Parish Council News Update – February 2019

Woldingham Parish Council would like to congratulate Parish Councillor Becky Rush on her election to Surrey County Council to represent the Warlingham division. We have been privileged to have Becky serve as Parish Councillor. She has been one of our most active and hardest working Councillors. Becky has worked diligently and selflessly to contribute to the Village, working on issues from safety and security, to Village improvements and Village events. We are pleased that she will continue in her role as Parish Councillor, even as she dons her new hat as County Councillor. Because we have the great privilege of knowing Becky well and working with her for years, we know that she will work tirelessly on behalf of the whole Warlingham division. We owe Becky great thanks for all that has done for the Village and all that she will contribute to Surrey County Council and the Warlingham division.
Woldingham Parish Council

A few words from our New Surrey County Councillor

I’m absolutely delighted to have been elected to be the Surrey County Councillor for the Warlingham Division. I’ve always loved my role on Woldingham Parish Council, working with a group of fantastic people and channelling my energy into our village. I see the County role as an extension to this. Thank you to everyone for the support you’ve given to the Parish Council and to me during my election campaign. If you see me around, please do say hello!
Councillor Becky Rush

Hedges in Winter

Publicly owned highways are maintained by Surrey Highways and in winter they are gritted by Surrey Highways. However, many roads in Woldingham are privately owned, public highways, maintained by the frontagers. In winter, the Woldingham Parish Council contracts locally to grit these roads.

This winter we had some challenges gritting some of our roads, particularly in the Garden Village. Overgrown hedges meant the regular gritting vehicle could not manage all of the tight turns and so could not grit. We did eventually get a smaller vehicle to grit, but this is not always possible. You must keep your hedges trimmed within the boundaries of your original property. They must not protrude onto the road. We will be inspecting in the spring and asking Surrey to notice the households that need to cut their hedges back. Please be aware that if you do not cut your hedges when requested, the County Council will trim the hedges for you and bill you for it. You are legally obligated to cover the costs of trimming the hedges if you do not trim them yourself. Lack of attention to our hedges put drivers at risk this winter. Please check your hedges and trim them regularly to ensure we can safeguard our roads.
Councillor Deborah Sherry

Vehicle-Activated Speed Signs

You might well have noticed the two new VAS (Vehicle-Activated Signs) in the village. The Woldingham Neighbourhood Plan is a document the Parish Council is implementing and living by. An important part of this is safety on our roads and addressing speeding. VAS offers two key benefits to the community; it signals cars to slow down and be more aware of the speed limit. It also allows us to track speed data when cars pass the signs. Such data allow us to quantify the problem and thus engage on the topic further. It has been a bit of a painful procedure getting authorisation to put them up but we are now good to go. So please look out for them and drive carefully.
Councillor Matt Quaife

Two Councillors Needed

Can you help? You might be the just the person that can do a lot for Woldingham….

…..I think most people that live in Woldingham have it as part of their heart. To live in a village with such unique beauty and character makes us all incredibly lucky. It doesn’t stay that way or improve without some effort though. Many people in all different forms contribute to our community, and one of those entities is our Parish Council. The Parish Council do many things, and you will be seeing our newsletter shortly which will give you a detailed overview of our current work. In essence, we respond to all planning submissions, we implement the Woldingham Neighbourhood Plan (e.g. see article on VAS) and we support and try to bring the community together (e.g. Carols in the Crescent).

The Parish Council is meant to be 9 people but at the moment we are only 7. The reality is, because we Parish Councillors are volunteers who give up a few nights a months (usually squeezed between work and family), we can’t easily achieve our goals or do the exciting projects that Woldingham deserves.

I realised when I saw a request in the Village magazine in 2016 for new Parish Councillors that it might be my opportunity to give back. I really enjoy evenings with my fellow Councillors. We are a diverse bunch representing the younger and older generations.

What I’d really love you to do is just ask yourself, could I help? We’d really love to have more Councillors onboard and you might just have some fun whilst doing it. If you are interested please contact Karen, our friendly Parish Clerk (parish.clerk@woldingham.com), and then a few of us could meet up with you and talk you through what being a Councillor is really like.
Councillor Matt Quaife