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ELMBRIDGE COMMUNITY SAFETY PARTNERSHIP ANNUAL MEETING AND CRIME SUMMIT

Elmbridge Community Safety Partnership’s annual ‘face the people‘ public meeting will this year  be hosting the newly introduced Police and Crime Commissioner’s Crime Summit.

The event takes place on Wednesday 12 June at the Civic Centre, High Street, Esher between 6.30pm and 8.30pm.

Kevin Hurley, Surrey’s Police and Crime Commissioner, will present the People’s Priorities on police and crime. Participants will be able to hear about community safety work in Elmbridge, say what issues are affecting the community and discuss how we can work together to solve those problems.

Senior representatives of the agencies who make up the Elmbridge Community Safety Partnership will also be present to answer any questions you may have and discuss with you the work that should be tackled during the next year.

Complimentary refreshments will be available between 6pm and 6.30pm.

If you are able to attend, please register on http://elmbridgeftp-crimesummit.eventbrite.co.uk/

If you would like further information or have any questions, please contact the Community Safety Partnership Manager on 01372 474399 or communitysafety@elmbridge.gov.uk.


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THAMES DITTON HOSPITAL AGM

DOMINIC RAAB  MP

“Making the NHS fit for the 21st Century”

TUESDAY MAY 21ST  
 7.30PM

YE OLDE SWAN, SUMMER ROAD,
THAMES DITTON

ALL ARE WELCOME

Our local hospital, for our local community
Supports improvements to health services for local people

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HINCHLEY WOOD SCHOOL NEW SIXTH FORM CENTRE

Hinchley Wood School has secured a grant of £750,000 from the Education Funding Agency for the construction of a new sixth form centre, conditional on the project being completed by March 2014. Being mindful of the strong opposition aroused by their planning application for the ‘Advantage Nursery’ project, the school is anxious to ensure that local residents are fully informed about this new proposal at the outset to allay any concerns. The new proposal is for the addition of an extra storey to part of the school building to replicate one added previously on the opposite side of the building, and will not involve increasing the footprint of the building or loss of any playground space. Significantly, the letter advises that this will be the last major building initiative in the medium to long term.
A letter (copy here) has been sent to adjacent residents outlining the proposals and extending an invitation to an open meeting to be held at the school on Wednesday, 15th May, to discuss them.

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ELMBRIDGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND SETTLEMENT INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT PLANS

The drafts for the above plans are currently available for public scrutiny and comment before finalisation and adoption. The Development Plan will establish policies against which planning applications from across the Borough will be assessed. The Settlement ID Plans are set of plans for each of eight settlement areas across the Borough. These plans identify key sites for future development of housing and commercial premises, pitches for Gypsies/Travellers, schools/colleges with opportunity for expansion, and open spaces to be protected. The draft Plans are available for viewing at Council offices in Esher or at local libraries and the final date for submission of comments is 20th May. Development opportunities identified in the Hinchley Wood plan are limited to the old Telephone Exchange building on Portsmouth Road and the builder’s yard adjacent to Hinchley Wood Station. The builder’s yard is identified for some potential residential units and also expansion of car parking to serve the local shops. No reference is made to Hinchley Wood Schools, and Granchester House was considered but deemed not to be suitable for designation as a potential development site in this plan. There is also a proposal to formally designate a piece of land (already occupied) adjacent to the established travellers site on Woodstock Lane as an extension to the site.

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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Annual General Meeting was held on Thursday 7th March 2013.  The Agenda for the meeting included:
• Approve the Minutes of the previous AGM
• Receive the accounts of the Association for the previous financial year
• Reappoint the Honorary Auditor
• Receive reports from the Chairman and councillors of the Association on relevant activities since the
previous AGM
• Elect the Officers (the current officers were re-elected)
• Members’ questions and comments.

Minutes of this and other HWRA meetings can be viewed in the document archive.

The event started with a police panel meeting at which PC Ian Madelin gave an update on local crime and safety trends, and priorities for the coming period were discussed..



