Chaldon Matters www.chaldonvillagecouncil.org.uk Newsletter 38 March 2014

Highways Parish Highways Localism – a new service for Chaldon In April 2012 the County Council (SCC) Assistant Director of Highways, Jason Russell, indicated that the County wished to discuss with locally-based groups the possibility of devolving small budgets and activities to locally based groups such as parish and village councils.

Several councils soon expressed an inter- est and a group of interested individu- als from councils and other groups were convened. As the Chaldon Councillor with responsibility for Highways Matters I represented Chaldon Village Council at the first meeting in July 2012 and John BEFORE CUTTING AFTER CUTTING BEFORE CUTTING AFTER CUTTING Orrick our County Councillor represented Hill. During this meeting the CR3, (Chaldon, Caterham Hill, and ), winter maintenance programme, led by Chaldon, was cited as an effective programme which had already received praise from residents as was the verge maintenance programme taken over by 7 parishes in south , (the Rook Lane verge Roffes Lane verge ‘Lingfield Hub’). Early in the discussion it was suggested of public verges and hedges throughout the that interested parish or village councils village, the removal of low- hanging tree would be advised to bid, with the support branches, refurbishment of the Rook Lane of their County Councillor, for an annual bus shelter and the cleaning of approxi- grant from their SCC Local Committee to mately 50 road signs. The grant was rapidly enable them to look after verge mainte- approved with the understanding that all nance, grass and hedge cutting, and other work would be completed before the end of specified works such as roadside ditching, March 2014. Hedge trimming road sign cleaning and bus shelter main- The work is now complete. It has included tenance. Successful applicants would be additional items such as the insertion of able to offer a contract to an experienced posts to prevent unauthorised parking at contractor who had the relevant training, the junction of Hilltop Lane and Rook experience, transport, and equipment. Chal- Lane and the removal of a large fallen tree don is extremely fortunate in having such a on Leazes Green. Chaldon Council has contractor, Mr Nick Dance, who lives and submitted a further grant application for 2014-15. works within the village. Verge trimming The ability of local councils such as This localism scheme together with the Chaldon Village Council to take on works Winter Maintenance programme have previously managed by our County Council given the Council a greater ability to look was seen to be an example of the encour- after our local environment. Photographs agement for ‘Localism’ envisaged by the taken before and after treatment show a present government. few examples of the effectiveness of the Our grant application was submitted in No- localism works. vember 2013 and received rapid approval. The proposed works included maintenance Cllr Ted Howard. Leazes Avenue tree removal Communication It has been pleasing to see that our new tain of how and where to locate the vital and activities in the village which are held website is up and running and, thankfully, services which we all need to access in our for the benefit of residents, are non-profit there have not been too many teething daily lives. making or where the profits are donated problems. We really want the website to to charity. If you are holding an event or be our main means of communication with I would also urge you to visit www. run an organisation/club which meets the the residents of Chaldon as it is the fastest chaldonvillagecouncil.org.uk and sign criteria above, it would be great to receive and most cost effective way of doing so. up to receive Chaldon Matters hot off the information regarding this. Where pos- press, straight to your inbox. Be the first sible I will do my best to include details in As you read on you will see on the back to receive your copy and keep up to date future issues where appropriate. page details of the competition to design with what’s happening in the village. the front cover of our ‘welcome‘ card for May I take this opportunity to wish you a new residents and I am really looking Chaldon Matters is in the first instance Happy Easter and hope you find this edi- forward to seeing your entries. I hope a publication which allows the Village tion informative! everyone will embrace this new project, as Council to keep residents informed of having been new to Chaldon not so long the work it does but it is also a means of Cllr Jacqui Mitchell ago, I know just how it feels to be uncer- giving residents information on the events Editor Finance The Council and its Budget Every year around about this time Chaldon Village Council sets its budget and tells Council what it wants its precept to be for next year (the financial year starts in April). The ‘precept’ is the amount from the overall Council Tax that is collected in Sur- rey that we ask to be allocated to Chaldon.

