Parish Council News Update – May 2025

Letter from the Chairman

Dear Villagers,

As I write this, we have had a beautiful stretch of sunny, dry weather, which makes a change from the long, wet winter we endured. Watching the sun stream across our chalkland hills and valleys is a wonderful reminder as to why so many of us have chosen to live in this verdant village.

Your Parish Council continues to work to protect our beautiful green belt area and the character of our village. To that end, commenting on planning applications is one of the regular activities of the Parish Council. The rate of applications received for commentary is now running at its long-term average of six per month. Protected areas and landscapes like the conservation area, the green belt, the village character areas and the national landscape continue to provide important and useful protections for the village.

Local Government Reorganisation.

As a reminder, local government is changing. Surrey County Council and all the District and Borough Councils (D&Bs) in Surrey are being abolished and one, two or three new geographic authorities within Surrey, known as Unitary Authorities, will be created, combining all the powers of each level of government into one Authority. If Surrey is comprised of one Unitary Authority, then your local government above your Parish Council will serve a population of roughly 1.2million people. If Surrey is comprised of two Unitary Authorities, then your local government above your Parish Council wills serve a population of roughly 600,000 people. If Surrey is comprised of three Unitary Authorities, then your local government above your Parish Council will serve a population of roughly 400,000 people. The submission deadline to Government for all proposals for Surrey’s Local Government Reorganisation plan is the 9th of May 2025. The Government intends to make its decision in the autumn and to hold the elections to the new authority in May 2026. Upon election, the new Authority or Authorities would form a shadow government(s), organising to take effect fully by April 2027.

Your Parish Council voted (as did most District and Borough Councils in Surrey) that it believes 3 Unitary Authorities would provide government that is nimbler, more democratic, closer to and thus more knowledgeable about its residents and therefore better able to provide for their needs.

Meanwhile, the Government’s White Paper on community level government (addressing town and parish councils and governance of non-parished areas) is long delayed and still awaited. This should give us insight into the new relationship the government has said Unitary Authorities should build with local communities.

Woldingham Parish Assets.

As a reminder, Tandridge District Council (TDC) some time ago began a programme to divest local parish assets to the Parish Councils. The Woldingham Parish Council (WPC) voted to take possession of assets that TDC controls in Woldingham. This process started well over a year ago at TDC. The WPC voted to take possession in order to better maintain them for the needs of the village.

TDC own three assets in the village: The (village) Green, the land at The Crescent and land known as Saxonwold, off Church Road. The WPC hope to take possession of these assets over the next 6 months, but the local government reorganisation process may disrupt this intention.

Bunds on The Green.

The Parish Council have long wanted the concrete blocks on The Village Green to be removed. TDC were only willing to do so if The Green were protected by bunds to prevent traveller ingress. It has been a difficult process, particularly because the works are small and few companies were willing to bid for the work. TDC finally managed to get bids on the work and sign a contract. The Green will be encompassed by Bunds on two sides (it was judged impossible to enter along the road The Green), with a gate along Park View road to enable works and maintenance vehicles to be able to enter. The gate has been installed and the overhanging trees around the perimeter of the Green have been trimmed. The bunds will have meadow mat flowers planted on them, and the concrete blocks will be removed two days before the work starts. As this is written, we await a date shortly for that work to begin. It may even have been completed by the time you read this.

Speedwatch.

Speedwatch leader Jeremy Wormington updates: “The Speedwatch team conducted a dozen sessions during March and found that there continued to be fewer cars speeding, particularly over 45mph. We have found that over the past 12 months the rate of cars speeding has dropped from 18% to under 10%, while those exceeding 45mph has dropped by two-thirds. There are the habitual offenders and the police deal with them directly.

