Claygate Life — 2002 Issue 2
Editorial
Welcome to the second edition of Claygate Life, your community magazine.
We hope that the contents will keep you in touch with what is going on in Claygate and inspire you to get more involved in our vibrant village.
Our grateful thanks are due to all those who have contributed articles and photographs and to the volunteers who deliver it to every household. We aim to produce an edition once a year but this very much depends on feedback from the community, so please let us have your comments and ideas for next time. Offers of help with any aspect of production will also be gratefully received. Please contact one of the team, below.
Parish Council News
By Brian Rhodes
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CO-OPERATION
The Parish Council has established good working relationships with the other levels of local government. One of the results is that the Youth Club is now open for a third night each week. This involves an annual cost of £6,000, which could not be met by Surrey County Council Youth Service as their annual allocation has been cut to a minimum this year. However, the newly formed Surrey C.C. Elmbridge Local Committee has donated £3,000 to the project and the Parish Council has granted match funding. Our thanks are due to John Pincham, Hugh Ashton and David Parks for their personal efforts.
VILLAGE EVENTS
The Family Weekend was a great success thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of the organising committee. The Parish Council and Claygate Village Residents' Association are pleased to fund this event which, combined with the Flower Show, provides the highlight of our summer activities.
The Christmas Lights switch-on event is organised by a committee with representatives from all sections of our community. They deserve our support for what is very much a family occasion. This year the Parish Council has made a major contribution to the purchase of new lights and trees and we hope to add extra lights over future years - Blackpool look out!
PLANNING MATTERS
Taywood Homes won their second appeal to build a block of sheltered apartments next to the Hare and Hounds in Church Road on a site created by the demolition of two substantial properties. This was won despite strong neighbourhood objections, two refusals from Elmbridge BC, and Parish Council opposition for which we engaged a planning consultant. Sadly to no avail.
There is an outstanding application for back building in Fee Farm Road next to Claygate Common adjoining the properties to be built in gardens of three Causeway houses. We have made our comments and await the decision of the planning authority.
The demolition of houses with proposals to build two or three on the same site is becoming a regular feature in Claygate. There have been applications of this sort in Woodbourne Drive and Stevens Lane and we anticipate that others are in the pipeline. If this type of development continues what sort of a place will Claygate become? Have we a strong enough infrastructure to support such infill building? Unfortunately, the planning system is not addressing these questions.
The planning committee meets every three weeks and agendas are displayed on the community notice boards. Members of the public can address the committee on any current planning application.
We welcome your comments and are here to be of assistance.
WELCOME TO JUDY
Welcome to Judy Perez-Fragero who has been eo-opted onto the Parish Council to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Jimmy Cartwright following his election to Elmbridge Borough Council. Judy first came to live in Claygate as a child in 1957. She was educated locally, and at 19 went to live abroad, returning from Chile in 1985 with two small children. She has found Claygate an ideal and safe environment to bring up a small family. Judy says that after living so many years overseas she truly appreciates what we have in Claygate, and she will strive to maintain this truly special village. Judy has been an active eo-opted member of the Parish Council Planning Committee.
We will benefit from her enthusiasm and fresh approach.
HIGHWAYS
The committee has changed its name to Highways and Transportation in order to acknowledge Claygate's dependence on public transport. The Parish Council has been invited to send a representative to the Surrey Rail Forum and Margaret Willis has volunteered to do this with Mike Popham as her deputy. Steps will be taken to contact regular rail users for their opinions, in the mean time please contact the Parish Clerk if you have a view to express.
Regular liaison meetings are held with Surrey C.C., the highway authority. We have asked them to do many things - some of which have been completed:-
- A line to deter parking on the corner of Church Road and Coverts Road to prevent blocking the bus.
- A dropped kerb by the Recreation Ground to indicate a suitable crossing point.
- White lines to protect the dropped kerbs at The Green.
- Notices served on householders to trim overhanging vegetation.
- Strimming vegetation on some footways.
A developer is to contribute £10,000 to traffic calming in Red Lane, thanks to Jack Saltman's pressure. To reduce speed, humps, tables or cushions are essential but unpopular. The Parish Council is so far recommending a raised table at the Woodstock Lane gateway. But is this enough? We could suggest narrowing by road markings or a footway on the North side. Please let us have your views.
ENVIRONMENT
Now is the time when leaves are bejewelling the pavements and blocking our drains. Elmbridge Borough Council endeavours to keep pace with leaf fall but we must also play our part by making sure that the kerbsides are not obstructed by parked cars on the days when the cleaner comes around. Claygate's monthly cleaning days are Wednesdays and Thursdays - December 4th and 5th, January 1st and 2nd (although this may vary because of bank holidays) and January 29th and 30th. In addition leaves will be especially targeted during the week beginning December 16th. If you need extra cleaning or have been missed ring Elmbridge Borough Council Client Services on 474775.
It is illegal to put your own garden leaves out onto the highway, it counts as fly tipping.
