Culture

HEADLEY PARISH COUNCIL – CASUAL VACANCY FOR A COUNCILLOR

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972

There is a vacancy on the above Parish Council following the resignation of Councillor Vivienne Williams. 

A by-election to fill the vacancy will be held if, within 14 days (not counting a Saturday, Sunday or Bank Holiday) from the date below, ten electors for the said Parish give notice in writing claiming such an election to the
Returning Officer. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, any by-election would not be held until May 2021.

The address of the Returning Officer is:

Mole Valley District Council
Pippbrook
Dorking RH4 1SJ

If no such notice is given, the Parish Council will fill the vacancy by co-option.

This notice is dated Tuesday 28^th July 2020.

Interested parties should email the clerk for further information – clerk@headley-pc.gov.uk

Tracy Hamer – Clerk to the Council
Headley Parish Council
07778 546477

CASUAL VACANCY FOR A COUNCILLOR – July 2020 HPC

HEADLEY PARISH COUNCIL – PRESS RELEASE

OUR GREEN BELT IS AT RISK, FOLLOWING A VOTE BY THE DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE OF MOLE VALLEY DISTRICT COUNCIL

On Wednesday 1st July Mole Valley’s Development Management Committee (DMC) considered the application by Angle Properties to build a housing estate of up to 70 dwellings on land to the west of Headley Road, being only part of the site of the Headley Court estate.

The Chair of the Parish Council was allowed to speak for 3 minutes and the live-streaming of the hearing was observed by more than 70 members of the public including all Parish Councillors. The 4 hour meeting was notable for the lack of balanced opinion, the omission of topics of both local and national significance and the fact that Councillors admitted to having had insufficient time to read the information supplied for their consideration. However, despite the lack of informed debate, the Committee voted in favour of the development.

There were a number of “elephants in the room” – important topics that everyone should have known about but no one wanted to discuss. “Strictly personal consents” granted by MVDC to the MOD but now used to benefit Angle Properties was one and there were also planning issues of more than local importance such as the Green Belt and lack of Sustainability.

David Preedy, Chairman of Headley Parish Council concludes:

“Overall, in the opinion of Headley Parish Council, the Application does not comply with national policies on important issues. When combined with our concerns at various aspects of Mole Valley’s handling of the application, Headley Parish Council unanimously decided at an Extraordinary Meeting on 13th July that the Application should instead be referred to the Secretary of State.

“The Parish Council has therefore formally requested that the Secretary of State (under section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990) call-in for determination the Mole Valley planning application MO/2020/0185 (Headley Court, Headley Road, Headley, KT18 6JW).”

Background information
Headley Court achieved world-wide recognition as the home for the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) – a centre of excellence for the rehabilitation of UK service personnel, especially for those who received life-changing injuries sustained in the UK’s military engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq. Initially it was exempt from the civilian planning processes, but since about 2006 it has been subject to local planning policies.

In 2014, the MoD announced its decision to cease using Headley Court, handing the site back to its then owners – the Headley Court Charity. They in turn announced their intention to sell the site and it was purchased on 1^st May 2019 by Angle Properties who immediately sold on the part of the site to Clerkenwell Properties.

Like the rest of Headley, the site is wholly ‘washed over’ by the Metropolitan Green Belt. In Mole Valley’s planning policies, Headley is not even designated as a ‘smaller rural village’, so planning constraints are tight for all residents, reflecting the unsustainable nature of housing development in the area.

Parts of the Headley Court were recognised as a Major Developed Site in the Green Belt (MDS) and it has always been recognised that, in the event of the MoD leaving the site, some redevelopment, including some housing, would be appropriate subject to constraints to protect the Green Belt; the current application breaks these conditions. Moreover many buildings were given permission personal to the Minister of Defence reflecting the very special role played by the DMRC. Controversially Mole Valley has not resisted the new owner’s attempts to argue that this benefit should now accrue to them.

For further information, please contact David Preedy, Chair, Headley Parish Council

chair@headley-pc.gov.uk

07904 127091

Leader of Mole Valley District Council, Councillor Stephen Cooksey said, “Things are moving quickly this week and I wanted to give you an update on where we are with the reopening of some of Mole Valley’s community facilities.”

“From this weekend we will be reopening our tennis and basketball courts. Parks remain open too. While we want you to be able to enjoy using these facilities as part of your daily exercise please make sure you follow social distancing rules at all times. Please ensure you do not gather in groups of more than two people, except with members of your household. Updated guidance on social distancing can be found here.”

“It is also important that we don’t compromise on hand hygiene when out and about, particularly before and after touching any surfaces.”

“I would also like to reiterate that there are still around 400 businesses within Mole Valley that are entitled to claim a business grant, particularly those within Scout and Girl Guide groups, village/parish halls, sports clubs, riding/equestrian stables and tenants of business parks and serviced offices where they pay rates. If you know someone who is part of one of these organisations, please let them know that there is support available. Small Business Grants can be claimed here”.

Please be assured that if you have received a postcard from Joint Waste Solutions (JWS) regarding your food waste collection service, it is only the time of day that is changing, not the day of collection.

Your food waste will be collected by a separate waste vehicle from Monday 18 May. Please put your caddy out as you would on your normal collection day and leave it out until it is emptied.

“If you have received a letter from JWS, it is because your bin collection day is changing. The letter sets out which days are changing and when these changes take effect. If you have any questions, please visit jointwastesolutions.org or call us on 01306 885001.”

“I would like to thank everyone in Mole Valley for the continued kindness you are showing to each other as a community during this time.”

Leatherhead CRC is open from today for black bag and garden waste only. Please only visit the CRC is essential. Please check the website here before you travel for full details and follow the traffic marshals when approaching the site.

Join members of the Parish Council at Headley Village Hall tomorrow from 3.30pm.

There will be copies of the plans and a summary of the key concerns we have identified about the proposals. Parish Councillors will be present to discuss these and to listen to other issues that you might raise. The Parish Council also be able to provide help on how to make your own submissions.

Hundreds of reusable bottles will be given away to passers-by during two events on 13 and 14 February 2020 to mark the installation of water refill point at the Swan Centre in Leatherhead and St Martin’s Walk in Dorking.  

Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) is delighted that the first water refill points are being installed in the district as part of its local environmental initiative, Refill Mole Valley. Together with over 65 local businesses signed up as Refill Stations, where drinking water is freely available. The two bottle fillers will further boost public access to drinking water and ensure that residents and visitors to Dorking and Leatherhead’s shopping centres can fill up their reusable bottles for free.

Representatives from MVDC and partner organisations SES Water and Surrey Environment Partnership will be in attendance at the events to help raise awareness of the wider need to tackle avoidable plastic waste and to give away reusable bottles. The two events will be held from 12pm in the Swan Centre on Thursday 13 February and St Martins Walk on Friday 14 February.

Councillor Claire Malcomson, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “The installation of the first two water refill points in the district is another big step forward in the fight against plastic waste. As part of us declaring a Climate Emergency last year, we have been delighted with the number of local businesses supporting the cause to increase public availability of drinking water by becoming Refill Stations. Please get involved and help us reach out to more businesses with this important message.”

Mike Goodman, Chairman of the Surrey Environment Partnership, said: “We’re committed to eliminating avoidable single-use plastics (SUP) in Surrey and these water refill stations will play a part in that. By encouraging residents to carry their own refillable water cups, we’ll help reduce the volume of SUP waste and counter the damaging effects of producing and dealing with it.”