The BCA held a Public Meeting on Monday 11th July, and it was great to see a huge turnout from the community - indeed it was standing room only! The meeting was to discuss the Local Plan proposed by Guildford Borough Council, and everyone heard about the many aspects of the plan that could hugely detrimentally impact the traffic and congestion in Burpham, the quality of life, infrastructure in Guildford and the ability for the council to plan long term developments (such as the proposed A3 tunnel). Various speakers provided their expertise, and there was certainly a general feeling of concern over the local plan, and the lack of long term planning and strategic thinking allied to flawed analysis and forecasting of housing numbers. The evening also heard from a representative of the Save Newlands Corner campaign, you can read more about them at https://savenewlandscorner.com.
May is always a busy month, as not only is the grass and other vegetation growing at its quickest but there are also two bank holidays to get ready for. The increased boat traffic of the long weekends means that it is particularly important to have the locksides neatly mown and the visitor moorings strimmed. This is a great chance for me to really take pride in my length and show it off to the best of my ability, the increased visitor numbers also make the hard work really feel worthwhile.
As I previously mentioned it’s not just the grass that’s growing quickly at the moment - the bankside vegetation is also shooting up. Mowing the towpath with the ride-on mower just isn’t enough to keep the path feeling pleasant and open, whilst maintaining the views of the river. This is why I have been out strimming a 45 o angle on the vegetation to stop it falling into the path and blocking access. We call this our summer cutback which will need doing every 4 weeks throughout the summer months until we clear the banks completely for the winter. As well as the heavy mowing and strimming this month, I’ve also had chance to get on with a few of the smaller jobs. These have included cleaning vegetation from lock gates, sweeping steps and edging the grass around the locksides. It is these detail jobs that really make the difference to keeping the waterway looking its best. Some jobs such as cleaning the lock gates are also essential maintenance, as roots from plants growing between the planks can cause a lot of damage over time. Finally, you may have noticed by now that the section of towpath between Ladymead and the Woking Road has been fenced off and closed. This is so that essential maintenance and re-surfacing work can be carried out safely, and eventually will provide a natural but user friendly section of towpath for everyone to use. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, but please do observe the warning signs and follow the diversion routes so that everyone stays safe. Richard Stoke Lengthsman At a meeting with Surrey County Council (SCC) on 19 April 2016, the Save Newlands Corner Campaign Group (SaveNC) agreed to put forward alternative arrangements for the management of Newlands Corner. SaveNC believes that the site could be managed on the basis of a ‘Friends of Newlands Corner’ model in a much more cost-effective way than is currently the case. The ‘Friends’ concept would also retain the wild and open nature of the site and avoid the commercial proposals put forward by SCC.
SCC said ‘we remain open to discuss any thoughts or proposals you may have’. SaveNC welcome this opportunity to submit our outline ideas for an alternative way forward and the reasoning behind them. At the time of the meeting, critical information about vehicle figures and maintenance costs was still awaited. Much of that has information has recently been provided, but further clarification is being sought. This report is, therefore, correct to the best of our knowledge. It was completed in a short time frame and we acknowledge that much more work needs to be done to firm up on the proposals. You can read the full report here. April began in the same way that March ended - clearing up after Storm Katie, whose
appearance put a very wet and windy dampener on Easter Monday. As you can imagine clearing trees from a river navigation is much trickier than at other National Trust properties,as I can’t just drive up to them and log them up. Firstly I have to wait for the flow rates to decrease enough so that I can safely use a boat, and then slowly cut the trees up into bite size pieces before using a hand winch to ease them out of the river inch by inch. Fortunately for me I had some mechanical assistance in the form of the floating excavator, or to be more accurate two floating excavators! This was because both the National Trust and EA dredgers happened to be passing through my length on the way to other jobs. This meant that a day with each machine and my length was clear of fallen trees, saving me a lot of time and energy so thank you to everyone who helped. With the weather improving all the time I am now well in to my Spring/Summer work programme, which seems to currently involve spending a lot of hours walking behind a mower. However I can’t complain as I do get plenty of help from my volunteers, and the positive comments I get from boaters and other river users makes it all worthwhile. We even managed to get Stoke Lock painted in between the unseasonal snow showers!!! Of course, as a Lengthsman, I have to keep my knowledge up to date and skills honed. So this month I have been on the 3-yearly chainsaw operation refresher course with some of my colleagues from the maintenance team. It was a very practical and informative course which helps to pick us up on the bad habits that we may have developed. I have also been on the first of a series of half day wildflower identification course with Surrey Wildlife Trust, again this helps to keep my plant skills up to date and valid. April finished with the first of my events for this year, Spring Has Sprung. This was a spring themed event at our visitor centre Dapdune Wharf, with seed planting, scarecrow making and pond dipping. Unfortunately despite the name of the event the temperatures were definitely more suited to winter than spring, so we didn’t have as many visitors as we would have liked. I’d still like to say thank you to all the staff and volunteers who put so much effort into this event and I know those visitors who did come along really enjoyed all the activities. Richard Stoke Lengthsman 07786 703 832 [email protected] www.facebook.com/RiverWey Guildford Borough Council claim buoyant local economy in jeopardy without delivery of the Local Plan5/5/2016 Guildford Borough Council and Surrey County Council are reviewing the on-street parking situation in various locations throughout the borough.