Last Christmas there was a lot of gold and silver graffiti around the village, so this year please take care of your part-used cans. Len Hands (464278) will be pleased to help private householders to remove graffiti, but any on public property should be reported to Elmbridge Borough Council Client Services. The plants on the Woodstock Lane triangle have provided added colour to this entrance to the village. Andy's Gardening Service maintains the triangle free of charge, for which, many thanks. The Parish Council continues to maintain the Village
Green in conjunction with Elmbridge BC who mow the grass. We also look after the station flower beds which we hope is appreciated by train passengers.
The proposed improvements to the Hare Lane verge outside The Firs are in hand. The scheme is partnership funded with Surrey County Council - yet another example of how the community can benefit by local government working together.
Litter is one of the major problems of Claygate, it disfigures the village and is symptomatic of a deeper malaise. So what are we going to do about it? One thing that would help would be to clear up the litter outside our own houses. However, the main solution is for parents to talk to their children about it. Does your child throw litter about? At least explain it is not somebody else's job to clear it up.
A Recreation Ground to be proud of
Claygate Recreation Ground has suffered in the past from inadequate investment of both time and money, and it was not surprising in a village like ours that a group of people thought that they could maintain it to a higher standard than Elmbridge Borough Council. So the Claygate Recreation Ground Trust (CRGT) was formed four years ago with a 25 year lease from Elmbridge BC who pay the Trust to manage the Recreation Ground. The level of payment is equivalent to the expenditure the council would have incurred had they continued to do the job
CRGT is a registered charity with a constitution approved by Elmbridge BC and the Charity Commissioners. There are normally 14 Members of the Trust, seven elected at the Annual General Meeting, the others represent seven local groups:
Elmbridge Borough Council; Claygate Cricket Club; Claygate Royals Football Club; Claygate Village Youth Club; Holy Trinity Parochial Church Council; Claygate Flower Show Committee and Claygate Parish Council.
During the four years of its existence CRGT has improved the woodland by replacing dead trees and planting 10 millennium oaks, provided a woodland walk and has recently installed a gate to Claygate Junior School with the help of funding from the Parish Council and the Claygate Flower Show Committee.
We have also appointed our own groundsman, Stuart Anderson, who works four days a week.
We have of course had our problems, mainly with graffiti and minor damage. We have tried to combat this and the suspicion of drug-taking in the Recreation Ground after dark by closing the Recreation Ground at dusk and opening it first thing in the morning.
This has produced major improvements. The Police have promised to help and we are very grateful to residents living around the Recreation Ground who have called the Police using the 999 system when necessary and would urge passers by to do the same.
CRGT has applied to Sport England for funds to improve the drainage on the recreation ground and we hope to raise money to fund other improvements. These include a footpath around the sports field, a multi-sport play area and major changes to the pavilion. The plan on the opposite page indicates what we hope to achieve as funds become available. We are very pleased that Steve Wells has agreed to head our fund-raising committee, anyone who would like to help should contact Steve on 463424.
Claygate Royals Football Club is so successful that it now needs more space, so there are plans to bring back into use the playing area on Claygate Common which was regularly used for football until about 15 years ago. There would, of course, be no building on the common and no destruction of the existing habitat, only the grass area would be improved and this would still be available for everyone else to use. The Football Club will not be allowed to have formal use of the Common unless they put forward an acceptable scheme to prevent traffic and parking problems, and we understand that they have plans to do this. Elmbridge Council has carried out a survey of the opinions of Residents living near the Common but we would like to have the views of the whole village. Please return the enclosed questionnaire.
We would be pleased to hear from anyone wishing to introduce another sport to the recreation ground and anyone who would like to offer help or advice to the Trust. Please contact David Hinton, Vice Chairman, on 464103 or Hugh Ashton, Secretary, on 463424.
Lucky to Live in Claygate
by Hugh Ashton
Most of us believe that we are lucky to live in Claygate. It remains a village, albeit a large village, in a beautiful part of Surrey with countryside all around yet with easy access to London. We are fortunate to have a comprehensive range of shops and many active clubs and organisations run by volunteers.
There are, however, two problems which we need to address if we are to maintain Claygate as a happy, thriving, safe and attractive community.
These are:
- An increase in the anti-social activity of a small number of young people.
- A decrease in high-visibility uniformed Police activity.
The telephone box outside the Village Hall has been smashed on at least 9 occasions this year but no one has been arrested for it. There have been many instances of graffiti which spoils the appearance of the area and sometimes actually damages property. Garden walls have been pushed over, hedges have been set alight and, within the Recreation Ground, there have been 12 separate instances of wanton vandalism.
In one recent incident a manual hydraulic fork-lift was stolen from the Somerfield store, pushed along Hare Lane and Dalmore Avenue to the gates into the Recreation Ground and used to force one of the gates off its hinges. A witness tells me that the boys involved were very nearly run down by a bus in the dark, so the result could have been tragic.
