Dear villagers,

First of all, I wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and I hope you all get the chance to experience the wonderful way in which we celebrate Christmas in Grayshott. My first 2010 newsletter should be posted during week beginning 8th February.

Police Event in Grayshott.

I'm very sorry that this did not take place as promised. I received this email from P. C. Kirsty Langridge at 11.19pm on the night before we were due to meet villagers in The Square;

Ferris,

I am so sorry but I have been involved in a big operation tonight which has run on. Consequently this has had a knock on effect to tomorrow and I will not be able to attend our meeting. Hopefully we can arrange something in the New Year.

Again my apologies but I did not expect to still be working tonight!

Many thanks,

Kirsty

A Policewoman's lot is not a happy one...

The Core Strategy of The Local Development Framework – This is Important!

Not a very catchy title but an important document for Grayshott nonetheless. The Local Development Framework, produced by EHDC, has featured in my newsletter on many occasions in the past and I urge everyone with an interest in the development of the village to read it and comment on it.

The Core Strategy of the LDF is what it says. It's a relatively short statement of the general strategy EHDC expects to follow over the next five to six years. There are no references to specific roads, houses or sites, but there are general statement of direction for important settlements and Grayshott is one of those.

PLEASE NOTE I AM HOLDING A CONSULTATION EVENING ON THE GRAYSHOTT SECTION OF THE CORE STRATEGY ON MONDAY 4TH JANUARY 6PM TO 8PM IN THE BARNABAS ROOM IN THE ST. LUKE'S CHURCH ROOMS. If you haven't been there before, just go along the Headley Road out of the village towards Headley; past St. Luke's Church and shortly afterwards turn right into the private car park for the Church Rooms, just before you get to Vicarage Gardens. Walk along the small path back towards the church, turn into the Church Rooms and the door is marked just inside; it's easy really.

This event is organised by me at my own expense. I have decided to do this because the official event organised by EHDC received weak publicity and a poor attendance. I feel very strongly indeed that as villagers you must be aware of the document, what it says and why it says it.

With the consultation deadline looming I was limited in my choice of rooms with so much going on in Grayshott. The Barnabas Room will be a bit cosy and so I HAVE TO RESTRICT ATTENDANCE TO ONLY THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE RESIDENTS OF GRAYSHOTT. Sorry.

I know many people in surrounding villages receive this newsletter. If you do, please contact your local District Councillor or EHDC to find out how to get more information. If you live in Headley, as many do who read this, your councillors are Cllr. Anthony Williams awilliams@ajwfca.fsnet.co.uk, and Cllr. Richard Millard Richard.Millard@navfleet.com.

So why is it so important' The reason is that there is a two page section on Grayshott in this document which sets out how EHDC sees the strategic development of the village, covering Future Growth and Development, Housing, Environment, Retail, Employment, Transport and Community Facilities.

Some of the statements I agree with and some I do not. At this stage we have complete freedom as a village to adapt this document to our requirements. My job will be to make sure the wishes of the village overall are dealt with, but anyone can comment as an individual even if you disagree with me. I have no reason to believe that anything at all will be imposed on us that we do not want. This is our chance to shape the document, not to be constrained by it.

Somebody has got themselves very excited about a reference to these sentences; 'An allocation for about 50 new homes in the area, to include an element of affordable housing, is therefore appropriate. The new housing is likely to be located to the west of the village'.

I know that some people will react knee jerk style to this suggestion as being 'bad' for Grayshott. However it's actually quite a complex argument and that is why I am organising the event on 4th January.

For Grayshott, 50 homes is a lot. The biggest development since I became District Councillor was15. However, surprising though it may seem, planning consent is granted for between 10 and 30 dwellings in Grayshott every single year, (since 1999) and we seem to cope with this. There are 1100 homes in Grayshott already. I don't think that in principle the village 'can't cope' with 50, plainly it can and does.