This year, in recognition of the pressures on everyone’s pockets, we decided to make no increase in our budget and keep it at the same level as last year, absorbing any inflation ourselves.

Over the past year we have improved our provision for winter maintenance (although thankfully none was needed this winter) and started to provide services under localism arrangements with the County Council, such as hedge trimming and grass cutting. So we are pleased to be able to provide improved services to our local residents with no increase in the average 50 pence per week cost per household !

Cllr Graham Baker Chairman Annual Village Meeting – tell us what you think Each year in the Spring we hold an annual village meeting. This is separate from the annual meeting of the Council. It is an opportu- nity for the whole village to get together and review our activities and tell us what it thinks about our future plans.

This year the meeting is on Thursday 1st May in the Village Hall. Refreshments will be available from 7.15 pm with the meeting start- ing at 7.30 promptly. The aim is to finish at 9.30.

The format will be a bit different this year. There is no guest speaker, but we will be dividing attendees up into 4 workshop groups, each of which will discuss one of our aims from the Village Plan for next year and advise us on what we should focus on. Do please come along and have your say. Just to remind you, the aims are: • Aim 1 – to protect and enhance the peaceful and rural character of Chaldon • Aim 2 – to develop and maintain a sense of community within the village, • encouraging participation and involvement in community decisions • Aim 3 – to improve the infrastructure and services within Chaldon • Aim 4 – to embrace the opportunities afforded by the government move towards localism and neighbourhood planning, and to develop those aspects that will benefit Chaldon.