The vast majority of our young people are well behaved, polite and helpful and it is a great sadness to me that the anti-social behaviour of a small minority sullies the reputation of the majority.
It seems to me that this anti-social behaviour has two main causes:
- Firstly, a small number of young people are bored and inclined to mischief. We are attempting to overcome this by opening the Youth Club for a third evening each week.
- Secondly, we don't have the full co-operation of all parents in monitoring the whereabouts of their children. Do they come in at a reasonable time? Do you ever see them with spray paints that could be used for graffiti? Do they go to the Recreation Ground after it is locked at night? They could be in danger or be drawn into an activity which causes damage to our Community.
We are pressing Surrey Police to provide better Police coverage. Currently we have a very good uniformed permanent Beat Officer, Gary Gilbert, but we have to share him with Esher. Clearly a community the size of Claygate needs a full-time Officer. In regular meetings with the Surrey Police your representatives Brian Rhodes (Chairman of the Parish Council), John Pincham (our County Councillor) and I are pressing for a full-time Police Officer in Claygate as we had under the Metropolitan Police.
We are pressing for Closed Circuit TV in Claygate within the new Elmbridge-wide system and we are looking at having our own mobile CCTv. However, the problem could be solved overnight if the parents of the small number of young people causing the problem took a real interest in their own children.
When I look at the inner city areas I still realise how lucky I am to live in Claygate.
Thoughts from our County Councillor
THE FIRE BRIGADE.
At the time of writing the Press, local and national, is reporting a possible strike by fire fighters and forecasting quite alarming increases in Council Tax.
Fire fighters are asking for a 40% rise. I'd be surprised if they settle for less than 10%. Experienced fire fighters complain that they can't afford to live in Surrey. I understand that 64% of
fire service staff live outside the county. Unlike many other services, recruitment to the fire service is not yet a problem.
A strike, which would necessitate employing the armed services using aged World War 2 Green Goddesses to provide emergency cover, would be expensive.
Fire fighters are living longer than predicted, perhaps thanks to the use of modern breathing equipment in recent years. So their pension costs are increasing. Changes in fire service legislation are also increasing costs.
My purpose in writing is to seek readers' views on whether they would like the present level of service maintained but with a significant increase in Council Tax or a reduction in service with a smaller increase in Council Tax.
Meaningful savings can only be achieved by closing fire stations. How would residents view, say, closing the fire station in Hinchley Wood? The nearest fire station to Claygate would then be Cobham. May I emphasise that there are currently no plans, of which I'm aware, to close any local fire stations; but given the financial situation the possibility cannot be ruled out.
CRIME
With persistent vandalism in Claygate I had been hoping to spend a major part of my £17,500 County Council revenue allocation (of which £3,000 has already been allocated to the Youth Club) on mobile Closed-Circuit Tv. For use in Claygate and Hinchley Wood it would be plugged into the system being installed elsewhere in Elmbridge. Complications have arisen but officers are still investigating what can be achieved.
SCAM
I've been receiving persistent correspondence from Holland and Germany implying that I've won or am in a favoured position to win substantial amounts of money. But first they need my credit card details.
I've passed the correspondence to the Esher Police but would be interested to know if others have had a similar experience.
John Pincham 35 Lodge Close, Stoke D'Abernon Tel: 01932 868500 email: johnpincham@hotmail.com
From our Community Police Officer
I have now been in post for 5 months and enjoy the challenges that Claygate brings. I also have responsibilty for Esher but try to do my best for both areas. As a neighbourhood specialist my role involves a partnership approach and once a problem is identified I look at bringing all parties together to combat the problem.
The main concerns of the community as I see them are anti-social behaviour and criminal damage such as graffiti. Many people are worried about the intimidating behaviour of some youths who congregate in groups, use bad language, indulge in under-age drinking, and occasionally smoke cannabis. These activities can lead to other criminal offences. The police are aware of these problems, the hot spot areas have been identified and are being policed by local patrols.
All youths found engaging in anti social behaviour are spoken to and a letter is sent to their parents. After three letters a meeting is arranged with the youth and the parents with the intention of agreeing an acceptable behaviour contract which the youth signs up to. Police will not tolerate anti social behaviour and if the youth cannot be dealt with by way of this Youth Protocol other measures will be taken. I feel that parents have a part to play and I urge them to take an interest in where their children are and who they are with. However, I must stress that these antisocial youths are a minority — most of the younger generation in Claygate are well-behaved.
We had a success recently with graffiti in the footpath that runs from Common Road to Oakhill. With the help of local residents we were able to identify the two youths responsible who subsequently admitted causing criminal damage and were both cautioned. This is a fine example of what can be achieved if we work together. We all have a part to play in policing the community and I would like to encourage others to come forward and help. You can make a difference, for example by joining Neighbourhood Watch.
Thank you again for welcoming me to the area and for your support. If anyone has any concerns or issues they would like to discuss please contact me.
Gary Gilbert
