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Leigh Cricket Club – An open invitation to pre-season practice

The season is almost upon us and those of us of a certain disposition cannot wait to get a bat and ball in hand. I’m pleased to say that our indoor pre-season net practices have been confirmed for the following dates:

Thursday 23rd & 30th March and 6th, 13th and 20th April
6pm-7pm Copthorne Prep School (Effingham Lane, Copthorne, Crawley RH10 3HR).

Anyone from the village and surrounding areas who are keen to get involved with the club, in whatever capacity, is invited to come along. We’d love to see some new faces there.

We’re a club that is open to all. Whatever your age, gender or ability, we’ll give you the encouragement to enjoy your weekend cricket.

Our season gets underway on Saturday 23rd April and goes right through till the end of September, playing both days each weekend. Meaning there are plenty of opportunities for those looking to play regularly or just a couple of times a season.

In other news, the club has a new website www.leighccsurrey.co.uk which we’ll be continuing to develop over the coming months. We’re hoping that we’ll be able to use it to attract players to this beautiful part of the Surrey countryside to build a vibrant community club over the next few years.

The Committee has also been busy over the winter months finalising plans to renovate the patio area outside the pavilion. The existing slabs were laid quite a few years ago so it’s about time we freshened it up to create a nicer area from which spectators and players can enjoy the game. This work should be completed in the early part of the season once the weather has settled down a little, so we’d be delighted to see some local faces down at the club this summer.

New Facilities for St Bartholomew’s

The new loo and kitchenette for St Bartholomew’s Church has been a mammoth undertaking, but the sparkling new facilities were officially opened on Saturday 7th January by Councillor Paul Potter, the Chairman of Mole Valley District Council; our minister Jonathan Willans; myself; Mick Lock, our amazing builder; and his beautiful little granddaughter Isla.

St Bartholomew Church Leigh New Facilities
Isla, Mick Lock, Jonathan (with “Hooray” cake!), me, and Councillor Paul Potter

Vicar Jonathan expressed his delight that Leigh church has these facilities which means the church will be able to reach out more into the community. The Cosy Corner coffee morning held on every 2nd and 4th Monday morning from 10.30-1230 is the first of these supportive initiatives. The Vicar expresses his personal thanks to all who laboured along side him for 20 years to achieve this aim. He especially thanks Mick Lock the craftsman builder, Peter Joyce as project manager and Eileen Winstanley, John Worsfold among others.

Progress has not been easy, and has been made all the more difficult by the loss of our architect, Roderick Maclennan, in his battle against cancer. Not only did Roderick project manage the build until his untimely death, but being the good Christian that he was, he provided constant encouragement.

The resulting facilities are a triumph, and look as though they have always been a part of our beautiful church. The side wall with its window had to be completely taken down and moved outwards between the side buttresses so that we didn’t lose precious space at the west entrance. Every block was numbered and placed in its original position. Horsham tiles had to be found to mimic those on the existing roof. Finally, the tiles in the west entrance had to be completely lifted and relaid in the porch area to lose the 100mm drop, and to allow for a completely flat surface for ease of access. During the course of the works it was found that the porch had sunk in one corner, and this has now been underpinned with concrete to provide many more centuries of use.

This project has been a tribute to so many people. To Mick Lock and his boys, who soldiered through without an architect; to the members of the PCC for their unfailing support; to Sue and Douglas Frost for their fundraising efforts and their successful attempts to put St Bartholomew at the heart of the Leigh community; to Jonathan and Sharon for providing support whenever needed; to Paul Potter and our local councillors for their political underpinning for the project; to our wardens Eileen Winstanley and Keith Bryant, always there to assist and encourage; to Colin and David for managing the money; to my long-suffering wife, Alison, for putting up with my obsession; and of course to Isla for cutting the ribbon.

St Bartholomew Church Leigh New Facilities
External wall – each block was numbered to replace exactly as original

St Bartholomew’s has not been able to function properly without a loo and a kitchenette. We know that people have turned away the chance to hold a wedding or a funeral because of a lack of these facilities. We can now work on drawing people in not just for worship, but also for a number of new activities which will give the church the chance to become where it should rightfully be – at the heart of the community!

Peter Joyce

Deputy Warden

 

Changes to parking enforcement and verge cutting

Please note the following changes regarding parking enforcement and environmental management:

Following Cabinet approval in December, changes are planned to the on street parking management and enforcement service across Surrey from this April. The agency agreements we have with the District and Borough Councils are ending in March, so from April, Surrey Highways will manage on street parking in conjunction with Marstons Holdings Ltd. (Also known as NSL). NSL have experience in Surrey, working for Elmbridge and Waverley Borough Councils for the last 10 years as well as for Hampshire and East Sussex County Councils.