Cllr Graham Baker Chairman Utilities I would like to use this edition of Chaldon companies currently is the roll-out of 4G, Most of the village now seems to be con- Matters to update residents on the work which seems to involve updating existing nected to High Speed Fibre broadband, that the council is doing to maintain and masts and this is hampering the installation with exceptions in some areas such as improve utilities within Chaldon. of new masts to cover areas of poor recep- Hilltop Lane. The BT cabinet that serves tion. I will continue working on this issue Hilltop Lane is some distance from the Mobile phone signal continues to be a and am exploring some different avenues, majority of the residents of the lane, so the problem for many residents. I am trying to such as the possibility of erecting a mast benefits of an updated fibre service from encourage the mobile operators to improve and then approaching the networks offer- the existing cabinet would be extremely the coverage in the village, but am met ing bandwidth rental. So far costs seem limited, due to the distance the signal with resistance. The priority of the prohibitive but work continues. would have to travel on old copper wire. However, a sapling Black Pine, planted Attempts at discussion with BT are mov- three years ago, is ready to take its place. ing forwards slowly and I now intend to The winter is a good time to check the contact Surrey County Council to see what site as plant growth is minimal. As usual, help they can offer. monthly working groups continue on the 3rd Monday morning of each month As I write this the sun is shining and the and all are welcome, even if just to look air is still. It seems hard to remember the around. storms which we have recently experi- enced that caused both phone and power Green Verges outages and hopefully summer is now on The hedge cutting regime lead by Ted the way and this sort of disruption will no Howard has revealed our verges once longer be with us. If you do have an issue more. They are an essential feature of with utilities, please do contact me via the our environment, helping to create the Village Council website and I will do all rural Chaldon scene that we say we value. that I can to help. Many verges, over the years, have been planted with spring flowers and bulbs. Cllr Graeme Jones 6 year old Jessica, youngest member of Occasionally your Village Council has to our litter team step in to protect green verges, as at the Footpaths Crossroads, and many householders do the Our footpaths have been so muddy this I believe this is our youngest team mem- same on areas outside their houses. winter and many people have commented ber. Jessica is very proud to be part of the I would plead with residents to try to avoid that they cannot wait for the ground to dry team that helps to keep Chaldon litter free driving on verges. Sometimes just one out so that they can tramp around Chaldon and regularly sets forth being very vocal extra manoeuvre will allow you to miss the again. At long last that is happening and about the dangers of litter! I think our eld- curb or waiting a few more seconds will hopefully by the time you read this we est team member is in his 9th decade allow someone else to pass. will be celebrating new growth and easier walking. Burial Ground Cllr Liz Bonsall Careful management of the Burial Ground Don’t forget CHALDON SPRING has minimised damage during the winter Community WALKS on Sunday 11th May. I know storms. Community Awards many of you walk the footpaths on a daily Too often the selfless work done in Chal- basis but please join this traditional event don goes unnoticed by all but those who which provides an overall report on the are direct beneficiaries. To try and recog- state of our footpaths and bridleways. nise some of this work, Chaldon Village Everyone is welcome and it would be good Council will once again be awarding the to see more children this year. Community Award at the Annual Village Meeting. There will be two categories, The BOUNDS WALK will take place those aged 21 and under and those aged on Sunday 8th June. This year we have over 21. We are currently open to receiv- arranged to establish our territory with Cat- Roger Moody helping with brushcutting ing nominations which should include a erham Hill Parishioners as we meet with short paragraph outlining the work and them on our boundary at Green Lane. commitment of the nominee. If there is The Bounds Walk will start 10.45 am from someone you know who dedicates their the Church with lunch at The Harrow and time to altruistic causes in Chaldon, please tea available at the Church at the finish. send your nomination to James Richardson The Bounds Walk tries to follow the parish through the email link on Chaldon Village boundary as closely as possible. It takes Council website www.chaldonvillagecoun- about 5 hours including the break for lunch cil.org.uk. and you are welcome to join or leave at various points on the walk. The more the The Downlands Volunteers at rest Cllr James Richardson merrier and certainly we would like to outnumber Caterham Hill! One casualty was a Black Pine which increased its dependence on its neighbour Litter and other problems and regretfully we had to take it down. Thank you again to our team of 32 litter wardens. It has not been easy this winter but hopefully there will be renewed effort in the Spring. Cutting of the verges reveals hidden litter and if you know of any large areas that need clearing please let me New grit bins were installed by the Village know. Council at Leazes Avenue and the corner I still have some litter-picks on loan from of Stanstead Road & Roffes Lane, replac- Tandridge District Council. Give me a ing the old, broken ones. Thanks go to ring if you would like one and I will drop A casualty of the storms County Councillor John Orrick for provid- it by. Sadly removed ing funding. The CR3 Neighbourhood Plan – Progress The Neighbourhood Plan (NP), for the CR3 area of Caterham, of areas designated as Green Belt or Areas of Outstanding Natural Caterham Hill, Chaldon and Whyteleafe was created in 2012 to Beauty and sites which may become available for housing or busi- give residents the opportunity to voice their views on the way ness development. All residents are therefore asked if they could in which they would like the area to develop in the next 10 to identify or recommend any sites in the CR3 area, which might be 20 years. NPs are a part of the current government’s ‘localism’ suitable for the development of housing or employment in future strategy published in the Localism Act of 2011 and the intention is years. Newspaper articles and posters, such as the one attached, to give residents power to decide what goes on in their area. The asking for help have been published. Planning Department of Tandridge District Council is committed to taking note of the wishes of the residents in a successful plan. Cllr Ted Howard Member of the CR3 Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group The steering group, with membership from each of the four parish- es, plus the Caterham Community Partnership and the Caterham Business Partnership, is responsible for guiding the whole process but the large amount of necessary data is collected and analysed by more than 70 volunteers. The membership is divided into 7 groups working on housing; business and employment; leisure and community; health and education; transport; urban design and heritage; and utilities. Later this year a draft plan will be submitted to Tandridge District Council for an initial assessment and then to an external inspector. If the inspector passes the plan it will then be submitted as a referendum to all residents of the CR3 area who will be asked to state whether they accept or reject the plan.

