Dear Villagers,

Welcome to my latest webpage update for Grayshott.com. This is written on Friday 29th. October to be posted by Peter Hatch during the week beginning Monday, 1st November. The next update should be posted six weeks later, during week commencing 13th. December.

As usual, let's have a run through some of the issues in the village.

Local Press and Radio

Some of you have remarked that you have seen text from my webpage reproduced in the Herald and Messenger newspapers. A villager commented to me the other day that Delta Radio had been running a news item, based on my webpage, on the hour all day. I'm very happy to see this development. First of all my remarks are all "public domain" and can be quoted or used by anyone as long I'm credited with authorship in some reasonable way. Second, the whole idea of the webpage is to get important village information to as wide an audience as possible, so if the local press and radio carry some of the items as well, it simply widens the audience even more, which is just what I want.

The only slight snag is that this page used to be rather "chatty" in style but now it has a wider circulation, I may have to write copy that is defendable "in court", as it were.

Yes, It's Gone at Last!!!!!

It really has! I've even been there to check it myself. That dreadful white lorry is no longer an embarrassing eyesore at the junction of Rockdale and Headley Road. No longer do visitors entering Grayshott from the A3 get the idea they are arriving at a huge breaker's yard and our lovely, award winning village is freed of an appalling scar. I am told by eye witnesses that the removal itself was quite a big operation with half a dozen Police Officers and a couple of Police cars.

For those who may feel an unfortunate man has ben deprived of his livelihood, please note that the truck has been there, unmoved, since August 2003, (14 months ago), was untaxed and was not "a runner". The Freight Transport Association had assessed it as valueless. I began writing to Mr. Kelley, the owner, in January of this year but he did not reply. Neighbours had contacted him, asking for the vehicle to be moved. Only when the District Council's enforcement team threatened removal, did Mr. Kelley respond.

I must extend full credit for this highly satisfactory outcome to Mr. Bill Young of the District Council's Enforcement Department. He has stuck to this case doggedly throughout and has shown great patience, fairness, creativity and professionalism in arriving at this solution. I have written to the Chief Executive of the District Council, to thank him for Mr. Young's good work, (as well as directly to Bill of course!).

The A3 Inquiry

Basically it's over now subject to some additional information to be supplied. I think the village has represented itself with great success. We took on one of the biggest Government Departments and one of the biggest and wealthiest Charities in the UK. The Counsel for STOAT feels they have scored some direct hits and that there is some possibility that our community may achieve some modification of the Tunnel draft orders currently put to the Inquiry. All of that remains to be seen, of course. Like all of us, I await the Inspector's ruling with excitement.

Pedestrian Facilities

I have been recently in contact with the senior officer at Hampshire County Council who is dealing with this matter. From my perspective, the actions are thus. He has commissioned a pedestrian movements study in Grayshott which, together with some survey data collected by Balfour Beatty as part of the A3 Tunnel project, should give him a clear picture of the issues. We have agreed that this information, together with his interpretation of the data, should be reviewed at a meeting convened by me and attended by representatives of the Parish Council, Gray-Sight and BiG.

At this meeting he will also offer his views on the suitability of a Pelican Crossing and any other schemes that might be available to assist residents to cross the road more easily. I see this as a vital forum for deciding how to move forward.

I'm hopeful that we might be able to convene this meeting before my next web page update.

Litter

Don't forget the Litter Pick Day on Saturday 13th. November. I'll be there along with our M.P., James Arbuthnot to promote a litter free Grayshott. Peter Harrison has done a wonderful job to organise this event, so please give it your support. If you are a member of the Press reading this, don't forget it's a great photo opportunity!

Car Parking

Many thanks to all those who have supplied me with ideas and comments. Everyone has been very constructive. All comments will be used in my discussions with the Council. I am still very happy to receive your thoughts on the matter. A little closer to the date, (probably during the Summer), I will put my draft views down on this webpage for your reactions before I finally make up my mind about how best to represent you.

Comments on this topic are particularly welcome on Fcowper@aol.com

Tesco Trucks

There has been an interesting development this week, (of writing this page), that causes me to reduce the amount I say on this subject in the future, possibly to nothing at all. Tesco have submitted a Planning Application to make alterations to the way in which deliveries are made to the shop.

