax discounts.  These are reductions given to single people (25% off council tax bill), those who aren't in work and those who work but earn a low income.  There are also discounts for empty properties and those undergoing structural repairs among others.

From your next council tax bill in 2013 local councils such as Woking and Surrey have to start charging more to all or some of those who currently get discounts or find the money from somewhere else to fund the discounts.

Woking Council is running a consultation on how you think this issue should be dealt with.

Read the background information and have your say in the consultation here

Inside the Living Planet

View down long side of the building

Looking across to bridge location

View along side wall closest to bridge

Edge of the stairs to WWF

On Saturday I and many other residents of Horsell ventured inside the Living Planet Centre.  That is we took a close-up look at the work done so far on the World Wildlife Fund building work on the site of Brewery Road car park.

There is still a lot of mud around but the main structure of the lower part of the building can be clearly seen and the footings are in place for the bridge.

Although the bad weather (that is rain, rain and more rain) has affected the schedule the Wilmott Dixon team carrying out the build hope to catch up later in the programme.

The new "Bedser Bridge" over the canal is still due to open in January.  I know many people will be pleased to have their direct route to the town centre and station open again.

The new bridge will arrive in pieces and be constructed on site.  A crane will then left the new bridge into place.

Questions for SW Trains

Thousands of SW Trains passengers suffered disrupted journeys this afternoon and evening, 12 October.  Delays of an hour or more affected journeys in and out of Waterloo.

Problems started with a power failure at Clapham Junction.  This led to signal problems that had a significant impact on services.

As SW Trains battled to get the service back on track stopping services to Woking were taken out of the schedule.

I travelled on a delayed service towards London which terminated at Woking.  This left a large number of passengers struggling through Woking station to get the next London bound train.  Their passage along Platform 5 was compounded by the large number of passengers waiting for a south bound train.

I have nothing but praise for the guard on my train who kept passengers fully informed when we came to a halt outside Woking due to congestion at the station.  He didn't have a lot of information to share but he told us what he knew  and provided regular updates.

Praise should also be heaped on staff  running the @SW_Trains Twitter feed.  They gave out information and answered queries throughout.   Their quantity of tweets was so great they exceeded their "tweet" limit.

Trains returned to normal around 10pm.  Now there are questions to be asked about how this incident developed:

- what caused the power failure at Clapham Junction?

- how did the power failure affect signals 

- given the incident happened early in the afternoon why did it take so long to get trains back on a track

Woking Weekly Round Up

A weekly round up of news from and about Woking ...

Knaphill man badgered

Knaphill man is mired in controversy after his badger picture is chosen for front of BBC Countryfile calendar.  Spotted this story on Woking People wokingpeople.co.uk  Well done to Dave Foker from Knaphill.  It’s a fantastic picture.

Bomb hoaxer admits guilt

Richard Pell of Knaphill whose bomb hoax led to a massive police response one July evening has pleaded guilty to charges of a hoax bomb call and having a gun with intent reported BBC News report  Mr Pell will be sentenced in November.

McLaren fine ruled tax deductible

Tribunal judges have ruled that McLaren’s fine for a spying ‘controversy’ with Ferrari can be considered tax deductible.  McLaren can now claim a corporate tax deduction on the £32Milion fine.  Autosport has the story.

 

Horsell councillor calls for more police resource

My call for extra police resource to tackle the spate of burglaries in Horsell was picked up by Woking People 

 

Community Matters help local groups

The annual P&G Community Matters awards (in association with the Surrey Advertiser) were handed out to their deserving recipients this week.  Get Surrey has the story of the 10 local groups which promote sport and recreation for children and young people and shared the £15,000 prize money. A wide range of sport and leisure activities benefitted including dance, gymnastics, boxing, and football.

Woking FC overcome Cambridge

Woking FC had a good win over Cambridge FC in mid-week.  Manager Garry Hill talks about it on BBCSport 

  

New stores for Woking

Good news this week about a new shoe shop for Woking – Jones the Bootmakers plus Pandora and Paperchase all set to open in time for Christmas shopping  

Major rail disruption and it was only Friday 12th

Passengers travelling to and from Woking were affected by major rail disruption at the end of the week.  Following a power failure at Clapham Junction there were signalling problems that delayed SW Trains services in and out of London Waterloo.  Delays of up to an hour affected passengers from early afternoon until 10pm.  Get Surrey summarised the disruption.

