Category: Godalming

New Tory Talking shop arrives in ‘Your Waverley.’

If you are a passionate Conservative in Waverley, living in Farnham or Haslemere you will have been invited to join the new Tory Farncombe and Godalming Voice Group. Unfortunately, the group is currently private, with non-card-carrying members not yet admitted.

Do people of Farncombe & Godalming not possess a voice on social media?
Is their voice not as critical of local government shenanigans as it should be?

Great to see it boasts such members as the disgraced former County Council Tory Leader Andrew Povey who was unceremoniously kicked out by his own Tory colleagues for his dubious behaviour. Welcome to the Farnham & Godalming ‘Tory Voice Group World’ where only the card and baggage carriers are welcome?

However, this is not a new social media strategy for the local Conservatives, as the much-derided Haslemere Fact Check page has already demonstrated. It is like putting George Osbourne in charge of Private Eye – a great wheeze but just not very funny. Or maybe making your grandad the sole administrator of a Facebook Rant group. And – where would we all be without the regular slapping gums of Elstead’s Aunty Elsey?

Meanwhile, here at the Waverley Web which actually listens to council meetings, report debates and reads committee papers, scratch our heads at their latest rantings over at the Haslemere Fact Check.  A site you are excluded from commenting on if you don’t happen to agree? Is it seriously suggesting Paul Follows should resign because somebody failed to put in a travel plan as part of a forthcoming planning application?

Is that the best it can come up with?! We’ve got 10 draft unpublished posts more coherent than this.

How about someone asks a really Big Question:

Q Who exactly agreed to bring in Waverley’s new and flawed Planning Information Technology – The Horizon Scheme?

P.S We have on record details of one Tory Waverley Borough Councillor and former Mayor, who was a member of the Labour Party elsewhere in Surrey, joined the Conservative Party, (was kicked out of the party – twice) and then became an Independent councillor and then a Conservative!

Polling Day in Godalming – Binscombe Ward GTC

Today (Thursday 18th November) is polling day in Binscombe in the Godalming Town Council by-election.

The election takes place on the retirement of Green councillor Jo Purvis due to ill-health. Unusually there are just two candidates – Labour and the Lib Dems chose not to stand to support the Green Party candidate.

Polling Station is Binscombe Church, Barnes Road from 7 am -10 pm

Green Party member Steve Williams said:

“It is a straight contest between Claire Weightman of the Green Party and the Conservatives – reflecting the collaborative, progressive coalition on the Town Council between Greens, Liberal Democrats, Labour and our one independent councillor, with the Conservatives choosing the route of opposition.

Clare would make a brilliant local councillor and would be a great asset to the progressive coalition on GTC. I wish her every success.”

The Conservative candidate is former Godalming Mayor and Waverley Councillor Liz Wheatley, who we thought had retired from politics several years ago, but who gamely stands as a paper candidate whenever called upon to rock up for an election, anywhere!

 Gone today here tomorrow? Is ‘ the retiring’ Liz Wheatley really making a bid for a seat in Farnham?

South West Surrey Conservatives said:

“We are proud to support our excellent candidate, Liz Wheatley, and hope that you will also support her on polling day!”

Have your say on the Godalming to Guildford Greenway.

Volunteers have been working behind the scenes to link up bits of off-road tracks, paths and bridleways to form an active travel network, with a working title of The Guildford Godalming Greenway. Having got the support of Godalming Town Council, Waverley and Guildford Councils, it was then down to the proper highway planners at Surrey County Council to get involved with a feasibility study.

The proposals can be seen here and a public consultation is now open. Godalming has a severe air quality problem with Bridge Road and Flambard Way being an Air Quality Action zone (whose data may have been ‘lost’ under the previous Conservative administration!), with roads clogged every morning with Chelsea tractors delivering children to nurseries and schools twice a day. Now if only some of them could have a safe greenway to link Farncombe and Godalming.

These proposals have upset the anti-cycling lobby on Facebook, with cries of  ‘Stop the Lycra Louts on the Lammas Lands’. Other residents with a view of the routes, and dog walkers, are terrified of the nature destroying impact of some potential reinforced paths or god forbid boardwalks across the sacred Lammas Lands (Go to a nature reserve, and you’ll find a boardwalk!). Only existing users should continue to access the Lammas lands apparently.

Surrey County Council have organised two drop in sessions for locals to let off steam with the Project Team:

• Godalming Library, Saturday 30 October, 10:00 – 13:00

• Waverley Borough Council Office (Reception area), Thursday 4 November, 15:00 – 19:30

It’s official! Building on flood plains in ‘Your Waverley’ will be banned by the Government.

Talk about shutting the door after the horse has bolted!

George Eustace,  The Secretary of State for Environment has warned that:

“Climate change is heightening the threat of deluges destroying homes.”

Funny that! We all knew that yonks ago.  The residents over there in Cranleigh including the Cranleigh Civic Society warned that building on the flood plains of the eastern village was just storing up trouble for the future. In fact, the group that speaks up on behalf of the people of Cranleigh took a vote of NO CONFIDENCE  in Waverley Borough Council in May 2017. CROSS OF CRANLEIGH JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT CROSSER …

Perhaps that Vote of NO CONFIDENCE fell on deaf ears?

Here’s just one of the sites that Thakeham Homes. A developer that was actually afforded the unprecedented honour of joining planning officers around the Waverley Towers council chamber staff table, to speak up for and receive its planning consent. 

You can see where building work has started and where now the new homes stand.

However, no surprise here: Thakeham Homes sold the site on to another developer as soon as it received planning consent! It is now aptly named – “Willow Brook.”

Thakeham’s thuggery set to reap rich rewards.

‘ Your Waverley’ make a site visit to Thakeham Homes proposed new development on a floodplain in Cranleigh.

No worries though. The Government has set aside £860million for 1,000 flood defence schemes as part of a package of measures to protect homes, businesses and infrastructure!

Is Surrey County Council helping our high streets to flourish?

You can bet the last pound of your county council tax that it is doing nothing for our pavements here in Godalming. The very same pavements where shoppers dare to tread.

Apart of course, from using them as a useful canvas for Surrey’s council workers colouring skills!

While pretty pavement decorations have been installed right along Godalming’s high street showing people where to “Q” outside shops and colourful marker dots 2 metres apart – STILL the dreadfully dangerous half upturned paving slab (which can be just seen in the distance next to the white car at the end of Wharf Street) has still NOT been repaired.

WHY?

It has had an orange dot indicating the authorities are aware for 10 days now … surely someone could have taken time out from painting the letter “Q” everywhere, in order to repair this death trap.  But it just seems to have been ignored.  Close up photo below.

Mind the Step – or break your neck!?!

So is it any wonder that as Two Godalming Councillors have revealed in the table below, that shops are closing.

Dangerous roads and pavements don’t help. Get To Surrey Cllrs Follows and Rivers and sort the place out – BEFORE OUR HIGH STREET COLLAPSES?

Not going – GONE!
M & Co is the latest victim. The  men’s/women’s/kids clothing store with homeware has been part of the high street for years. The only place you could get reasonable price fashion goods, plus bedding, household ornaments/gifts etc. Lots of branches countrywide. It went into administration last August but some branches survived and remained open presumably rescued by a buyer.  However, the long closure this time and issues with the landlord seem to be the cause of it being unable to re-open – very sad.  As one customer (Christine) told the Waverley Web: 
 We won’t have any shops left open in Godalming soon. IT IS COMING TO SOMETHING WHEN EVEN THE CHARITY SHOPS CAN’T SURVIVE.”