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Hinchley Wood Residents Association
Councillors
History

Hinchley Wood Residents Association

Hinchley Wood Residents Association is an independent body. As a registered political party, we put forward candidates for local elections. Our councillors represent the interests of Hinchley Wood independently of national political parties. Our aim is to promote and protect the quality of life of our local community, but recognising that our quality of life cannot be separated from national, and indeed global, environmental concerns.

Since its foundation (at the same time as that of Hinchley Wood itself) in 1932, the Association has fought consistently and succesfully to protect Hinchley Wood from inappropriate developments and from encroachments on the rural suroundings which do so much to make Hinchley Wood a pleasant place to live.

The Association's achievements include:
- consistently resisting encroachment onto the green belt, stretching as far back as the pre-war proposals to develop the Lovelace Estate for housing, which would have filled in the whole area between Hinchley Wood, Claygate and Chessington
- resisting the HASQUAD (Heathrow and South West Quadrant) transport study proposals in 1993, which would have blighted the local area
- the successful campaign in 1999 to stop McDonalds taking over the site of the former Hinchley Wood Hotel
- resisting the proposed mini-supermarket at the Shell station, which would have worsened traffic problems and threatened the viability of our local traders
- campaigning successfully for a pedestrian crossing in Hinchley Wood, which was installed at long last in 2006

HWRA is part of the Elmbridge Residents Group.

Councillors

ELMBRIDGE BOROUGH COUNCIL
Elmbridge Borough Council

Both seats for Hinchley Wood ward are held by Residents Association councillors.

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



Janet Turner

Councillor Mrs Turner is the Hinchley Wood Residents Association Group Leader.
She was born in Hersham in the late thirties, and attended local schools. She and her husband Roy moved to Hinchley Wood in 1983. Apart from a career break as full time mother to her two children, Janet has worked in the accounts department at a local electrical engineering company, in the finance/audit and marketing departments of the Milk Marketing Board, and in the NHS.
Since becoming a councillor in 1995, her principal aim has been to keep Hinchley Wood a green and pleasant place in which to live, by maintaining a keen interest in the issues relating to land development planning, flooding and crime prevention, local amenities and services. In addition she is involved with community groups looking after the environment and with local traders organizing social events.
Janet has served on all the main Council committees. As the portfolio holder for Leisure and Culture, she became very involved with the procurement of the new Excel Leisure Complex, which was built seven weeks ahead of schedule and on budget. She was also involved with the decision to support Mercedes Benz World and the construction of the 60 acre Brooklands Country Park – at no cost to the taxpayer – and the highly acclaimed Heart Centre at Walton on Thames.
The protection of the environment is at the top of her agenda. She is a keen advocate of recycling, composting, walking or cycling instead of using the car and the economical use of all energy sources. She believes strongly in the preservation of the green belt, and welcomes the new commons management plans which have been agreed with English Nature after a lot of hard negotiating.
She has been closely involved in many planning issues since becoming a
Councillor, notably the successful campaign to overturn a planning application by the McDonalds fast food group, and the housing development of the Lynwood site, which was one of the largest projects seen in Hinchley Wood since its foundation.
Janet has been a governor of Hinchley Wood Primary School for the last 12 years.
Her personal interests are cycling, keeping fit and healthy, skiing, badminton, reading, interior decoration, sewing, world travel, and spending time with her children and grand children.


2 Montgomery Avenue
Hinchley Wood
Esher
Surrey
Tel: 020 8398 1565
janet.turner@hinchleywood.org.uk

Councillor Jack Mulder
Jack Mulder


Dr Jack Mulder was first elected as councillor for Hinchley Wood ward in 2002. He has been a resident in Hinchley Wood for the past 18 years. He is married with two children, both of whom attended local schools. He studied at the University of Nottingham, from where he graduated with a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Microbiology. He has worked at a number of universities and research institutions in the UK and abroad. At present he is the Project Director for a christian charitable trust which supports education, medical and community projects, as well as special initiatives for victims of AIDS in southern Africa.
He is a member of the East Area Planning Committee and the Overview and Scrutiny Committees dealing with Corporate and Environmental Affairs on Elmbridge Council. He has also served on the Community Affairs Committee. He believes that the provision of local services, a safe environment and good amenities for all, are major priorities and should be constantly monitored and upgraded when necessary. He was the initiator of the new pedestrian crossing as well as the bus shelters. Dr Mulder is well known in the local community. He is an active member of St Christopher’s Parish Church and is a school governor at Hinchley Wood School.


51 Heathside
Hinchley Wood
Esher
Surrey
Tel: 020 8398 8699
jack.mulder@hinchleywood.org.uk

History

Some highlights from the last 75 years of Hinchley Wood Residents Association's work on behalf of the local community:
1932 - First meeting of the executive committee, Mr Royston Pike secretary
1933 - HWRA fielded 6 candidates for election in the Long Ditton Ward. HWRA candidate Dr McDonald elected. Later on that year, Hinchley Wood made a separate ward with 3 councillors.
1934 to 1939 - HWRA closely involved in development of the new Hinchley Wood, held regular public meetings and provided the Hinchley Wood ward councillors for the District Council
!939 to 1945 - During the 2nd World War, no public meetings were held although there were some executive committee meetings.
1945 - Mr Royston Pike elected President
1945 to 1956 - HWRA was closely involved with further developments in Hinchley Wood: primary school, war memorial and gardens, recreation ground, train services, street lighting and preservation of the Green Belt.
1956 - HWRA rules changed so that only a resident of Hinchley Wood could stand as a candidate for election to the council
1980 - A councillor for 32 years, Mr Royston Pike died. A memorial to him is on Telegraph Hill.
1988 - Mr Bill Gibson a HWRA councillor for 24 years and the first Independent mayor, retired from the council
1999 - Ward boundaries changed so that Hinchley Wood only entitled to 2 councillors
2000 - Millennium gate installed in the Memorial Gardens, and HWRA registered as a political party
2001 - New notice board installed
1956 to 2007 - HWRA involved in supporting: the schools, safer roads, health care, flood prevention, bus shelters; and fought against: arterial roads, being part of Greater London, shopping mall, a supermarket, McDonalds restaurant, helicopter route, mini market, mobile phone masts; and ongoing: any new developments detrimental to Hinchley Wood.

For further reading on the history of Hinchley Wood, the Guildford via Cobham railway and other local history topics, visit Howard Mallinson's website:
Howard Mallinson local history books

See also Wikipedia
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