Category Archives: Haslemere first

Update on Lower Street roadworks

From: on behalf of Works Communication Team/EAI/SCC <works.communication@surreycc.gov.uk>
Sent: 14 August 2019 14:20:36
To: Nikki Barton <Nikki.Barton@surreycc.gov.uk>
Subject: RE: Road works Lower St Haslemere

Dear Nikki Barton

Thank you for getting in touch. Firstly I would like to provide some background on the purpose of this work and the complications this scheme has presented.

The works on Lower Street involve construction of new drainage and are primarily to remove a flood risk to a property where the highways drains pass beneath it, by rerouting our pipes. This involves digging a new pipe through private land in a restricted area, between two houses and a garage parking area, through a retaining wall, along a footpath and to a chamber.

There are a great deal of utility services underneath the road surface (please see below pictures and map) and ultimately it is these services which actually dictate what is possible. Due to the significant amount of underground services the team are using a vacuum excavator as this is a far safer way for our team to remove spoil than a conventional digger. Using this equipment mitigates any risk to their personal safety, which is of utmost importance to us.

We have gatemen present at each end of Lower Street, their role is to remain at either end of the road and ensure the public do not enter the live works site. The area the team are working in is outside of a property called Tisa Cottage. Whilst they may not be visible from either end of the road, I can assure you that the team are on site, working extremely hard on a daily basis and are making progress.

On Monday I was advised that the team had got to a point where they have found the unknown buried pipe and this has determined the level for the rest of the works. Our engineer believes they have found a route through the services to allow installation of the new pipework and the team on site are working towards this. There are difficulties with some of the existing pipes which the new pipes need to be connected to, as they are encased in brick. This may mean that the team have to dig further to achieve the connections or do something a little differently. The excavations are a bit larger than initially hoped for but unfortunately this is unavoidable. Please see attached a copy of the original plans for this scheme which should demonstrate what the team set out to achieve.

Looking at the original plans it is clear that this a particularly difficult site with many utility services, this makes progress slow and the design has to be adapted to suit what is unearthed. The team had previously investigated as thoroughly as possible having camera surveyed the drain runs and used ground probing radar to identify services and hence a probable route for the new pipes, however it is only when the ground is actually excavated that the realities of the situation are revealed.

The equipment being used, the width of the road and the size of excavation required mean that a road closure is necessary. Another reason, that may not be immediately obvious, is that live traffic cannot run too close to the hole due to the pressure that is transmitted to the sides of the excavation by vehicles. We really don’t want to close roads unless we have to and do not make the decision lightly. There are many variables we have to consider including the site operations, the size of the road and the safety of both the travelling public and our work force. For Lower Street this criteria meant a closure.

Please see attached site diaries from the 7 and 8 August which detail work progress with photographic evidence of work taking place. Please be advised these site diaries belong to one individual on site and their start time does not necessarily reflect the time that everyone was on site.

The lead engineer on this project is satisfied with the progress on site. Considering the difficulties the team have faced, they are working extremely hard and going the extra mile where necessary to support the residents living in the works area, whilst carrying out their work to a good standard. I hope this help to reassure you and your residents that work is taking place and progress being made.

In view of the above, I will be updating our road works map pop-out with a PDF document that explains the work and has pictures of our progress so far. I hope that this will highlight to the public the challenges the team have faced on this scheme and the extent of works being carried out. I’m hoping that explaining what we are trying to achieve will justify the length of time we need for this work and why it is essential that the road is closed whilst we carry out the work.

I would be very grateful if you could direct your residents to the information on roadworks.org and if there are further queries please could they be sent to us in the Works Communications Team.

Kind regards

Works Communication Officer

Works Communication Team

Surrey Highways

Tel: 01483 404618

Emergency Utility Works; Church Lane, Haslemere (Thames Water)

Sent: 15 August 2019 08:18:38
To: Nikki Barton <Nikki.Barton@surreycc.gov.uk>

Subject: Emergency Utility Works; Church Lane, Haslemere (Thames Water)

Dear Councillor,

For your information can I advise you of emergency works being carried out on Church Lane, Haslemere (outside Haslemere Health Centre).

Thames Water need to repair a water leak in the carriageway. The traffic management that is placed is a Road Closure and the estimated end date is the 20/08/2019.

I hope you find this information useful.

Kind Regards,

Network Coordinator – Waverley

Network Coordination Team

Network and Asset Management Group

Surrey Highways

Update on College Hill Debris

From: <highways@surreycc.info>
Date: 12 July 2019 at 10:46:29 am CEST
To: <nikki.barton@haslemeretc.org>
Subject: Surrey Highways Reference: ME-687134 – COLLEGE HILL, HASLEMERE

Dear Nikki,

Thank you for your enquiry reported on 12 Jul 2019 09:20 which has been logged as follows:

Reference number: ME-687134
Location: COLLEGE HILL, HASLEMERE
Details: Carriageway Defect – Loose material (a copy of the original enquiry can be found at the very bottom of this email)

Just to confirm I have spoken to Waverley Borough Council’s Environmental Services Team to request that they send out a road sweeper to deal with the loose material deposits on College Hill, Haslemere, as per photographs attached.

