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Virtual National Rail Awards

At 4pm today, it is the National Rail Awards 2020 Virtual Ceremony

3.30pm – Countdown begins

Log onto the virtual National Rail Awards from 3.30pm. Use this time to set up your personal profile and begin networking with your colleagues and peers.

4.00pm – Virtual National Rail Awards commence

Hosts, BBC’s Huw Edwards, and RAIL‘s Nigel Harris.

Order of categories:

  • Customer Service Excellence
  • Sustainable Business Award
  • Safety Achievement of the Year
  • Infrastructure Achievement of the Year
  • Freight and Logistics Achievement of the Year
  • Innovation of the Year
  • Fleet Excellence
  • Outstanding Teamwork Award
  • Station of the Year (Haslemere is nominated .. read here)
  • Great Place to Work
  • Passenger Operator of the Year
  • Outstanding Personal Contribution

Closing remarks from your hosts and opportunity to continue networking with other registrants.

5.15pm – virtual awards come to a close

Here is an email the Haslemere Community Rail Partnership received earlier today:

From: Mark Hopwood <Mark.Hopwood@swrailway.com>
Date: 17 September 2020 at 9:00:23 am BST

Subject: Good Luck at the National Rail Awards

Dear all,

I wanted to wish you good luck ahead of the National Rail Awards this evening as you compete for the title of Medium Station of the year.

I know how hard you have all worked to make Haslemere a great station for our customers and communities, with flower displays, artwork, and the Haslemere Hub.

Whichever way these awards go, I hope that the hard work you have all made into making Haslemere great continues.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Hopwood

Interim Managing Director

Phasing out use of Pesticides

Message from Waverley Borough Council on phasing out pesticides.

Waverley Borough Council will hopefully be adopting a Pesticides Policy and Action Plan shortly that has been drafted as part of the Councils move towards phasing out the use of pesticides.   In order to help deliver the action plan we are looking to start the undertaking of trials of pesticide free products as an alternative to the traditional Glyphosate based products to control weeds within the borough.   As part of this, we have been in discussion with Surrey County Council highways earlier this year about our intention to trial a different product in selected areas to treat weeds on highways.  Highways areas are where the largest volumes of pesticide based chemicals have been previously applied in the borough.  SCC have been in agreement with our intentions and we will be sharing this same information with them shortly for comment before starting.

In consultation with Cllr Townsend as our portfolio holder we have selected for four ward areas;

Cranleigh West, Godalming & Charterhouse, Haslemere Critchmere & Shottermill and Farnham Hale & Heath End, where we will undertake these initial trials on SCC highway areas.  Within these identified ward areas, we have selected roads and a few footways where we will conduct the trial (identified by a red dotted line on the maps), please also see the attached excel file for more specific details of the identified trial areas.   The relevant ward members have been notified.

The product we will be using is called New Way which contains Acetic acid as the active ingredient.  There is a potential for a strong Vinegar odour following application that may linger for a period of time but eventually dissipate.

In regards to weed control on SCC highways in the rest of the ward areas and indeed the Borough as a whole, we are only undertaking one normal (pesticide based) weed spray throughout the borough, instead of the previous two sprays in preceding years, again this is too support the action plan of the forthcoming Pesticides Policy by reducing the usage of pesticide products.

We will be arranging for some communications about this with residents, so that they are aware of what is happening.

If you have any questions or queries relating to this, please do not hesitate to contact me as soon as possible.   We are hoping to next week, weather depending and complete the trial by the end of the month if possible.

Kind Regards

Greenspaces Manager

Waverley Borough Council

Public Footpath 24 (Haslemere) Diversion Order

Notice of Making of an Order

Highways Act 1980 Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
Surrey County Council
Public Footpath No. 24 (Haslemere)
Public Path Diversion Order 2020

The above Order, made on 2 September 2020, under section 119 of the Highways Act 1980 and section 53A(2) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 will, if confirmed, divert Footpath 24 (Haslemere) running from a point at Grid Ref 489859 134365 in a southerly turning to south easterly direction for 46m, to a line running from the same point in a south easterly direction for 40m, as shown on the Order Map.

A copy of the Order and Map may be seen free of charge at the Countryside Access Office, Surrey County Council, Merrow Depot, Merrow Lane, Guildford GU4 7BQ (by appointment Tel. 0300 2001003) and at Farnham Library, Vernon House, 28 West Street, Farnham, GU9 7DR during opening hours. A copy of the Order may be purchased from the County Council for £4.

Any representations or objections to the Order must be sent in writing to Countryside Access quoting reference DJ/AW/3/1/20 at Surrey County Council, Whitebeam Lodge, Merrow Depot, Merrow Lane, Guildford GU4 7BQ by 9 October 2020. Please state the grounds on which they are made. If no representations or objections are duly made, or if any so made are withdrawn, Surrey County Council may confirm the Order as an unopposed Order. Any representations not withdrawn will be sent with the Order to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for confirmation.

Please note that in the interests of open government, responses to this consultation may be disclosed to the public and may be summarised for inclusion in committee reports. If you do not wish your personal details to be made public please notify us in your response.

Enquiries to: Countryside Access Team, Surrey County Council, Whitebeam Lodge, Merrow Depot, Merrow Lane, Guildford, GU4 7BQ Tel: 03456 009009 or email: rightsofway@surreycc.gov.uk

Start-up ‘taster’ session

From Waverley’s Head of Economic Development

Dear all,

We are trying to support anyone interested in starting their own business at this time, utilising our contract with Enterprise Business South. Please can you promote this start-up overview to your networks, via social media channels/ community boards, to get the word out there.

It is open to anyone. The first one takes place on 23rd September and subject to demand, we would like to run these monthly.