Because of concerns raised, they have looked at various parking issues. The feedback has been discussed by officers, together with borough councillors, county councillors, the Police and parish councils, where applicable. They reported the draft proposals they made to the 8 December meeting of Surrey County Council's Guildford Local Committee The Local Committee agreed to formally advertise the proposals developed. They are keen to hear whether you support the proposals, oppose them, or believe that they could improve them by making changes. How to give your viewsAny representations, either objecting to, or in support of the proposals, together with the grounds on which they are made, must be sent in writing by letter to: Kevin McKee (Parking Services Manager) Guildford Borough Council Parking Office Laundry Road Guildford GU1 4PX or by email to: [email protected] You can find out more at http://www.guildford.gov.uk/parkingformaladvertisement _ I was lucky enough to be off work enjoying my new born daughter for the first half of February, and it was great to be able to support my wife and help look after our very active toddler as well as the new arrival. However the role of a Lengthsman isn’t just 9-5, meaning that when I am not at work somebody has to be on duty 24hrs a day to operate my weirs and respond to any incidents. Typically water levels were very unstable whilst I was off making covering my section very hard work, so thank you to everyone who helped out and gave me the opportunity to enjoy the experience.
Of course having had three weeks off work meant that when I started back there was plenty to be getting on with, including having to go out and operate the weirs at 5am on my first full day back! One of the first tasks was to clear the debris bought down by the high flow rates on the river, so with the help of my volunteers we had a day clearing logs and branches from my weirs. This can be a surprisingly difficult and time consuming task as access is limited so attaching ropes and winches to each branch involves what can only be compared to lassoing. Thankfully my volunteers “cowboy” skills seemed to be on form that day and we managed to get the debris clear without too much trouble. With spring just round the corner the rest of the month was spent continuing the winter work programme, mainly cutting back overhanging branches from the non-towpath side of the river. This was a particularly important task to get finished as it needs to be completed before the bird nesting season, so that we can try to minimise disturbance. I’ve also been carrying out the annual servicing of the Lengthsman teams machinery, such as mowers, strimmers and hedge trimmers. This should mean that they are all ready to go in time for managing the flourish of vegetation this spring, and should be able to work as hard as the Lengthsman throughout the busy summer months. The longer evenings and slightly warmer temperatures do seem to be having a positive impact on the amount of people out enjoying the towpath and river. This isn’t surprising as there are lots of fantastic signs of spring to look out for, such as the blossom of the Blackthorn bushes and the bursting green buds of the Hazel. So do come out and enjoy this fantastic time of year, it’s a great way to cheer yourself up after the winter slumber. Richard 07786 703 832 [email protected] www.facebook.com/RiverWey in case you are not aware the result of the referendum held on Thursday 18th February concerning Burpham’s Neighbourhood Plan was as follows:
Yes: 860 No: 67 Faulty: 6 The total vote was 933, this represents a 21.51% turnout. Now the plan has to pass the Main Council Meeting on the 4 April. Jim Allen and his team are to be congratulated on their hard work and perseverance in achieving this historic result. Mr Andrew Harkin
Guildford Borough Council Millmead House Millmead Guildford Surrey GU2 4BB Dear Mr Harkin, BCA Response to the Parking Review Consultation I write on behalf of the Burpham Community Association. A good deal of thought has gone into the proposals for parking in Burpham and we appreciate the efforts made to provide residents with safe parking options. However, it is not easy to please everyone and some concerns have been raised that we would like to submit. Burpham Lane This is probably the most contentious area. There are four interconnected problems – parking, volume of traffic, vehicle speed and the narrowness of the road. The parking restrictions near Aldi are essential, highlighted by the chaos on the day the store opened, as are measures to reduce the likelihood of accidents caused by parking too close to the sharp bend, but some of the proposed initiatives may have unforeseen outcomes.