Those of you who have dealt with me on Planning matters know that the Code of Conduct for Councillors, which is backed by law, prevents me from expressing, or developing, a view on any planning matter that may come before me as a Councillor for decision. As a result I cannot even allow myself to form a view of the Tesco planning application until it comes before the District Council's Area North Planning Committee, (date to be set).

Of course I know there is considerable controversy. I can and in fact I have a duty to, advise any resident or applicant of their rights to be heard in the debate over any planning application. Whatever your view, if you feel strongly about the situation, please visit the Parish Council Office and see the actual planning application. You can see it on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10.00 and 12.00 in the Parish Council Office, (through the blue door to the left of the main village hall entrance, up the stairs and through the white door on your right at the top). The Parish Clerk, or any of the Parish Councillors present, will be more than happy to show you the application.

If, having seen the application, you feel strongly for or against it, you should write a letter to the District Council informing them of your views. This letter need not be very long, in fact the shorter and more concise it is, the better. A short list of "bullet points" is ideal. The address can be obtained when you visit the Parish Council Offices, or I can supply it to you directly. A group of supporters or objectors must not draft one letter, copy it and then apply different signatures, nor must there be a petition. Obvious copies of a single letter, or a petition, however large, will be counted as just one letter towards the twenty. Objectors or supporters who write in, need not be resident in the village and relatives may write in; all count towards the twenty as long as the letters are obviously different.

If the Council receives 20 letters about an application, it becomes known as a "Section One" application and receives special treatment. The only time the District Council's Planning Committee will allow comments from the public is for a Section 1 application. If an application is treated as Section 1, a representative of objectors is allowed to address the Committee for three minutes, (strictly timed). Of course this means that a representative of the applicant is also allowed to speak in support of the application for three minutes and finally, a representative of the Parish Council is allowed to speak for three minutes. After that it's down to me, my Councillor colleagues and the officers. The meeting will be open to the public and only then will you be able to hear my views about the application.

Finally, Grayshott Parish Council Planning and Conservation Committee will be discussing this application on Thursday, 4th. November at 19.00. The Parish Council cannot decide the matter but their input to the District Council is given great weight. This is a public meeting and all are welcome. Due to a prior commitment I will not be present I'm afraid, but the Chairman will bring me up to date the next day.

Classical Concert

This was an outstanding event. As far as I know everyone enjoyed it, I certainly did. My thanks to Vivienne Harrison for the effort and talent in putting on a great evening. Book me in for the next one please!

Mobile 'Phone Mast at Waggoner's Bend

There is a planning application from Vodaphone to install a mobile 'phone mast on the bend of the Headley Road near the Waggoner's Estate. I know there is a lot of discussion about this in the village. As it is a planning application, I am restricted in what I can say.

I do suggest that those who feel strongly in favour of the mast, or against it, hold their letter writing fire for a while as the whole situation around this mast is fluid right now. What do I mean by that?

First of all, I have seen a recent letter from Hampshire County Council who have the rights to the land in question, denying that they have "given permission" for the mast be erected and I have seen a reply from Vodaphone's agent acknowledging this. This is a material change in the facts of the application. This correspondence arose directly from discussions held between County Councillor John Filer, me and the Parish Council, (Clive Slaughter and Jan Gale).

Second, the option for Vodaphone to erect a smaller 10m mast that requires no planning permission has been rejected by District Council planning officer Keith Oliver. He has ascertained that covenants exist on this land since the estate was first developed, that have disabled what are known as the "permitted development rights" of the telecom operator.

Thirdly, the District Council have refused the application as presented because of concerns over highway visibility caused by the location of the box at the base of the mast and also because it is felt that Vodaphone have not properly exhausted alternative sites. Three alternative sites have been offered in this latest round of discussions, of which one site is a high probability and brings with it far fewer concerns from residents than the current proposal.

I hope you understand it's hard for me to say more than this and even this might stretch the rules a bit! The message is, wait until all the facts are stabilised and we all know just what is being proposed, before writing in to support or oppose the mast.