In recent years there have been increasing concerns about some aspects of the future of our village, such as increasing pressure on the utility services and the effect of increased traffic on our roads. These concerns are shared by the neighbouring parishes of Cater- ham Hill, Caterham Valley and Whyteleafe, on whom we depend for shopping facilities, healthcare services etc. The residents of Chaldon have a particularly strong regard for the preservation of the Green Belt and it is possible that it may be necessary in the future to seek wide support to prevent planning erosion of this invaluable community asset.

Although it is important to decide where new housing and em- ployment should go, the NP is about much more. It includes the protection of open space, landscape and habitats; the planning of loccal housing needs; local transport issues; the expansion of local schools and medical facilities and the promotion of local business- es. Future housing needs can be assessed accurately for the next 5 or 6 years but are likely to rise significantly over the following 10 and 20 years. Key parts of the NP include both the maintenance

Chaldon Village Hall Update Email/Telephone Auction: A huge THANK YOU to everyone who The trustees have commissioned detailed These two vintage Fire Buckets from the has contributed to the Village Hall Im- drawing plans and will shortly go out to Village Hall are surplus to requirements. provements Fund. Residents, users and tender, with building works starting before Buckets such as these fetch £20 upwards friends of Chaldon have raised over July. However, we still need to raise more on E-bay. Please email or phone your bid £23,000 and together with other donations money to reach our target of £100,000. to [email protected] or 01883340508. and large grants from Surrey Communi- If you would like to contribute please Bids close midnight 1st May. ties Improvements Fund, Surrey County contact: Liz Bonsall on 01883 340508 or Councillors’ Grants and Tandridge District [email protected], or Linda Davies on Council the fund has now reached over 01883 342986 or [email protected] . £76,000. The grants were only agreed be- cause local residents and users had contrib- Fund Raising Events Confirmed: uted generously, showing how much they valued the facilities offered by the Hall and its place in Chaldon’s history. (for information on further fund raising events see ‘What’s Residents and Users donations £22469 Happening in and around Fire Bucket 1 Fire Bucket 2 Other donations £ 6500 minimum bid £15 minimum bid £20 Grants £47166 Chaldon’ on page 8) £47166 Chaldon Village Hall Tea Party