A great deal of concern has been expressed about the possibility that the double yellow lines along the greater part of Burpham Lane , although essential to prevent careless or dangerous parking, may have the unfortunate effect of encouraging drivers to speed. Despite the 30mph restriction, which perhaps should be reduced to 20mph, many drivers regularly exceed that and seem to consider it a matter of pride to get through the existing pinch points before any oncoming vehicle. We feel strongly that the issue of parking in Burpham Lane cannot be considered in isolation – traffic numbers and speed, as well as the nature of the road itself must be taken into consideration. The HGV limit also needs adjusting to prevent HGVs travelling the length of the road, not just accessing Aldi. Marlyns Drive The proposal to put double yellow lines at the junction with Burpham Lane is welcome but there are concerns that they do not go far enough. It has to be remembered that Marlyns Drive and Doverfield Road are part of the much used rat run linking the A3100 London Road and Clay Lane and this, combined with parked cars, makes life very difficult for residents. Kingpost Parade The proposal to restrict waiting times is welcome and long overdue. We understand that discussions are taking place between GBC and the owner of the private car park on the northern side of the Parade and we hope that the whole area will be included. The following issues are of concern:
New Inn Lane and Burnet Avenue We note the proposal to put double yellow lines down part of New Inn Lane and at the junction of Burnet Avenue. There is a footpath from the pedestrian crossing in New Inn Lane that cuts across the grass to Burnet Avenue, then continues on the other side to the Church of the Holy Spirit. This is much used by children, their parents and the elderly and crossing the road between parked cars is very dangerous. We would ask that consideration be given to extending the double yellow lines to the line of the first houses in Burnet Avenue. These areas in Burpham did not come under the remit of the Parking Survey but we do have issues we would like to raise. London Road It carries all the traffic from the A3 slip as well as local traffic and is regularly congested at peak times, occasionally gridlocked. Any vehicle parked along the road would only add to the chaos. There are housing developments under construction between Winterhill Way and the garage with access roads onto London Road. Parking space is limited and it is possible there may be an overspill onto the main road. We would ask that double yellow lines be considered on both sides of the London Road. Woodruff Avenue, Coltsfoot Drive, Charlock Way There is a longstanding problem associated with George Abbot School, not just at the beginning and end of the school day but daytime parking along both sides of Woodruff Avenue and along at least part of the other two roads. Many of these cars belong to older pupils. The onus is on the school to provide additional parking space within its boundaries but we ask that consideration be given to banning parking during school hours along one side of Woodruff Avenue. There is one other issue that needs to be dealt with – Aldi. Their store opened on the 5th November and the resultant chaos was reported in the press. We have anecdotal evidence of existing parking regulations being ignored, such as parking on the double yellow lines near the store. We would ask that enforcement be considered a priority, and further, that a review is carried out in six months time to assess the impact that Aldi has had on local parking. This report has been compiled from residents’ comments made in response to a letter from the BCA requesting their views. Yours sincerely Liz Critchfield Secretary, Burpham Community Association. September was all about getting ready for our biggest event of the year, The Wey River Festival! This is an event for boat owners and members of the public to come together and celebrate all that’s great about the waterway in a relaxed party atmosphere. This year we had around 40 boats moor up at Dapdune Wharf with their paintwork shining and their brass polished. With stalls, displays, activities and some exceptional weather to draw in the crowds, we managed to achieve a record breaking 1000 visitors. This was all capped off by the illuminated pageant at Dusk, where the boats lit up by fairy lights, navigated to Millmead Lock and back, this was a real spectacle. So put the date in your diary for next year, as we will do it all again on 24th September 2016.