Grayshott Hall TETRA Mast

Concern about the TETRA mast in Grayshott Hall is resurfacing. I wrote two letters to Mr. Hussey, the General Manager of Grayshott Hall earlier this year on this subject and received no reply to either, which I thought was a bit rude! A concerned resident is taking up this cause with great vigour and is pushing to have the mast removed. Our M.P., James Arbuthnot, is being kept involved with developments.

Of course, my concern is with the health needs of Grayshott residents living close by. However, I must say I wonder what the guests of that exclusive health retreat would do if they knew there was a controversial TETRA mast in the tower!

In case you're wondering why I allowed such a thing to happen, this mast was installed long before the TETRA mast issue became a matter of public debate. I should have thought this was, in fact, also a good reason for the management of Grayshott Hall to remove the mast; they could legitimately cite lack of knowledge as the reason for allowing it to be installed. Not only was there no public debate at the time, but the planning application simply referred to it as an "O2 telecommunication mast". Nowhere in the application does it mention "TETRA" technology, nor does it mention the O2 subsidiary that operates the TETRA system, called "Airwave". It looked just like a regular mobile 'phone mast being installed out of sight up a tower. Today, of course, there is a statutory consultation process which must be undertaken through the District Council, but this mast pre-dated these procedures.

If you feel strongly about this TETRA mast, please join the energetic local resident by voicing your complaint to Grayshott Hall management. See if you can extract a reply from the General Manager, Mr. Derek Hussey, Grayshott Hall, Headley Road, Grayshott, Hindhead, Surrey GU26 6JJ , or Mr. Anthony Stalbow, Managing Director, Grayshott Hall Ltd., 1, Sloane Square, London SW1W 8EE.

Travelling Showmen at Fairlands

The planning application by the Showmen to stay in permanent residence at the Fairlands site was approved by the District Council, with my support, in 2002. However, a written undertaking by the Showmen, (known as a section 106 agreement), which was a condition of that permission, was not received until after the agreed deadline, (despite reminders from the officers and me) and so the permission lapsed. Given the emotion this application generated at the time, this was unfortunate to say the least!

The s.106 agreement stated that, if in the next five years alternative land acceptable to both the Showmen and the Council was identified, then the Showmen would agree to move to that location.

The application, together with a properly completed s.106, was submitted again for approval to the Council's Area North Planning Committee on 21st October. Once again it was approved and again, with my express support. As I write this, the short time extension allowed to the Headley Down Residents Association to identify new planning issues that could cause the Council to reconsider, has now passed without any such issues being identified.

As a result I think we can safely say that the Showmen are now fully fledged members of our community. On a personal basis I'm very pleased because they have integrated with our village very well, they make a huge contribution to village events, (such as our various parties and firework displays) and they cause us no problems at all. On the contrary, they keep an eye on the open land along Headley Road to ensure we do not suffer invasion from undesirable groups.

From a planning perspective and this is the basis on which I make my decisions on these matters, approval this time round was unavoidable as no new planning issues had been identified since approval in 2002. As long as the s.106 agreement was properly drawn up, the Council had a legal obligation to reaffirm its permission. There was an attempt by Cllr. Williams from Headley to alter the terms of the section 106 agreement to ten years, which was a perfectly legal and proper suggestion, but it was overwhelmingly defeated by the committee. In the end all the Councillors present, bar one, voted for permission.

Personal Matters

I mentioned that there was to be a new County Councillor for the County Council division that includes Grayshott, as John Filer had decided not to seek re-election. I submitted myself for the nomination of the Conservative Party, but was unsuccessful. The successful nominee was Cllr. Sam James who represents Liphook. Sam is a fine Councillor and if elected next Spring will be an excellent County Councillor. Like me he is careful about how much politics he allows into his role as a Councillor which makes him acceptable across a broad range of opinion.

If you want to meet him, he is going to attend the Grayshott Conservatives Coffee Morning and Wine Bring and Buy Sale in the Small Village Hall on Saturday 6th. November at 10.00. Anyone is allowed to attend and it's not all that political either!

Contact Me

As ever, please write to me or call me with concerns, worries, disagreements or anything else relevant to village life that I can help with. My 'phone number is 01428-609858 and my email address is Fcowper@aol.com

Cllr. Ferris Cowper
EHDC Councillor for the ward of Grayshott