Welcome again to my second website news update.

I haven't had any feedback at al about my first attempt to provide a monthly update on Grayshott.com and so it may be that I'm writing this text for myself! If you read it and have comments, do let me know.

I'll be writing in line with the same basic principles I applied last time, which are;

·Minimal, possibly no politics,
·No names mentioned apart from mine, other figures in the public eye already, or with consent,
·Local issues about Grayshott,
·Not too much about STOAT,
·Updated every 4-6 weeks.

Stoney Bottom

A large number of residents are worried about developments in this road. The main concerns I have received are;

1.How to keep the gutters free of silt so that they carry away the water and do not clog up and flood gardens.
2.How to protect the relics of the old Drovers' Road.

1.In an attempt to make progress here I invited along an officer from Hampshire County Council's Countryside Service. I walked the length of the road with him and three other concerned residents. The drainage ditches are all on private land and as a result, are the responsibility of each landowner to clear. The County Council will not clear private property, but they will offer any resident advice on a suitable subcontractor to do the work and arrange an introduction if required.

2.Again, many of the valuable historic remains of the Drovers' Road are on private land, which makes them very difficult to protect. In addition, there are no laws to invoke that would protect them, as we have for listed buildings, ancient monuments and valuable trees. We will be making approaches to the County Archaeologist and also the National Trust, who own adjoining land, to see if they can help, but we are not very optimistic.

In both of these cases, the community is dependent on local landowners to act with consideration and responsibility. This occurs so often in community life where many aspects of life depend on these qualities. I realise it seems feeble, but I suspect the need to care for Stoney Bottom is going to depend on the actions of landowners rather than the law and I do hope everyone in Stoney Bottom helps to keep it such an attractive and interesting part of the village.

Good Neighbours

While I'm on this theme, you may be interested to know that I receive, regularly, many complaints about the conduct of fellow residents of Grayshott. It seems we all do things that annoy our neighbours, often without realising it. The list is huge, but here is a sample of the usual complaints;

·Smoky bonfires on sunny days,
·Noisy music,
·Fireworks, (even display size fireworks), let off late at night,
·Planning applications that spoil a scene or view, or cause a loss of privacy,
·Inconsiderate parking,

And so on. In almost of all of these, neither I, nor any branch of government, can help.

Noise and smoke can be reported to the District Council's Environmental Health department.
If the noise is late at night and extremely loud, the Police may be prepared to get involved. However, one off parties are rarely dealt with; the noise usually has to be loud and persistent. Smoky bonfires also have to be persistent, not occasional, to be actionable by Environmental Health.

Fireworks are taken more seriously as there is legislation soon to be enacted to apply heavy restrictions to the timing of displays and the Environmental Health department of the Council may act firmly, especially if the problems occur more than once.

Planning applications are of course down to me and the Council's officers, but I'm afraid there are no rights to a view or to privacy. Overlook can be acted upon, but it has to be severe and obvious before any ruling made by the Council will survive an appeal to the Government's Planning Inspectorate, I'm afraid.

Parking problems have to be raised with the County Council Highways Department. Call me if you want to know who to speak to. In extreme cases, the Police may act if not too busy.

In almost of these cases, resolution comes down to good neighbourliness. Don't have your party music going on past midnight and if young children live nearby, remember they go to bed early and are often very miserable if woken prematurely! If you let off fireworks, again, complete the display before midnight and remember the effect that display fireworks have on your neighbours' animals. Minimise the number of bonfires you light in the Summer and try to accommodate your neighbour's requests regarding sunny days. Try not to park in a way that blocks or impedes someone else's driveway.

These are some rules that most people follow. They are all really easy to implement. A few do not and make life uncomfortable for others. Please try to be considerate, especially in the five areas listed above.

STOAT

The report in the Surrey Messenger that the current campaign could cause the tunnel project to be abandoned is utter nonsense. Ignore it.

I have been putting pressure on the District Council to support the retention of the old A3 and this has drawn a sharp criticism in the Haslemere Herald from the Council's leader who thinks I am pressing too hard. Local Government is hard to shift and maybe I went in too hard. I think most Grayshott residents would prefer I went in too hard rather than failed to try hard enough.

Grayshott Youth

Some wonderful volunteers are trying to establish a local youth group. They applied for a grant from East Hampshire District Council, which was granted in full. I am giving them all the help I can. Shortly I expect some very important announcements about this project.

Cllr. Ferris Cowper
EHDC Councillor for the ward of Grayshott