Hope McLaren Tax Windfall speeds up visitor centre

Tribunal judges have ruled that McLaren’s fine for a spying ‘controversy’ with Ferrari can be considered tax deductible.  McLaren can now claim a corporate tax deduction on the £32Milion fine.

This huge (and I would say seemingly disproportionate fine) was one reason given for McLaren not creating a visitor centre at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking.  A visitor facility was a requirement when McLaren were given planning permission for their new HQ more than a decade ago.

Woking Borough councillors made much of the failure to provide a visitor centre when McLaren applied for planning permission to build on the other side of the A320.  Permission for the development of the McLaren Applied Technology Centre was granted early in 2012.  In agreeing the application planners sought to work with McLaren to bring a visitor centre to a town centre location in Woking.

Let’s hope this tax windfall helps McLaren to fund a town centre presence sooner rather than later.

A new view of Horsell

The Streetview of Brewery Road, Horsell showing
hoardings of WWF development

Found out today that Google Streetview has been updated for Horsell.  The presence of notices advertising the  annual Horsell Village Show is a clear indicator of when filming took place.  The boards promoting the show were only erected two weeks before the event, and were taken down straight after the event. This places filming between the second and third week of July.

Horsell looks very attractive in the sections I have looked at.  There has been recent heavy rain (we had a lot of that this summer!) but the sun is out, the grass has recently been cut and everywhere looks fantastic.

It is just a pity that the view for Brewery Road over the next few years is going to be of the hoardings around the WWF development.  This view will last long after the development is completed at the end of next year.

Fancy a swim to work ...

Artists impression of the Lido-Line

Love this idea of using the Regents Canal in London as a swimming commuter route.  It's been dubbed the Lido-Line.

A proposal by Y/N Studio would mean commuters could swim from Little Venice to Limehouse.  Swimmers would be separated from boats by a basin inserted into the canal.  There would be changing stations along the way.  The plans even suggest disco lights when the canal goes into a tunnel under Angel, Islington.

Fancy a swim to work along the
Basingstoke Canal ...

Could we do the same on the Basingstoke Canal?  Fancy a swim from St Johns or Brookwood to Woking town centre or a quick splash from Sheerwater? As well as Cycle Woking we could have Swim Woking or should it be Splash Woking.

Councillor calls for more police resource to tackle Horsell burglaries

Earlier today I was shocked to learn about a spate of burglaries in Horsell over the last fortnight.  The number of burglaries in our local area is a great concern.   Horsell is a low crime area but from time to time we do suffer from peaks in burglaries.  The latest wave of criminality came as a particular surprise because it followed a spike of break-ins a few months ago.  I expected a period of less crime as good local police work had led to the arrest and conviction of those who had committed crimes in the area.

I wrote today to the Neighbourhood Commander for Woking asking for action on burglary in Horsell.  I have assured him that I am very satisfied with our local neighbourhood policing team but they clearly need more resource in the short term to tackle this problem.

In addition to calling for this extra resource I recognise there is much residents can do to make homes less susceptible to burglars.  Surrey Police advise:

- keep gates closed and locked when not in use
- add trellis to gates and fences to deter climbing
- keep all tools out of site in a secure place
- keep doors and windows closed and locked when not in use
- consider an intruder alarm

Our local neighbourhood police officer PC Kate Hizzey and PCSO Derek Slee are always willing to visit residents and advise on home safety.  Contact them on woking@surrey.police.uk

Countryliner loses Surrey bus contract

Early this morning I saw online that Countryliner (a provider of bus services in Horsell and Woking) had gone into administration.  Initial concern that this would affect local bus services turned to relief when further investigation revealed it was Countryliner Sussex that has problems and it appeared Surrey services were safe.

I had seen previous stories that Countryliner had financial issues but this news came out of the blue.