John Rawling and Linda Davies admire the celebratory cake

Over 70 residents attended a tea party in the in the toilets and Community Services had Having been Chair for 28 years John has Hall on Saturday January 25th to celebrate redecorated. He had applied for council worked with many residents of Chaldon. fundraising success and to say thank you funding for re-roofing and for a ramp to Representatives from various user groups to John Rawling for his 28 years service as the front door. The cost was to be £13,800 have come and gone but each has made Chairman of the Trustees of the Hall. The (about £33,000 in today’s money). a contribution. Many of you here this cake was made by Ann Lardeur and the im- afternoon have worked with John and age of the Hall was from a W.I. embroidery Getting in the way was the Great Storm known how his chairmanship has required by the late Betty Thake. of 1987. John had huge troubles to cope diplomacy and tact, gently showing that with. Peter Fernlee, our recently retired the Village Hall is a community asset and Printed here is the tribute to John given by long serving caretaker, recalled the time not a bespoke building for any one group. Liz Bonsall before he was presented with a that he and John climbed on the roof to in- picture and a calendar showing events, past spect the storm damage. Over one quarter and present, at the Village Hall. of the roof was damaged. To add to the troubles the kitchen roof was found to be “The Village Hall Minute Book for 1984 rotten and the Hall floor was sodden. The records that Miss Marshall was chairman Hall had to close for 7 weeks. and that Mr John Rawling was to be invited to fill the position of Co-optative Trustee John managed to get grants towards the in place of Mr Hames, as he (John) had a repair of the roof and for a ramp and by particular knowledge of the area, and the 1988 this had been done together with secretary was requested to write to him in replacement windows, a new kitchen ceil- this respect. On 30th May 1984 Mr John ing and sorting out of the car park. Under Rawling was welcomed to the trustees and his chairmanship so many people banded His skill has been to oversee the needs of elected chairman for the year! together to repair, decorate, garden and diverse groups and maintain a delicate generally get the Hall shipshape and fit for balance between the needs of one group Little did he know and I wonder whether he use. against another. Users’ ages range from was aware that immediate problems included babes to those in their nineties and the fact a broken gas cooker, rotting curtains, a des- that this is so is something for John to be perate need for decoration and a roof in need proud of. of repair. Did he also know that the Council had already been approached for grants He has also looked to the future and you and their response was that enlarging the will have heard John speak two years ago existing hall and adding extra toilet facilities when there was a window of opportunity were unlikely to be approved due to the fact for a new site for the Village Hall. Al- that extended car parking facilities were not though that opportunity came to nothing available? John continued to be pro-active in investi- gating the options for the sustainability of John was obviously determined to tackle the the Hall and has been most supportive in many issues of the Hall and by 1987 many recent years.” had been resolved. Curtaining had been obtained, the cooker had been replaced, the Liz Bonsall roof repaired, plumbing work was completed Chair of Trustees, Chaldon Village Hall. Improvements to the M25 coming shortly! It’s on Chaldon’s doorstep so we thought you’d like to know about it. In spring 2014, the Highways Agency will What do I do if I need to stop? What are the benefits? open two new improved sections of the Do not stop on the motorway unless Smart motorways relieve congestion and M25, improving journeys for road users unavoidable. If you need to stop in an smooth the flow of the traffic, improving and benefiting the economy. emergency, use an emergency refuge area, safety and journey times, and supporting motorway service area or leave at the next economic development. The two new sections of smart motorway junction. If that is not possible try and get will open between junctions 23 and 25 your vehicle off the carriageway, if it is In addition, personal injury accidents on the Hertfordshire/Essex border and safe to do so. have reduced by more than half since hard between junctions 5 and 7 on the Kent/Sur- shoulder running was introduced; with rey border. On the new M25 sections the If you have no choice but to stop in a an overall reduction in the severity of ac- hard shoulder will be used permanently as live lane put your hazard warning lights cidents. a traffic lane. This is referred to as ‘all lane on to help other drivers see you and help running’. Highways Agency control room staff to How do I find out more information? spot you on CCTV. If you are in the left For M25 scheme specific information follow How to use All Lane Running hand lane and it is safe to do so, exit the the links: There is no hard shoulder on these sections vehicle via the left hand door. Wait behind of motorway. There is a broken white line the barrier if possible. If you cannot exit M25 Junctions 5-7 between each lane, indicating that all lanes the vehicle, do not feel it is safe to do so http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road- have the same status. Refuge areas are or there is no other place of relative safety, projects/m25-junctions-5-7/ available for emergency use. The variable remain in the vehicle. Keep your seat belt speed limits will be used to adjust speed on and dial ‘999’. M25 Junctions 23-27 limits during busy periods to control the http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road- flow of vehicles and prevent traffic grind- Get smart, know your motorways… projects/m25-junctions-23-27/ ing to a halt. The current speed limit will Smart motorways use technology to help be displayed on signs over or at the side of relieve congestion and make journey times You can find out more about smart mo- the carriageway. We use a red X symbol to more reliable. This includes controlling torways by visiting the Highways Agency show that a lane is closed because of an in- speeds to improve traffic flow providing webpage via the following link: cident or some other obstruction, or people better information to drivers on overhead www.highways.gov.uk/smartmotorways working in the road. Driving in a lane with signs. Most recognisably the hard shoulder a red X symbol is dangerous. You could be can be converted to a traffic lane at peak prosecuted. times, or permanently, with emergency refuge areas. This extra lane creates vital additional capacity with no worsening of safety.