Top picture (L to R):  Councillor Janet Turner, Vina Owen, Nigel Haig-Brown, PC Ian Madelin and PCSO Nigel Oates.


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SURBITON HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS GROUND, MANOR ROAD SOUTH

The School's planning application for the development of a sports hall has now been submitted under reference 2013/0408/FUL - see Elmbridge Borough Council website at http://www.elmbridge.gov.uk/documents/detail.htm?pk_document=23059

At the most recent meeting with the school, an update was given on the plans for development of facilities at the Manor Road South playing field. The views expressed by local residents at the previous open meeting appeared to have been taken into account in changes to the development plans. Most significantly, the relative height of the building to the Telegraph Hill backdrop has been reduced by lowering the basement level of the structure by 1 metre and also reducing the ceiling height of the structure and modifying the roof profile. These changes, together with the proposed use of a roofing material colour to more closely harmonise with the hillside setting, should significantly minimise the visual impact of the sports hall. There are also other features that should enhance the site appearance, such as the use of ‘grasscrete’ rather than tarmac in parking areas, and by landscaping parts of the site currently covered by scrub with the planting of new trees.

The centre is likely to be available to users between 07:30 and 21:30 except Sundays - mornings only.  Users include the School, certain local sports clubs and other casual users e.g. nearby residents.

Notes of an earlier meeting with residents can be downloaded here (note: the meeting notes are a large file as they include copies of powerpoint slides, plans and artists' impressions). 

There is also a display board with plans and comments adjacent to the main entrance of the pavilion at the sports ground.  Visiting members of the public are requested to report to the groundsman - Justin Barr - if they go onto the site.

LATEST: At the Planning Committee meeting on 22nd April, the application was refused.  All the members voted against it apart from one abstention.  It remains to be seen whether the school will take the matter to appeal.

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ROAD REPAIRS

Surrey County Council are asking residents to help draw up a road repair hit list as part of a blitz on Surrey’s worst roads.  The Council will use residents’ suggestions to help create a list of streets most in need of repair. These will then be overhauled as part of a promised five-year blitz on tackling the root cause of potholes.

People will be able to nominate roads for repair and give their views at a series of roadshows being held in the coming weeks. Suggestions can also be emailed to improvemyroad@surreycc.gov.uk.

For more information, visit news.surreycc.gov.uk/2012/10/01/road-repair-hit-list/


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PLANNING UPDATES

Updates on major planning issues can be found in newsletters from the 'Save Hinchley Wood' group, copies of which (number 35 onwards) can be viewed here.


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HINCHLEY WOOD POLICE PANEL & COMMUNITY SAFETY

Recent  changes to neighbourhood team:

After working in the Dittons and Hinchley Wood area for just over 2 years, PC Katie Kennedy is moving to Esher and Claygate. She is replaced by PC Ian Madelin 40335 who rejoins the team after spending a number of months with the Investigation Team. Ian has worked with a number of Neighbourhood Teams within Elmbridge previously, including Hersham and Walton. Ian will be working alongside the existing officers: PC Sharon Taylor, PCSO Nigel Oates and PCSO Justin Jones. All of these can be contacted on the police non-emergency number, 101.


Meet the Beat:  Our local officers hold regular informal sessions where residents have the opportunity to meet up with them and have a chat about any local issues which may be of concern.

Following the Police Panel meeting on 7th March, the policing priorities remain traffic issues around Claygate Lane, pavement parking and the traffic signal enforcement at the A309 junction.

Recent crime incidents reported by Surrey Police:

A scam currently being used within the area, whereby victims are receiving calls from some one claiming to be a Police Officer or similar, which is convincing victims to hand over large amounts of cash and bank details. We have seen a number of offences in the Runnymede area, but it is possible that residents in Elmbridge may be targeted also.
The victims have been informed that people have been caught using their cards, and they would need to call up their bank straight away to cancel their accounts. Victims are then being asked for their card and bank account details, including their PIN, and some have been told that their cards will need to be collected and a courier is sent round for their cards. In other cases, victims have been asked to withdraw large amounts of cash for verification purposes and this has been collected also.
A genuine Police Officer will not ask for your bank card or account details, neither will they ask you to withdraw money.