The following activities will be carried out by NSL:

  • Parking Enforcement and day to day operations
  • Processing Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) and dealing with enquiries about them
  • Managing resident parking permits and dealing with enquiries about them
  • Arranging parking suspensions and waivers
  • Taking payments for PCN’s, permits and other services
  • Operation of pay and display machines
  • Operation of traffic enforcement cameras

The mobilisation process for the new contract has already started and by April NSL will set up 3 operating bases for their enforcement team around the county.

A new SCC team (The Parking Enforcement Team) will be set up in The Parking and Traffic Enforcement Team to work with NSL and do the following:

  • Deal with enquiries about parking enforcement
  • Financial control and contract monitoring
  • Formal appeals against PCNs
  • Parking enforcement policy

 

Information about the new service will be made available over the next two months, including:

  • How to report and apply for parking related services
  • Where to send enquiries
  • Team contacts
  • Where to find information

Environmental Maintenance Changes

On April 1st 2023, Surrey County Council (SCC) will also take over responsibility for Environmental Maintenance (grass cutting, weed spraying and treatment of noxious weeds) across the whole of the County. Whist we currently already cut grass in Elmbridge, Mole Valley and Tandridge, the other areas have historically been managed by Districts and Boroughs (D&Bs) to differing specifications. The level of service residents received depended on where they lived in the County with no consistent approach. The County Council funded 4 urban cuts, 2 rural cuts and 1 weed spray treatment per annum but some D&Bs provided funding to top this up.  In some areas, there was further devolution to Parishes.

By bringing the service back in house, a consistent approach across all areas will be achieved. We can also ensure highway verge maintenance contributes to our greener futures objectives and provide a greater ability to support the national “blue campaign” to reduce cuts and increase biodiversity.​ Finally, it will enable the service to promote innovation, actively trial and switch to alternatives to conventional weed spraying as technology develops.

 

Regular meetings have been held with all Ds & Bs to ensure as smooth a transfer as possible. This includes ensuring comprehensive mapping, liaison on future litter picking and street cleansing services, consistent communications and understanding the level of enquiries of complaints we can expect. Contractors from our Countryside framework will carry out grass cutting and weed spraying for the next two years and during this period we will be going out to market to tender for a longer term contract to start in April 2025.

King Charles III Coronation Planning Meeting

King Charles III’s Coronation Celebration

Leigh Parish Council is hosting a meeting, inviting residents and groups to come together to discuss potential events and opportunities that could take place in Leigh to mark the occasion.

This informal, initial meeting will be on Monday 30 January at 19:30. It will be held at the Cricket Pavilion on Bunce Common Road.

The King’s coronation will take place on Saturday 6 May, 2023. Monday 8 May will be a celebratory bank holiday. This means that there are three bank holidays in May next year: Monday 1 May, Monday 8 May and Monday 29 May.

All are welcome to join us! If you are unable to attend but would like to put forward any suggestions or volunteer your time however much, please email through to leighparishcouncil@gmail.com so you can be included.

Volunteers needed by local aviation organisation

CAGNE is your aviation community and environment organisation and is in need of a new committee member in your area!  CAGNE is always pleased to welcome new committee members from Sussex, Surrey and Kent, to help our committee with the ever increasing workload – from administration roles to planning, infrastructure and airspace.  If you can offer some time and would like to be actively involved, please email cagnegatwick@gmail.com.  We will also be looking for a new President this year as our long standing president retires in February.  Find out more at www.cagne.org

Have your say: Commissioner’s council tax survey 2023/24

Time is running out for Surrey residents to have their say on how much they’re prepared to pay to support policing teams in their communities over the coming year.

Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend has urged everyone living in the county to share their views on her council tax survey for 2023/24 at https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/counciltax2023/. The poll will close at 12 noon on Monday, January 16.

Residents are being asked if they’d support a small increase of up to £1.25 a month in council tax so policing levels can be sustained in Surrey.

Three options are available in the survey – an extra £15 a year on an average council tax bill, which would help Surrey Police maintain its current position and look to improve services, between £10 and £15 extra a year, which will allow the Force to keep its head above water, or less than £10, which would likely mean a reduction in service to communities.

One of Lisa’s key responsibilities is to set the overall budget for the Force. This includes determining the level of council tax specifically raised for policing in the county, which is known as the precept.

