Category: Waverley Borough Council

Free bus travel in Surrey and across England

And cheaper travel is not just for older people. 

Check you’re not missing out on a free bus pass.

Travelling by bus doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, it can be one of the cheapest ways to travel if you’re eligible for a free bus pass.

Anyone aged 66 and over or an eligible disabled person living in Surrey can apply for a bus pass, which offers free bus travel not only in Surrey but anywhere in England!

That means you could hop on a bus and travel anywhere you want without paying a penny.

Around 25% of people who are eligible for a free bus pass have not applied for one and are therefore missing out, plus those who have a bus pass but are not using it. Since the pandemic, the number of people travelling by bus has decreased, and SCC would love to see more people back using the bus network.

About the free bus passes

Bus passes for older people (aged 66 and older) and disabled people (aged 5 to 65) are valid on journeys between 9.30 am and 11 pm Monday through Friday and at any time on weekends and public holidays.

How to apply

If you think that you or someone you know might be eligible for a free bus pass, you can find out more on our free bus passes web page. Alternatively, you can visit the web pages below for specific details:

  • Visit the free Bus Pass for Older People web page for more information, including how to apply, renew or replace a lost/stolen pass.
  • Visit our free bus pass for disabled people web page for more information including eligibility, how to apply, renew or replace a lost/stolen pass.

Other bus discounts and passes

The Surrey LINK bus pass offers young people aged 20 and under, to travel for half price on single and return tickets for any journey that starts and/or finishes in Surrey. From mid-November 2023, this meant that some single bus journeys for those under 21 could be as little as £1. Find out more on our Surrey LINK bus pass web page.

From 1 November 2023, the government extended the £2 bus fare cap on most routes across England. Find out more on our free bus passes web page.

Where once there was a Mole – they’re digging a hole in Godalming

The residents of Godawfulming are “pretty fed up” with the traffic chaos caused by the Brighton Road Closure.

Despite numerous objections, including one from Godalming Town Council, the old Mole Country Stores site is set to become an up-market retirement complex. Rents will be around £5,000 pm + council tax.

The road will be closed for seventeen days to provide services to the new Retirement Flats in the Birchgrove Development, which now towers over central Godalming.
We have heard from townsfolk who say it has been “no fun” driving around the town. They say the building is huge—it towers over the Family Club building in Flambards Way.
Added to the chaos, the traffic lights at the Homebase corner packed up as well, and it took ages to rectify the problem with temporary lights for three weeks. 
One Godalming resident told the Waverley Web:
The hole they have dug for services is enormous – and the closure starts before Croft Road so you cant even sneak past Flambards way queues that way.

Could a different style of care for older people be on its way to Godalming?

The Town Council objected to the  52 assisted living units (along with 45 neighbours and objectors.

The scheme is for two buildings, one five-storey high, giving its residents a nice view from the roof garden, conservatory, and pergola area, which overlooks the town. 

Of the 52 units, 24 would be one-bedroom, and 28 would be two-bedroom, and tenants’ ages would be restricted to 65+.

A total of 27 parking spaces would be provided within the site. These would include 24 spaces for staff, residents and visitors; a minibus parking space; and 2 disabled spaces. Some councillors were very concerned about the limited parking available.

There is already a Birchgrove development in nearby Woking.
The company claims to be different from most other extra care developments in the country, as it works on a rental model. It believes that renting a home instead of owning is the most liberating form of tenure for older people seeking extra care. This offers the benefits of independent living whilst removing the complication of homeownership? The proposed one and two-bedroom apartments are only available for weekly rent to people over the age of 65.
Typical rent for a two-bedroom property is in the region of £5,000 per month – but with only council tax to pay. All other utilities and services are included.

Birchgrove Posh Retirement flats in Godalming coming soon?

Where there was a little MOLE they are digging a hole in Godalming.

Coming soon to a controversial site in Godalming?

Could a different style of care for older people be on its way to Godalming?

Godalming to Guildford walk/cycling corridor to be extended

Patrick Haveron

After eight years of planning and consultation, £1.65m of National Highway funding will make a £5.25m cycling and walking corridor from Godalming to Guildford a reality.

Surrey County Council has developed proposals for a 7km cycling and walking corridor from Debenhams in Guildford to Godalming Bridge Road.

The scheme will deliver high-quality active travel infrastructure serving towns and communities.

The scheme aligns with the SCC’s Local Transport Plan Greener Futures agenda and Community Vision for Surrey in 2030. It also supports key policies set by Waverley Borough Council and Guildford Borough Council.

Over 1,000 responses were received to a public consultation in 2021, of which 66% of respondents either supported or strongly supported the proposals.

Many respondents recognised it would provide pedestrians and cyclists a more continuous, attractive, and safer route.

Since then, SCC has developed the scheme’s first phase, concentrating on the southern half of the route between Godalming and Peasmarsh.

Construction would commence in 2024/25, subject to securing further external funding. Subsequent phases of the project will be advanced in future years.

.The total cost of the scheme’s first phase is estimated to be £6.25 million.

SCC will make a capital contribution of up to £1.4 million, with the remaining £4.85 million comprising third-party funding. SCC has already secured a £1.65 million contribution from National Highways (Designated Funds) and is awaiting the outcome of a second application for funding to Active Travel England (Active Travel Fund).

Waverley Council will provide  CIL funding, which supports its Local Plan objectives and the aims of its Climate Emergency agenda.

 In addition,  funds from S106 developer contributions, the value of which will be agreed upon with Waverley to ensure it can be appropriately used on the project. Subject to the outcome of the second application for funding from Active Travel England, both CIL and S106 contributions will either contribute to the overall project or offset SCC capital investment.

Waverley Councillor stands up for Farnham Residents’

As the controversy over Farnham’s Blightwells continues to rumble on and on – here at the Waverley Web, we thought that Cllr Jerry Hymna’s recent comments deserved a post of their own

Farnham East Street road “ improvements” get the go-ahead.

Councillors
Heads in the sand again?

He may be a lone voice. However, Cllr Jerry Hyman deserves to be heard when most councillors stick their heads in the sand.

Strictly speaking, the changes to the highways element of the Brightwells scheme have not yet been ‘given the go-ahead’, as the Committee decision was to delegate the decision to modify the a106 agreement to the Head of Planning, and there is no indication that she has yet done so.

Nor has a planning application yet been submitted (by Crest) to extend the Red Line boundary to encompass the changes, and to change the Masterplan (removing the original pedestrianisation proposals), and to vary the Phasing Plan – which are all controlled by Conditions 1 and 2 of the extant consent WA/2016/0268.

The issue here is not a minor technicality in law—far from it. It is about integrity. On the ground, it is about the combined impact of Crest’s East Street proposals with the wider FIP proposals for the town centre, of which they are an integral part and to which the s106 would contribute funding. Rather than mitigate the impacts of the Brightwells scheme, the s106 does the opposite.

Continue reading “Waverley Councillor stands up for Farnham Residents’”

Watch out there is an election about!

 While many residents who went without water for weeks await compensation, Thames Water officials will once again stand up to be counted.

Thames Water Cartoon

Will it be a case of more jaw, jaw, or will TW  start paying the genuine compensation claims that its customers deserve?

The leaguered water authority, up to its neck in debt, will appear before the public at a meeting hosted by  MPs Angela Richardson and Jeremy Hunt. Both hope to keep their seats in our area at the next election.

So, this Friday, April 12th, Chief Executive Officer Chris Weston will attend a public meeting with senior representatives of Ofwat and the Consumer Council for Water.