A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to 29 months imprisonment following a burglary at a property in Long Ditton. The burglary occurred at a property in Long Ditton at around 8.45am on 4 April. Police units attended following a call from a member of the public reporting what they believed to be a burglary in motion. It was established that a burglary had taken place and, following a search of the vicinity for the suspect, The man was detained in the garden of a nearby property.
Enquiries were made with the victim and it was discovered that a number of items of jewellery had been stolen; however the did not have any of these items in his possession when arrested. A search was made for the outstanding jewellery, and following further information from a local resident, it was recovered three days later in a sock in the garden of another property.

Any suspicious incidents should be reported to the police on 101.

View the latest community safety update and details of the current community safety priorities here.

Surrey Police 'Beat the Burglar' campaign

Surrey Police in partnership with Eagle Radio have launched a campaign aimed at helping the county’s homeowners avoid becoming victims of burglary during the winter months.

The county sees around a 33% increase in domestic burglaries between the months of October and December after the clocks have gone back and the evenings get darker.

The campaign, titled "Burglars take more than you think - Don’t make it easy for them", includes a short film and radio adverts urging the public to protect their homes and possessions and not to make life easy for burglars.

For more information see the Surrey Police website.


Anyone with information about criminal activity who does not want to go to the police can call Crimestoppers twenty four hours a day, seven days a week to pass on what they know anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The Community Safety Partnership encourages residents and business to work together with the police and the other statutory agencies to reduce the levels of crime and anti social behaviour. There are many ways this can be achieved, by taking sensible precautions and above all by letting the authorities know what is happening, when, where and by whom - the simple message is 'See it, Report it, Don't ignore it'.

The Hinchley Wood police panel meets regularly (normally in conjunction with an HWRA road representatives meeting) and attendance is open to all residents. It's your opportunity to meet the local police team and have your say about policing priorities in the local area. Discussion at the panel really does make a difference to local police activity, so it's well worth coming along if you can.

For the timing of meetings, please see the news & events page or check the local police page on the Surrey Police website.

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ELMBRIDGE RESIDENTS PANEL

The Residents' Panel is made up of local residents and who are asked for their views on the Council's services two or three times a year. This could be about anything the Council is working on e.g. council priorities, budget, recycling, crime.  It is part of the Council's drive to make it easier for residents to 'Have Your Say'.

In particular the Council are trying to promote an online panel as this means they can consult residents in an extremely cost effective and environmentally friendly way. The link to join the online panel is www.elmbridge.gov.uk/consult.  However, if any residents would like to join but do not have computer access they can still join the postal panel by ringing Stephanie Barker on 01372 474394 (sbarker@elmbridge.gov.uk).


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More volunteers are still needed to help with Hinchley Wood Care.  For more information please see clubs, societies and voluntary organisations.

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The site is regularly updated with local news, information and features, and we welcome comments on the site and suggestions for improvements and new features. Please send us your feedback here.

Local traders, services, clubs and groups are listed free of charge on the website. If your organisation has not been listed please let us know the details and we will add it to the site. Local organisations can use the site free of charge to advertise forthcoming events, such as jumble sales, fetes etc.

Please contact us here to arrange for your organisation or event to be listed on the site.

Our Residents Association Councillors hold regular surgeries at which you can discuss problems directly with them. Please check the News & Events page for details.

Keep informed about local issues, including community safety alerts, significant planning applications and forthcoming events, by registering for our free e-mail bulletin service.  See contact page for further details.

Site last updated 21st May 2013

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Did you know that the LWT series 'The Charmer' (1986), set in the 1930s and starring Nigel Havers, Rosemary Leach and Bernard Hepton, was partly filmed in Hinchley Wood? You can see some pictures of the filming here. It is also available on DVD from Amazon, but note that you will need a multi-region player.
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