The Force is funded by both the precept and a grant from central government.

This year, Home Office funding will be based on the expectation that Commissioners around the country will increase the precept by an extra £15 a year.

Lisa said: “We’ve already had a good response to the survey, and I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to have their say.

“I’d also like to encourage anyone who hasn’t yet had time to quickly do so. It takes just a minute or two, and I’d love to know your thoughts.

“Asking residents for more money this year has been an extremely difficult decision.

“I am well aware that the cost of living crisis is impacting every household in the county. But with inflation continuing to rise, a council tax increase will be necessary just to allow Surrey Police to maintain its current position.

“I don’t want to risk taking a step backwards in the services we provide. I spend much of my time consulting with residents and hearing about the issues that matter most to them, and I’d now ask the Surrey public for their continued support.”

To fill in the survey, please visit https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/counciltax2023/

 

 

WI January trip to London

W.I are planning a trip to London, hiring a coach on Saturday 7th January to go to London for the day. It will leave the Village at 8.30am and return leaving London at 4.30pm.

The coach drops and picks up at Marble Arch.

The cost is £18 per person, and there are some spaces still available to fill the coach.

Please let Judy know if you would like to join the outing by the end of November – to judith_bartley@hotmail.com or phone on 01306 611472.

It is open to all not only WI members.

Have your say on the future of our bus services in Surrey!

A message from Surrey County Council.  Please have your say on the future of our bus services in Surrey.

SCC Communications Contact: Joanna Jewell joanna.jewell@surreycc.gov.uk

Summary
Today (3 November 2022) marks the start of a nine-week consultation on the future

for bus services in Surrey. The consultation is seeking residents’ views on three areas:

Investing in cleaner, greener buses – to help reduce the 41% of carbon emissions

generated by transport

Introducing more on-demand services – shared, door-to-door bus services in rural

areas that are available when needed, using a booking service

Changing some bus services – reducing a very small amount of bus services. This is

because people are using buses less and they are also more expensive to run. Before the

COVID-19 pandemic, 27 million passenger trips were made each year on Surrey buses.

Trips have since reduced to 18 million.

An online survey is available at www.surreycc.gov.uk/futurebusreview. Paper copies

of the survey will also be available at Surrey Libraries, at Surrey County Council offices in

Reigate, Leatherhead and Woking, on buses and on request by calling Surrey County

Council on 03456 009 009.

The consultation will run from 3 November to 6 January 2023.

_______________________________________________________________________________

ASSETS IN THIS TOOLKIT

Social Media assets and copy – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Press release link here: Have your say on bus services | Surrey News (surreycc.gov.uk)

Editorial

Poland House Vacancy

Poland House Vacancy

The Poland Trust helps people who are in need, hardship, and/or distress in the Parishes of Brockham, Betchworth, Buckland and Leigh.  At Poland House we have a very strong and supportive residents’ community all set in beautiful grounds.

If you or a family member are struggling or if you know someone who is and would like to be considered for this vacancy, please contact: Diana Ross Hon Secretary and Trustee on 07986746017 and we will send you an application form.

Martin Smith

Chairman

The Poland Trust

Deadline:  December 5th, 2022

 

 

The Poland Trust

Registered Charity No 204424

The Syrian Baker – an evening of storytelling, hope and bread!

The Syrian Baker – an evening of storytelling, hope and bread

A Farnham Maltings and Little Bulb production, New theatre made especially for village halls www.farnhammaltings.com

Details: Thursday, 3rd November at 7.30pm (doors open 7.10pm)in Charlwood Parish Hall.

Synopsis: With 5% of the world’s population on the move at any one time, desperate to get away from trouble, this is a story about two people deciding to go home despite the state of their country. Told with affection, irrepressible humour and bread – because without bread nothing happens – the Syrian Baker is about knowing where you belong, how small actions can make the biggest difference and about how much we all have in common.

Tickets £15 (18yrs and under, £10) – from the village café at 52 The Street or from Patrick Cox, email: pccox1@outlook.com tel: 01293 862324
No bar – please bring your own drinks and glasses.
No interval, running time 60 minutes
From the company that brought you Brilliance and The Iranian Feast, this is an evening in the company of friends with stories, freshly made bread, Syrian coffee and Mamoull like the ones from caffé plaza in Homs old town.
________________________________________________________________________________
A Farnham Maltings and Little Bulb production, New theatre made especially for village halls www.farnhammaltings.com

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