We have been issued with a new speed gun which enables the team to monitor cars as they drive past rather than just towards. We have caught a few drivers who drive past slowly then speed up rapidly. The team is now able to monitor traffic at the bottom of Station Road as well as near the top of the hill.” If you are interested in volunteering, please contact our Clerk, Karen Newman, at parish.clerk@woldingham.com

Monthly Council meetings.

Remember that WPC meetings are always open to the public. Agendas are published at least 5 days in advance and the public are welcome to speak at the start of the meeting. We meet monthly at 7:30pm on the last Wednesday of every month in the Village Hall (and in the Peace Hall in July), except December and August. There are occasional ad hoc meetings, also published in advance on the website and noticeboard on the Crescent. If you would like to speak on any topic, please advise our clerk Karen at parish.clerk@woldingham.com.

Wishing you all the best,
Chairman Deborah Sherry

Summer Starts Here – 7th June

The Parish Council has a responsibility to bring the Woldingham community together and so, on 7th June, the Craigmyle Glebe, which is celebrating its 90th birthday this summer, has kindly opened the grounds to all villagers for a family-focussed community event. Summer Starts Here kicks-off at 12 noon with music from Danny Mann and friends, food vans and a bar being provided by the Glebe.

There will be a Mad Hatters Tea party, to which children – and adults if they wish – should come in fancy dress, the best costumes will win rosettes. Themed tables will be set up but everyone will need to provide their own refreshments. There will also be a dog show, giant games to play, an adult and children’s tug of war competition, and line dancing so watch this space for timings and more information.

Vice-Chair Carole North

Spring Litter Pick

The spring village litter pick took place on Saturday the 15th of March. There was an unavoidable last-minute change to the team, so it’s a big thank you to George, Karen, Peter and Terri for stepping up to save the day. We gathered at the Glebe and as is now usual, there were enough volunteers to cover most of the roads in the village. Add this to the efforts of the villagers who regularly litter pick the roads they live on (thank you) the whole village was got a good clean. After an hour or so, everyone returned to the Glebe for well- deserved tea and cakes. Thanks to everyone who got involved. The pile of litter bags collected are always picked up by Tandridge Council within a couple of days. The next litter pick is set for Saturday 8th November, 10am at the Glebe. Save the date and please do come along and help if you are able.

Councillor Alex Foulds

Woodlea Primary – Our Very Own Accredited Eco School

Earlier this year, I visited our very own accredited Eco School, Woodlea Primary, to meet their student Eco Council and hear more about some of their initiatives to help protect our planet and boost biodiversity. I was impressed by the proactivity and enthusiasm of both staff and children. The below is taken from a recent newsletter the headteacher, Nina Gambier.

“As part of our sustainability curriculum we’ve been working on different projects, and the Eco Council has been the driving force behind which areas we’re focusing on. We want to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill as a school and as a community. We’re targeting litter picking, recycling batteries and taking part in the Great Big School Clean. As a community, we’re also encouraging parents, families, friends and relatives to join Surrey’s Rethink Waste scheme.

Improving the biodiversity of our school grounds is a long-term project. Introducing birdfeeders has been one of Eco Council’s favourite projects as they love filling up the feeders. Often birds take a while to find feeders, but already, we have had lots of different bird sightings. Now we just have to keep up the feeding! The children also wanted a path within the planting area which surrounds the pond and leads to the bug hotel. From a blank canvas, though collaborative thinking and using resources already available, the children have started to create a lovely space of which they are very proud. The Eco Council have been working hard during their break times to build the bug hotel in the pond area. Pallets had previously been donated by parents so it was great to get this project underway. The children have loved it so far. They are learning about the habitats minibeasts like and are enjoying collecting different materials to create the bug hotel. Huge progress has been made, but we know we still have further to go.

In addition, Woldingham Horticultural Society has a seed sharing scheme where local horticulturists share seeds with each other and they have kindly donated seeds for the children to plant. We are so lucky to have received these and we hope to bring the seeds to life and in return, we can share seeds from the plants grown by the children.”

Councillor Cat Neave