“Chaldon Creakers” – a sociable way to run and keep fit In August 2003 a group of locals who were – and still are - members of Runners got together and decided that with the Downs on our doorstep why travel even the short distance to Oxted to run. And so the curiously-named running group “Chaldon Creakers” was born! Since then on every Wednesday at 19.00 over the last 11 years, at least one runner has covered a local route – even in the blizzard conditions a couple of years ago. We are NOT a Club, it’s free. Each week we start from a pub in the area and run different routes to suit all paces – and then (optionally) have a chat over a pint in the pub afterwards. On average we have around 7-8 people each week, sometimes many more. Shortly we’ll be back to the off-road runs around the area, after having to stick to the roads in the dark winter evenings. We have a wide mixture of people but welcome everyone, whether you’re a marathon runner or just getting fit and can cover 2 or 3 miles. A weekly email Newsletter keeps everybody in touch and recently it’s even been a platform for sell- ing cars and motor caravans amongst the Group. We have also got together to go to local events such as a recent Caterham Overseas Aid Trust barn-dance and a wine- tasting. Contact Phil Saville on 01883 341063 or check out our website (click on the link on the CVC website) or www. creakers.co.uk … come on, what have you got to lose – except weight!! Creakers Council Contact Details What’s happening in and around Chaldon Christine Lawless Clerk to the Council 8th April 7th June 48 Hilltop Lane, Chaldon, CR3 5BG Council Meeting – 7.15pm Quiz Night – organised by Trustees 01737 642079 at St Peter & Paul School of Village Hall [email protected]

12th April 8th June Councillors Neighbourhood Plan Public Consulta- Bounds Walk – Starts at 10.45am Graham Baker tion Leaving from Chaldon Church, Chair & Lead Councillor for Finance at Village Hall – 12 noon to 5pm 15 Doctors Lane, CR3 5AE 10th June 01883 336631 1st May Council Meeting – 7.15pm [email protected] Annual Village Meeting 7.15pm at the at St Peter & Paul School Village Hall Liz Bonsall 14th June Lead Councillor for Environment 10th May Table -Top Sale - Organised by Pre-School 49 Doctors Lane, CR3 5AF Race Night organised by CADS (in aid of (in aid of Village Hall Building Fund) 01883 340508 Village Hall Building Fund) [email protected] 19th June 11th May Chaldon Court History Tour Ted Howard Spring Walks (booking required) Vice Chair & Lead Councillor for Highways 5 High Standing, CR3 5DY 13th May 21st June 01883 349225 Annual Council Meeting – 7.15pm C&DLHC event at Caterham Valley Li- [email protected] at St Peter & Paul School brary, Caterham & District Goes to War Graeme Jones 25th May 29th June Lead Councillor for Utilities Chaldon Court History Tour (proceeds to Annual Village Picnic 21 Rook Lane, CR3 5AN Village Hall Building Fund) – (booking at Six Brothers Field 01883 342683 required at barbarabrunsdon@hotmail. [email protected] com) 8th July Council Meeting – 7.15pm Jacqui Mitchell 31st May at St Peter & Paul School Lead Councillor for Communication Pop-Up Cinema Pooks Hill, Willey Broom Lane, CR3 5BD 25th Aug 01883 819015 Chaldon Village Fete [email protected]

James Richardson A CHALDON ‘FUN PALACE’? Lead Councillor for Community and Planning Do we as Chaldon Village want to be part of a new movement being launched on the 3 Hilltop Lane, CR3 5BJ weekend 4th / 5th October this year, called Fun Palaces? The idea is a local, temporary, 01737 642608 pop up space/event full of free activities for children and adults (including elders), bring- [email protected] ing together arts and sciences, entertainment and education and with a very local feel to it. Council Vacancy Fun Palaces are all about engagement, having a go, trying something out, learning some- A vacancy has arisen for the office of a Vil- thing new, across the arts and sciences. Maybe like me, you’d love to blow your own lage Councillor. If you think you may be the trumpet; or maybe your choice would be to try your hand at oil painting, understand the man/woman for the job then please contact science behind cider or beer making, know how a sewing machine works, learn to dance a Christine Lawless, the Clerk via the CVC jig, have ‘the cloud’ explained to you, join in a demonstration of how a car engine works, website or why ducks don’t mind getting cold feet. www.chaldonvillagecouncil.org.uk for more information. If we are going to make it happen in Chaldon, we will need people willing to demonstrate, teach or explain something they know about and ideas from Chaldon residents of things they’d like included.

