News

First Ever National Impact Survey Launched By Neighbourhood Watch

This is a survey open to all members of the public including our supporters and members and we are asking our partners to share across their public networks.  It will enable us to look at how Neighbourhood Watch impacts in our communities and identify the concerns surrounding crime, fear of crime and the increase in neighbourliness and community spirit.

We ask that you share the survey IMPACT SURVEY with friends, neighbours, colleagues and your partners, to ensure that we get a good mix of responses.  You can do this in various ways through email, using social media and any other methods that you may have.

We look forward to receiving your responses on our survey which needs to be completed by 21st August 2020.

Neighbourhood Alert.

July 31, 2020 in Community

Casual Vacancy for a Councillor at Headley Parish Council

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 28th 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

July 28, 2020 in Community, Culture, Lifestyle

Press Release – Our Green Belt Is At Risk

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 1st 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

 

July 17, 2020 in Community, Culture, Lifestyle

Headley Court Planning Application – LIVE STREAM 1st July 2020

The Headley Court planning application will be considered by Mole Valley’s Development Management Committee in Wednesday 1st July, The meeting starts at 6pm and will be live-streamed for the public to watch here.

The Officer’s recommendation is for the Committee to approve the application. The Officer’s report (all 210 pages of it) can be viewed here.

The Parish Council will continue its strong opposition to this application. Our submission can be viewed here.

June 30, 2020 in Uncategorized

Changes to lockdown measures

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has today announced further changes to lockdown measures in England from Saturday 4 July.

Guidance, giving further details, is awaited but the key points are:

  • from Saturday 4 July:
    • if it is possible to keep the two-metre distance then we should do so;
    • in places where it is not possible then the guidance is for ‘one metre plus’, which means other mitigation is required – this will include plastic screens and masks but also measures such as giving details to restaurants so that if there are links to an outbreak of Covid-19 then people can be contacted;
    • despite reduction in the distance, “the fewer social contacts you have the safer you will be”;
    • two households of any size can meet in any setting inside or outdoors but multiple households can’t meet indoors – social distancing must still be in place;
    • restaurants and bars can open but must run a table service system and ensure minimal staff and customer contact;
    • places of worship can open for prayer and services, provided social distancing is maintained; weddings of no more than 30 people can go ahead;
    • hairdressers with appropriate precautions can open but nail bars and other close contact personal services cannot yet open;
    • people will be free to stay overnight in self-contained accommodation, including hotels and bed and breakfasts, as well as campsites as long as shared facilities are kept clean;
    • most leisure facilities and tourist attractions can reopen if they can do so safely, including outdoor gyms and playgrounds, cinemas, museums, galleries, theme parks and arcades as well as libraries, social clubs and community centres;
  • ‘close proximity’ venues such as nightclubs, soft-play areas, indoor gyms, swimming pools and spas will need to remain closed for now, as will bowling alleys and water parks;
  • the government will work with the arts industry on specific guidance to enable choirs, orchestras and theatres to resume live performances as soon as possible;
  • courts, probation services, police stations and other public services will increasingly resume face-to-face proceedings;
  • wrap-around care for school age children and formal childcare will restart over the summer;
  • primary and secondary education will recommence in September with full attendance and those children who can already go to school should do so
  • People shielding from COVID-19 will be advised they can spend more time outside their homes from Monday 6 July, the Health and Social Care Secretary has announced here.
June 24, 2020 in Uncategorized

Headley Court Planning Application

The Headley Court planning application will be considered by Mole Valley’s Development Management Committee in Wednesday 1st July, The meeting starts at 6pm and will be live-streamed for the public to watch. The link will publicise how you can watch the meeting here at least 24 hours before the meeting.

The Officer’s recommendation is for the Committee to approve the application. The Officer’s report (all 210 pages of it) can be viewed here.

The Parish Council will continue its strong opposition to this application. Our submission can be viewed here.

June 22, 2020 in Uncategorized

Surrey Highways: Planned Roadworks

Surrey Highways have advised us of a planned road closure of Pebble Hill Road in the coming week. The work is described as vegetation clearance and tree felling works.  The works are expected to be completed between 9:30am and 4pm within 1 day.  It is not clear exactly which day the work is scheduled for, but the road closure notice becomes active on Wednesday 24th June.

June 22, 2020 in Uncategorized

NHS Seacole Centre at Headley Court has admitted its first patients

It has been announced that the NHS Seacole Centre has admitted its first patients. On a visit the NHS Chief Executive Sir Simon Stevens said:

“While our country is now emerging from the initial peak of coronavirus, we’re now seeing a substantial new need for rehab and aftercare for Covid patients who’ve come through this terrible illness.

“Some may need care for tracheostomy wounds, ongoing therapy to recover heart, lung and muscle function, psychological treatment for post-intensive care syndrome and cognitive impairment, while others may need social care support for their everyday needs like washing and dressing.

“So the next phase of the health service’s coronavirus response will mean expanding and strengthening community health and care services in new ways, such as these new Seacole Centres.”

Headley Court is the first of its kind in England and was transformed into the Seacole Centre in just 35 days, thanks to the work of teams across Surrey Heartlands, including Surrey County Council, the military and the NHS.

David Preedy, Chair of Headley Parish Council commented:

“The local community is pleased that the facilities at Headley Court have been re-deployed at this time of national emergency.

“The heritage of Headley Court as a centre of excellence in rehabilitation has been re-invented to meet a new need (albeit on a temporary basis). We congratulate all those who have made this transformation possible.

“We are confident that patients here will receive excellent treatment in a unique setting and we hope that their time in Headley will put them firmly on the road to a full recovery. We wish them all well.”

June 1, 2020 in Uncategorized

High Street Grant Award

Councillor Stephen Cooksey, Leader of Mole Valley District Council, said: “These extraordinary times have been particularly challenging for our businesses, and employees of those businesses. The public health measures in place these past few months have seen the district’s high streets devoid of the footfall that our residents, workers and visitors provide. We have great sympathy with businesses and their employees across Mole Valley whose ability to trade has either ceased entirely or vastly reduced.

“Throughout this period, we have been working extremely hard to inform local businesses about the very latest guidance and support when it is made available by the government. Our commitment to supporting the Mole Valley business community has seen us working closely with partners to establish a range of support measures, including digital skills training, webinars and administering 1,276 business support grants worth £16,255,000*.

“With the Government slowly easing the measures in place, and the news that non-essential shops will be able to reopen with appropriate social distancing measures in place from mid-June, it is with some relief that we have been allocated a grant of just under £77,000 to help our high streets adapt. This money will be available from 1 June 2020 and will allow us to put the necessary practical measures in place to support customer confidence to return to our high streets.

“I want to make it absolutely clear that this support is not limited to our towns. It will include village high streets too. We need to kick-start our local economy – safely – as soon as possible and we are working to assess exactly how and where to implement these temporary measures, which will include assisting social distancing and making temporary public realm changes.”

 

*Correct as of 28 May 2020
May 29, 2020 in Uncategorized