In fact the biggest demands on our local facilities like roads, parking, transport, school, medical facilities and others actually come from outside the village, especially in Hindhead where Waverley BC seem to locate a great deal of development.. You will all have seen the new retirement complex going up at the junction of Boundary Road and Headley Road and you will recall the huge development of the old 'Happy Eater' site.. So this is where the pressure comes from; not from within Grayshott.

The real anger with new developments seems to me to come from what is called 'infill' or in the vernacular, 'garden grabbing'. This where the owner of the house next to you sells off a bit of their garden to a property developer who then builds another house on it! I understand anger at this sort of development because it leads to loss of privacy, overlook and noise. Shrinking back gardens damages the semi rural feel we have here even in the village centre. The reference in the Core Strategy is to a brand new site which could be developed without impinging on your privacy and personal space in the way the garden grabbing does.

The site 'to the west of Grayshott' is not identified specifically but I can tell you categorically it is not Bowleswood Farm. This site has been earmarked for the green burials that I have discussed here before and which has a lot of local support. There will be no housing on Bowleswood Farm. That's a promise.

However, east of Bowleswood there is quite a bit of space interspersed between fairly substantial developments and it has to be assumed that this is the area EHDC has in mind.

This possible site for 50 homes is the only one that will be considered for Grayshott over the entire span of the Government's 20 year housing strategy for S. E. England. The Regional Strategy, as it is called, determines all sites of any substance. This will be the only one like this for Grayshott until 2026 at the earliest. That's an average of between 2 and 3 per year. Given that we build between 10 and 30 per year in Grayshott anyway, this is clearly a manageable quantity.

Obviously this will help to eliminate homelessness in Grayshott. The expected 'affordable housing' allocation, (see the previous newsletter for explanations of these terms), is likely to be about 40%, or about 20 homes. Together with the projects already under way in Grayshott I believe that our homeless waiting list, (for villagers and those with a strong local connection), of about 36 will become zero. I know of no other major settlement with a zero waiting list. This would be a sensational achievement for the village.

Lastly, the village will benefit from a considerable sum of money Although this all has to be negotiated you could reasonably assume about £100,000 for village transport projects which might include something to do with the traffic calming when the tunnel opens. There could be another £100,000 for open spaces such as the brilliant project currently under way for improved sports and recreation in Grayshott. Finally there could be a further £50,000 for environmental improvements that might benefit The Square project. A quarter of a million pounds in total. Maybe more, maybe less, subject to negotiation.

Although we want to keep Grayshott as a village and hence we don't want any overdevelopment here, we have to be careful to assess the advantages of a small scheme like this. If you come along on the 4th, there will be experts there to deal with your questions.

As you can see there is a lot to consider. I know the village will do so thoughtfully. It's a complex and far reaching issue to consider.

At the end of the day, however, if you don't think the advantages are worth it, then the village won't get it. Any of it. Plain and simple.

Village Projects

I'm pleased to be increasing my involvement with village projects after that EHDC Leadership business. Projects moving really well that I am involved with, include the village Sports and Recreation study, (led by Nick Chilton), The Square project, (led by Colin Thompson) and a project to get the right traffic calming solution for Grayshott, (led by a small group comprising Chris Vardy, Roy Fudge and Phil Bates).

Of course there are many others that I am not involved with and which are making superb progress because here in Grayshott we are lucky to have so many fantastic volunteers and a very supportive and constructive Parish Council.

And finally....

Many thanks from me to all of you who came along to Grayshott Social Club on Friday 18th December to sing and dance to my rock band 'Drive'. We all had a fabulous night and yet again Peter Hatch and the staff at the Social Club showed us all what a vitally important village institution they are!!! Should be some photos on Grayshott.com soon, I hope!

As usual, please call me or drop me a line of you have any comments. It's really easy. Use fcowper@aol.com, or 01428-609858. I'm pretty good at responding within 48 hrs.

Happy Christmas,

Cllr. Ferris Cowper
EHDC Ward Councillor for Grayshott.