Of course an event like this takes our Admin team the best part of a year to organise, so a big well done to everyone involved. For us Lengthsman, it’s more about making sure the Navigation is looking its best before the boats arrive, so my volunteers and I spent a lot of time mowing locksides, picking litter and generally tidying up. Of course there is also the small matter of where do you moor 40 boats? To accommodate a large proportion of towpath vegetation in Guildford had to be cleared in the lead up to the event, but thankfully this was after everything had flowered. This month I also got to attend a course on “Scrub Management”, this covered how best to manage areas of low trees, bushes and brambles for wildlife. The trip involved visiting various parts of the Downs owned by the National Trust to see how scrub is being managed and to discuss best practice. We covered the whole range of management options from complete removal to encourage grassland regeneration, to coppicing of scrub so that we encourage its growth and increase its benefit as a habitat in its own right. The two day course was a great chance to share knowledge and experience with other enthusiastic Rangers, and even the driving rain couldn’t dampen our spirits as we walked across some fantastic countryside. As I’m writing this the weather has taken on a definite Autumnal feel, with a drop in temperature, darker evenings and bands of heavy rain. So make the most of the sunny spells we are getting in between the showers, and come down the river to see the fantastic misty mornings and colourful leaves on the trees. Stoke Lengthsman 07786 703 832 [email protected] www.facebook.com/RiverWey The National Trust has confirmed the date of the 2015 Annual Meeting for River Users for the River Wey.
It will be held at the Dapdune Centre at Dapdune Wharf on Wednesday 4th November at 7.30pm. For more information and to confirm your place, please email [email protected]. Your objection will have more effect if a number of people write in to object, but do not be tempted to organise a petition; it will not carry any weight and is a waste of time. Also avoid using a ‘standard’ letter. Objectors should use their own words and write, type or word process their letters themselves. Objections will not carry the same weight if they are seen to have been written or produced in a standardised form.
The following are the grounds on which planning permission is most likely to be refused(although this list is not intended to be definitive):
The following points, on the other hand will not be taken into account in deciding on the acceptability of the development in planning terms:
Last week the BCA attended the second monthly road forum held by Guildford Borough Council. The purpose of the forums is to discuss community concerns about the roads with a particular focus this month on the Clay Lane Link Road.
The forum was chaired by Matt Furniss, lead GBC councillor for infrastructure, and attended by representatives from the BCA and Worplesdon Parish Council. For those who are unaware of the Clay Lane Link Road, it’s GBC’s plan to build a road from the back of Slyfield Industrial Estate across the fields between Jacobs Well and Burpham to join Clay Lane. They’re hoping it will alleviate some of the traffic problems on the A320 by providing an alternative route for traffic. GBC are launching the second round of pre-planning application consultation on this project on 25th September and it will last for 6 weeks. As part of this, GBC will run events for local residents to update them on the plans and give us the opportunity to provide feedback. We have been assured that there will be an event actually held in Burpham and every household will be informed of it through direct leafleting, posters and social media. The BCA will of course provide feedback to GBC as part of this process but we encourage anyone with an interest in how this will impact Burpham to comment individually as well. GBC will then, informed by our feedback of course, decide whether to submit a planning application in early 2016. GBC maintains that the link road is not written in stone yet, though they did say that the currently published route is their recommended route should they decide to proceed with a planning application. They insist that the Slyfield traffic problem needs to be solved and making changes to the A320 is not an option. Environmental assessments of the impact of the link road are currently ongoing, and we are waiting on a date from GBC of when they will be published. This includes emissions, noise, lighting, vegetation, safety and flooding. The link road will be included in the Environment Agency flood model to determine any necessary flood defences or storage. GBC have confirmed that the model includes the 2013/14 flooding. The proposed roundabout on Clay Lane has been reduced in size on the latest plans from 45m to 40m, and shared crossing points for pedestrians and cyclists have been included. GBC is getting back to us with revised costings for the link road, the height of the new road and how long Clay Lane will have to be shut if the project goes ahead. GBC recently surveyed Clay Lane and determined that there are 2 points where it is tight for 2 HGVs to safely pass each other so road widening at those 2 points has been included in the latest link road proposal. The October forum will have a tighter focus on general Burpham road problems. For more information on the link road including a map of the proposed road, a timeline for the project and the latest engagement report search for Clay Lane Link Road on the Guildford Council website and it’s the first link in the search results. You can also sign up for updates on link road project from GBC. Seven green spaces across the borough are among the best in the country. Green Flags were again awarded to Allen House Grounds, the Castle Grounds, Riverside Nature Reserve, Stoke Park and Sutherland Memorial Park. Guildford Crematorium and Stoke Cemetery were also recognised for their well-kept grounds by Keep Britain Tidy.