I am willing to sign up as Chaldon’s Fun Palace Maker (see website) if there is enough interest, and to host an exploratory meeting and try out session. Do please email if you would be happy to discuss the idea further, have a skill to offer, or something you’d like to see included. Email: [email protected] before the end of April to express your interest in the idea.

Madeline Hutchins, a Chaldon resident. See www.funpalaces.co.uk for more information about the national movement.. Communication ...... What’s On in Chaldon another means! Keep up to date via the website www.chal- discussions and decisions on expenditure, donvillagecouncil.org.uk. services, planning applications etc. On the Home page sign up to receive Chal- If you are interested in using the website’s don Matters by email 3 times a year then Community pages and/or Events diary to go to the “Your Council” page and sub- publicise a local voluntary organisation, scribe to receive agendas and draft minutes public service or event please get in touch of the monthly Council meetings. with Cllr Jacqui Mitchell via the website. Chaldon Matters is magazine-style and aims to feature articles and photos of general and seasonal interest in the village. The monthly agenda and minutes will keep Keep an eye out, there are 3 of you regularly informed about the Council’s them dotted around the village! Caterham & District Local History Centre Chaldon and World War 1 Caterham & District Local History Centre, working with The [email protected] or on 01883 340508. Bourne Society and Caterham Valley Library, will be hosting a day event “The Start of the Great War in Caterham & District” on If you are researching your family don’t forget that C&DLHC at Saturday 21st June at the library. There will be talks and displays Caterham Valley Library can help you to access and use history but we will also be inviting people to bring along photos, diaries, centre and internet resources. Volunteer stewards are available on documents and stories relating to life during WW1 and immediate- the 1st Tuesday (2.00 – 4.00 pm) each month and the 2nd and 4th ly afterwards. This is an ideal opportunity to sort out the memora- Saturday each month from 10.00 until 12 noon. Online at www. bilia of your parents/grand/great grandparents. surreycc.gov.uk/caterhamlocalhistory Other useful websites are www.bournesociety.org.uk and If you have anything which directly relates to life in Chaldon then http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk and of course I would be delighted to look at it as soon as possible. I am putting www.chaldonvillagecouncil.org.uk. together newscuttings and items relating to life in Chaldon before, during and just after World War 1. Contact Liz Bonsall at lizbon- Cllr Liz Bonsall Calling all budding artists or those with a creative flare…..

Moving to a new area or even a new home can be somewhat daunting. Where’s the nearest doctor or dentist, school or church? Where do I go to find this information?

Well look no further. Links to various websites containing this information can be found on the Chaldon Village Council website at chaldonvillagecouncil.org.uk

I am sure that you will want to join your Village Councillors in welcoming all new residents to Chaldon and to this end, we have decided to have a specially printed welcome card sent to all new residents to Chaldon, containing information directing them to the CVC website, where all this valuable information can be found.

Now here is where you come in! We want you to design the front of the card. Submit your designs via the CVC website and the winning design will appear on the new residents welcome card. The competition is open to all residents of Chaldon, young and those not so young. Entries must be submitted by 17th April 2014. Entries will be on display at the Annual Village Meeting on 1st May 2014 in the Village Hall and I will be asking you to cast your vote for the winner who will be announced on the night.

I look forward to receiving your entries.

Good Luck. Cllr Jacqui Mitchell