It was only when I saw my colleague Will Forster's blog update that I learnt Surrey County Council had taken prompt action to safeguard local bus services.  Surrey has terminated its contract with Countryliner and arranged for Abellio to run the 73 bus that goes from Chobham through Horsell to Woking and the 81 bus that serves Barnsbury and runs via Mount Hermon Road to Woking.  The Abellio service starts on Wednesday 10 October and all season tickets and school bus passes will be accepted by the new service provider.

Well done to Surrey for a swift response.

Co-op looks to cross the street

Earlier in the year there was much speculation in Horsell about what would happen to the site of the Glass Shop and a short lived hardware shop on the southern side of the High Street.  Rumours abounded that either Tesco or Sainsbury's was to open a store in the village.  Residents were concerned about the effect one of these major supermarket chains would have on the Co-op, Spar, the local butchers and other village shops.

Current Co-op site seen from across the High
Street as we set up for Jubilation celebration

Speculation ended a few weeks ago when the Co-op, currently situated on the opposite side of the High Street.  submitted a planning application to move across the street.

The application can be viewed on the Woking Council Planning Portal PLAN/2012/0764  Planning permission is not required to open the Co-op in a new location across the road as the site was previously used for retail.  The Cooperative Group is applying to install a cash machine, a new shop front, roller shutters, an access ramp and external refrigeration plant.

I understand the store will use the downstairs space for the store and the first floor for a staff room and storage.  The current site has a first floor but it is taken up by occupied flats.

I will be looking in detail at how the store plans to service the new location and whether they will make any improvement in parking provision.  Concern has been raised at the current site when huge lorries are delivering and there is the eternal problem of cars reversing out of parking places, double parking or parking on the pavement.  I can envisage problems if what is currently a lightly used parking area has the regular coming and going of drivers popping in to the supermarket.  As with the current site access to parking on the opposite side of the road requires driving across the pavement.  The new site is complicated by the steep incline of the parking area.

The next question for Horsell is what will take the place of the Co-op.  It seems likely that there will be a new tenant / owner of the site as I believe the Co-op plans to divest its interest.  What the new occupant will be I do not know.

Do you have an "Affinity" with your water company?

Must admit an "Affinity" is not something I have considered having with my provider of water in the past.  But all that has changed as Veoila Water, supplier of water to Horsell and Woking, has rebranded as Affinity.  The rather amusing tag line on the company logo is "Your local supply on tap".

Once I had got over thinking Affinity sounded like a team name on The Apprentice television programme I went and checked out the dictionary definition of affinity.

The definitions are as follows

"A spontaneous or natural liking for someone or something" and

"A similarity of characteristics suggesting a relationship, especially a resemblance in structure between animals, plants or languages"

Can't see how either definition applies to the customer - provider relationship between local residents and the company that provides water to them.

Wilmott Dixon Opens up WWF Site

Wilmott Dixon is opening up the WWF building site next Saturday 13 October.  The Open Morning takes place from 9.00am to 10.30am. This is an opportunity for local residents to find out how the  "Living Planet Centre" is progressing.

There does now seem to be real progress on the site.  The main structure of the building is emerging.  There is a base for the bin store (poorly located close to a neighbouring resident's home).  Bridge works are in full flow - although this work started long after the old bridge and footpath access were closed.  I am told that the poor weather has led to work on the bridge being around a month behind schedule.  The new bridge should open early in 2013 so we have a few more months yet of taking the long way around.

The week to meet your local police

Horsell PCSO Derek Slee

Horsell Neighbourhood Officer
PC Kate Hizzey

Horsell's previous long serving Neighbourhood Officer was promoted several months ago and we now have the new team of PC Kate Hizzey and PCSO Derek Slee pounding the beat in our local area.  PC Hizzey worked for Surrey Police for 6 years before coming to Horsell and PCSO Slee joined from the Ambulance service.

There are two chances to meet your neighbourhood police team in Horsell this week.