For your easy reference they can be contacted on 01483 523333 or email enquiries@waverley.gov.uk

Once again thank you for contacting us. If you have any further queries or require additional information you may find the following page on our website useful: www.surreycc.gov.uk/highwaysinfo

Kind regards

Helen Boyes
Customer Services Officer
Surrey Highways


Haslemere Petition Critchmere Hill/Woolmer Hill

Yesterday, I attended the June 2019 Waverley Local Committee.

This petition was given consideration for Haslemere:

“We the undersigned petition Surrey County Council to Reduce speed limit to 20mph on Critchmere Hill / Woolmer Hill Road.  Better speed bumps.  Reduce speed limit to 20mph.  Red markings on road.  School and nursery on this road.”

This is the officer response to the petition: ITEM 5ii Petition Response Woolmer Hill.

The discussion for this petition is included in the webcast below. The item begins 54 minutes in. My comment begins 1 hour 3 minutes in. (For some reason, part of what I say in the response gets cut off.)

https://youtu.be/eOL_UiZBYwk

Teen Parenting Course, September

From: Children’s Centre Manager

Subject: OUR NEXT TEEN PARENTING COURSE

Good morning,

I would be grateful if you would publicise our next Teen Parenting Course to the families you come into contact with.  This course is funded by Surrey County Council through Tennyson’s Sure Start Children’s Centre.  The course is FREE to families on low income and is heavily subsided to all other parents by Surrey County Council.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like any more information.

Kind regards,

Rachel

Rachel Gardiner

Children’s Centre Manager

Tennyson’s Sure Start Children’s Centre

Haslemere

01428 644485

www.tennysonschildrenscentre.co.uk

Guest Blog: Why I’m Supporting the Community Rail Movement

Sharing a guest blog post written by local business man, David Goddin. David is a volunteer for the Haslemere Community Rail Partnership and set up the website which you can see here. David writes:

There’s a powerful new force spreading across UK railways. It has the capacity to make a real difference for the travelling public – and local economies across the nation. It’s called community rail.

In essence, community rail is groups of volunteers – often with the backing of local business and other organisations – who adopt ‘their’ stations and work alongside the train operators and Network Rail to enhance facilities and make them more attractive for regular travellers and occasional visitors.

Community rail is not a convenient public relations cop-out for either the station owner (Network Rail) or the station management – usually the route’s dominant train operating company (TOC). Community rail

Irrespective of any arguments on how the railways are organised, the fact is that the infrastructure and rolling stock needed to provide any reasonable service requires huge investment. And there’s not much left for frills.

Sure, Network Rail and the TOCs could do more for local stations – but inevitably at a cost to the passenger and the taxpayer. The likely result would probably also see a blanket range of improvements with little chance of station individuality.

Community rail, on the other hand, draws on funding from local and central sources to finance individually tailored and locally driven projects to enhance the interface between train and the area a station serves. If these projects are a success, they could help to boost ticket sales for leisure travel – making off-peak train services more profitable.

I became involved in this non-political movement when our local chamber of trade and commerce was showing interest in a local initiative to form a community rail partnership (CRP). We worked together with a number of other local voluntary organisations, as well as the town council, the South Downs National Park Authority and, more recently, the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, to create the Haslemere Community Rail Partnership.

This was made possible through ongoing support from the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) and our TOC – originally South West Trains and now South Western Railway.

As with many other station adoptions, we have a small team who regularly tend the station’s flower beds. But our activity goes much further.

Nikki Barton, Sandra McHugh, Ken Griffiths, Melanie Odell. Picture by David Goddin

Haslemere was fortunate to have a vacant small retail premises on the station forecourt, next to the ticket hall and gateline. The CRP has been able to take this over to use as an ‘information hub’, staffed by volunteers who share local tourist information, maps and leaflets with visitors – especially those wishing to enjoy the abundance of walking and cycling routes in our area.

Information Hub

The Information Hub exists to extend a warm welcome to visitors, helping them to choose destinations and routes that suit their taste – both scenic and commercial. We are fully aware of the importance of the tourist pound, and every one that visitors spend here is a win for the local economy.

We are currently negotiating for alterations and improvements to the Hub, to create additional space and greater visibility –­ both to visitors and the thousands of commuters who pass it each day. The improved Hub will provide enhanced publicity opportunities for local organisations. We also hope that it will lead to an increase in volunteer numbers, facilitating longer opening hours.

In another exciting development, our CRP has just been upgraded to the Surrey Hills to South Downs Community Rail Partnership which will see our influence spreading northwards through local volunteers at four as-yet unadopted stations: Witley, Milford, Godalming and Farncombe – with all of which we have much in common.

Right now we are working on a range of ideas for projects that could win central funding and contribute significantly to an improved travel experience through Haslemere, which this year celebrates 160 railway years.

Community rail is highly regarded in official circles, as were reminded at the recent ACoRP-led Community Rail in the City event at London Waterloo in ad hoc face-to-face contacts with Andrew Jones MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, responsible for railways, at the Department for Transport, and Sir Peter Hendy, Chairman of Network Rail.

So what do I see in it? Well, aside from the opportunity to make a small voluntary contribution on the fringe of the rail sector (partly appeasing the long-held boyhood desire to be an engine driver) community rail has much to offer to a wide range of businesses. That strengthens demand for communication – and that’s the challenge I thrive on.

Click here to read David Goddin’s original article on his own website.