FREE tickets can be booked from an Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/are-you-ready-to-start-your-own-business-tickets-118450182685 

Starting your own business (working for yourself) can be an exciting adventure and we are here to help you every step of the way.

“You don’t know, what you don’t know” is a great saying and relevant to starting a business. There are so many considerations in the early stages that understanding which are the most important will dramatically increase your chances of success.

This free thought-provoking overview covers…

• The reality of working for yourself

• Employment v self-employment

• Are you the right type of person?

• How to avoid common pitfalls

• Local support, funding, & grants

• What are the first/next steps?

A copy of the slides, templates and fact sheets will all be supplied by email after the event.

Thank you for your support in this.

Regards

Catherine

Catherine Knight

Economic Development Manager

Waverley Borough Council

The Burys, Godalming GU7 1HR

Templecombe and Haslemere stations shortlisted for coveted railway prize

Two South Western Railway (SWR) stations are in the running to be crowned ‘Station of the Year’, as part of the National Rail Awards (NRA) 2020.

The judges were impressed by Templecombe station in Somerset and Haslemere station in Surrey, with both being shortlisted earlier this month.

The Friends of Templecombe Station – a long established adoption group which has worked closely with the SWR member of staff at the station – has continued to produce beautiful flower displays which are on show across the site, including on the disused platform. They also host monthly coffee mornings in the station’s waiting area, supporting passengers and the local community alike.

The station has history with the awards, having been highly commended in this category in 2018 and winning in 2019.

The local station adoption group at Haslemere has worked closely with the SWR team to install new flower displays, a defibrillator and artwork produced by local schoolchildren. They also received funding and assistance from a variety of teams across SWR to completely refurbish the volunteer-run Information Hub, which is leased on a peppercorn rent.

Commenting, SWR’s Head of Stations Jerome Pacatte said:
“Our station colleagues and local community groups work incredibly hard to maintain and enhance our stations, and in doing help to enhance the overall experience of using our network.

“It is fantastic that the teams that help to maintain both Templecombe and Haslemere stations have already been recognised by the National Rail Awards. This is richly deserved, and we are all wishing them the best of the luck for the next stage of the competition.”

Notes to editors

A287 Sturt Road, Haslemere – Temporary Prohibition of Traffic Order 2020

From Surrey County Council Highways:

Reference: ME-875331 – Surrey Highways: TRO A287 Sturt Road, Haslemere

Surrey County Council proposes to make the above mentioned Temporary Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, the effect of which will be to prohibit vehicles from entering or proceeding in that length of A287 Sturt Road, Haslemere that is crossed by the “Sicklemill Railway Bridge” and for a distance of 30m either side.

This Traffic Order is required to enable Centurion/Network Rail to carry out examinations and/or maintenance to the railway bridge. These works are anticipated to be carried out between the hours of 10pm and 5am, within 1 night of the 12 month period of operation of this Temporary Order that commences on 10 September 2020.

Advanced warning signs will be displayed and the temporary closure will only operate when the relevant traffic signs are displayed. No sole access to any property will be affected however access for emergency services, pedestrians and; dismounted cyclists, equestrians will be maintained at all times. The vehicular diversion route will be via Midhurst Road and Lower Street.

A message from South Western Railway’s Sustainability Team

From: SWR Stakeholders
To: Nikki.barton@haslemeretc.org
Subject: A message from South Western Railway’s Sustainability Team

Dear Nikki,

You may have spotted that the Department for Transport has launched an open consultation, calling for ideas to “Create a plan to decarbonise transport”

There is more information on the DfT website under  https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/creating-a-plan-to-decarbonise-transport-call-for-ideas

SWR would like its stakeholders to be aware of this opportunity so that you can submit ideas, or indeed alert others to do so.

This could be an opportunity to consider how we kickstart the return to rail post lockdown, rekindling public support for modal shift from cars to public transport in support of local and regional climate change planning.

The consultation is aimed at individuals and groups and is looking at all forms of transport.  It opened on 8 July and closes on 31 August 2020, and ideas can be submitted online through a smart survey on https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/WF1I3C/

Ideas could of course include some of the things that stakeholders have discussed with us in the past such as more electrification, use of new technology such as battery powered trains, and better integration with bus, cycling and walking as well as making rail more accessible and easier to use.

If you want to share any submission with us, please feel free to do so. We are always keen to see ideas on how we can help with sustainability and climate change and we would welcome the opportunity to see your thoughts on this. You can contact us at sustainability@swrailway.com

Best wishes

Head of Sustainability

South Western Railway

The Haslemere Food Bank launches Trolley Tuesday tomorrow

Here is a thread from the Haslemere Food Bank on Twitter announcing the launch of their Trolley Tuesday scheme tomorrow. Click on the tweet below to read the whole thread:

The Haslemere phone exchange is included in Openreach’s Rural Build Programme

Ofcom to Help BT Fibre Rollout Reach 3.2 Million Rural Premises.

Ofcom has proposed to change their UK regulation as a result of Openreach’s (BT) recent commitment to extend their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network to a further 3.2 million rural properties, which will allow the operator to include these investment costs in its prices upfront. Haslemere is included in the programme.

Government’s Planning White Paper Published

From: Chief Executive, Waverley Borough Council – Tom Horwood
Subject: Planning White Paper published
To: Waverley Borough Councillors, Parish & Town Clerks

Dear Councillor/Colleague

The Government’s White Paper, Planning for the Future, has been published today and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/launch-of-planning-for-the-future-consultation-to-reform-the-planning-system.

We shall be looking in detail at this in the coming weeks and discussing it with you, noting that the deadline for consultation responses is 28 October. We shall also circulate further commentary and analysis from other sources as it appears.

With best wishes

Tom

Tom Horwood – Chief Executive, Waverley Borough Council