Wednesday 3rd October - Horsell Village Hall - lower hall at 7.30pm
The regular police panel meeting takes place.  This is an opportunity for local residents to raise concerns with the police and to set priorities for local policing over the next few months.  Priorities set at the last panel meeting were on burglary, anti-social behaviour and issues on pavement cycling.  Everybody who lives or works in Horsell is welcome.

Friday 5 October - St Mary's Church - coffee morning at 10.30am
Your local officers will be at this regular coffee morning for a drink and a chat.

Get Dug In

Woking Palace as it is likely to have looked in the 1530s

For many years I had wanted to go on an archaeological dig.  I had never managed to find one so imagine my delight when I learnt there was a dig available right on my doorstep.  In 2011 I became aware for the first time of the annual dig at Woking Palace in Old Woking.  The palace was occupied or visited at various times by Henry VII and Henry VIII.  It came to the monarchs after being owned by Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII and a key player in the history of the Middle Ages.

Digs are run under the guidance of Surrey archaeological experts.  Volunteers can be experienced diggers from local archaeological societies or local residents either digging for the first time or returning having got the bug in previous years. I was pleased to learn that local schools had the chance to visit and do some excavation this year and several primary schools appear to have had a great time on site.

I have had fabulous days on my digs.  It is an amazing feeling to be uncovering structures from the 1500s or even earlier (it is believed there was an earlier Medieval construction on the palace site )  You are sitting and bending in an uncomfortable position so you do tend to ache after the event  - but it is all worth it.  Sad to say I have yet to find any gold coins, attractive floor tiles or precious jewellery.  In 2011 I found lots of loose bricks and a few roof tiles.  This year I found some roof tiles, a couple of small pieces of pottery and I uncovered part of a wall.

Results of this year's digging are on show at Woking Palace this Sunday.  It is your only chance to see what has been uncovered this year before the soil and grass goes back on again.  I will definitely be along there to see how the digging progressed after I had my day on site early in the dig.  If you would like to see a little of Woking's history head along to the site in Old Woking between 10am and 4pm this Sunday 30 September.  Open day details

Looking Back at Lewis' McLaren Life in Horsell & Woking

As Lewis Hamilton announced his departure for Mercedes today it prompted me to look back at my memories of Lewis, McLaren and the motor racing team's home in Horsell, Woking.  It also raised the question is this a good move for the driver and his new team.

Soon after moving to Horsell I read in the local paper about a young go-kart champ signed by McLaren as a potential future F1 driver.  Lewis joined the McLaren development programme aged just 13.  I wondered then, back in 1998, if I would hear the name again.  That name, was of course,  Lewis Hamilton.  

I'm not a huge sports fan.  Tennis is the game I am most likely to watch or play.  I've been to Wimbledon a few times and was delighted to secure tickets  for the Olympic tennis championship there this summer.  I came to motor racing through my better half who has been a fan for many years and even did his own stint at kart racing and as an engineer for a racing driver friend.  I used to leave the room when the noise of twenty highly tuned racing cars invaded my lounge but over time I suppose I got used to the noise and I stayed around, albeit engaged in another activity.  I got familiar with the drivers and the teams.  I started to root for home teams and drivers.  I have never yet sat through a whole race without wandering about to do other things, reading or working on the laptop but I do find the start exciting and enjoy the stops and overtaking maneouevres. By the time we arrived in Woking I was a little bit of an F1 fan and knew the team had a headquarters in our new home.  Feeling I was in at the beginning with Lewis I have been particularly keen to follow his progress in F1.

Another lasting memory of our early days in Woking is watching Mika Hakkinnen drive his McLaren around the town after securing the world championship in 1998.  We stood near the junction of Chobham Road and Victoria Way.  As Mika approached us he revved his engine, waking our sleeping baby who howled at the shock of the noise.  It was such a pity we couldn't do the same for Lewis when he won the title ten years later.

Is a move to Mercedes a good one for Lewis?  The press seem unsure but having read this piece on BBC Sport which charts Lewis' career one key factor stood out.  Ross Brawn, former technical director at McLaren but also a previous holder of this pivotal role at Benetton and Ferrari is at Mercedes.  Could the combination of Brawn and Hamilton take Mercedes to the F1 title in the next few years?  I wouldn't rule it out.