The award is a national scheme run by the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy. It assesses parks and green spaces according to eight strict criteria, including horticultural standards, cleanliness, sustainability and community involvement. Locations across the country are judged by more than 700 green space experts, who volunteer their time to assess which parks are worthy of the Green Flag. Cllr Richard Billington, Lead Councillor for Rural Economy, Countryside, Parks and Leisure, says: “We are very proud to receive these awards again this year, which reflect the hard work of our parks team. They do a fantastic job all year round to keep our parks and green spaces looking great for everyone to enjoy. The best recognition is of course the appreciation of the public and we encourage local people to go to the parks and enjoy them, particularly during the summer holidays”. For more information on our parks and green spaces visit www.guildford.gov.uk/parksplaygroundsandgreenspaces The continuing dry weather in July meant that the grass on the locksides has stopped growing for now, having taken on more of a dusty brown colour rather than a luscious green.
This may mean that they can’t compete with the courts we have been seeing at Wimbledon this month, but it does give me a welcome respite and a chance to catch up with the rest of my workload. One such job is that of pulling Himalayan Balsam, a non-native invasive plant species that if left alone will out-compete our native plant life and take over the river banks reducing the diversity of wildlife. This is why I have been busy with my volunteers along the Stoke Length pulling it up by the root before it goes to seed. I also helped lead the Wey Navigation Conservation Volunteers, who spent this month’s work party doing a mass “Balsam Bash” at Walsham. My volunteers and I have been busy this month clearing up around the boatyard at Stoke Lock, disposing of all the rubbish that I have collected from along and in the river. This may sound a simple task but in a bid to reduce costs and recycle as much as possible everything has had to be sorted, and disposed of in different ways. Firstly I wanted to try and return or re-use as much as possible so we returned old road signs and barriers to Surrey County Council, life rings to Guildford Borough Council, shopping Trolleys to Tesco and old bicycles to the Guildford Bike Project for restoration. Then the scrap metal was collected for recycling by our maintenance team, the wood and brash was burnt on the bonfire and anything else went into just one six yard skip. There were also a number of fibreglass boats which needed to be disposed of, which were craned away whole by a licenced waste carrier, which as you can imagine was not cheap but was the cleanest and most environmentally friendly disposal method. Of course the weather couldn’t hold all month and when it rained, it poured. I spent the afternoon drenched to the bone at Thames Lock helping visiting boats coming onto the Wey from the Thames at Weybridge. This is our only manned lock on the Wey and gives us a chance to issue boats with licences and give them any information they may need. Of course the rain also meant that river levels started to rise, keeping us busy operating the weirs throughout the night and the rest of the weekend as the rain water quickly ran-off and flow rates dropped back down again. Other tasks this month have been dealing with fallen trees, hedge trimming around Stoke and arranging for the destruction of 5 wasp nests!!! All in a bid to make the Wey Navigation a great place to be this summer. Richard Cant Stoke Lengthsman [email protected] www.facebook.com/RiverWey Please find below details regarding revised plans that Aldi wish to see implemented to the original planning application. This information was sent to our secretary a few days ago. It has now appeared on the GBC web-site and the community have 3 weeks from today’s date to register any concerns that may arise from the proposed alteration to the planning conditions, imposed when Aldi was given the go ahead last year.
The requested amendments are as follows:
From the attached correspondence it is suggested that the store needs to be well serviced at all times in order to meet 21st century needs of Burpham’s local community. Thus Burpham can expect 2-3 HGV deliveries a day (at the moment they are restricted to one) and at Christmas and other busy times this can rise to 5-6 deliveries a day. Most stores have 4 deliveries a day. These deliveries it is proposed could start at 0600 rather than the approved 0930 hours (when the initial morning rush hour has subsided). Also trading hours are proposed to be extended from 2100 to 2200 during week days to ensure no one can miss any of the bargains. Perhaps the BCA are being cynical but it is interesting to note that these changes are being proposed when many of the community are taking annual leave. Aldi are smart operators and fully understand the conditions that lead to a successful retail outlet. When the original application was approved and Aldi accepted that for example 1 HGV delivery would suffice for their needs, the real constraints that imposed must have been readily apparent to them. To come back at this stage and seek to remove various planning conditions imposed on them seems to the committee to be totally unacceptable. The impact of these changes on Burpham are self-evident. The BCA committee will be responding to GBC outlining their concerns. However it does need a consolidated approach by individuals who likewise feel aggrieved. The store is not yet opened and already major changes are being proposed. Whatever your views on the merits of Aldi, it's important to make your feelings known. |
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