Weybridge Society Your community association working for Weybridge Spring 2018 Hon. Patron – Michael Aspel OBE WEYBRIDGE SOCIETY WINS FUNDING FOR TOWN IMPROVEMENT SCHEME Major Plans for Town Revitalisation The Society now hopes to move ahead with other town improvement schemes Key Planning Applications Challenged as part of ongoing efforts to make Register Office at Rylston Saved? Weybridge a beautiful place to live and work. Residents and Society members are It’s been an incredibly busy year for the invited to approach the Society’s executive Weybridge Society, with the Society committee with any ideas for either small forging ahead on several projects or large town improvement schemes. and pioneering new ideas for a major revitalisation of the town centre. In a massive victory for a proposal which the Weybridge Society has long championed, Elmbridge Borough Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy fund (CIL) awarded £32,500 to support the Society’s scheme to improve lighting and surroundings of the town’s War Memorial, located at the roundabout near the cricket green. In line with the Society’s ongoing commitment to improve and enhance the Already the Society is working on a environment of Weybridge, this project much broader plan to revitalise the centre will tackle a much-needed refurbishment of Weybridge and secure its future as a of one of the town’s most important vibrant place for the benefit of residents, historical monuments and create a lovely businesses, shoppers and visitors. The night-time setting. fire which destroyed the NHS hospital Of the total sum, £2,500 will go to fund in 2017 clearly necessitates a rebuild a professional study on lighting design, of town health services, but critically which will provide full specifications for it also presents a unique opportunity lighting requirements. The Weybridge for thinking about other services that Society plans to complete the project by residents require and how they might be November, in time for the centennial of provisioned and accommodated in an the end of World War I. The project marks innovative way at the same time as the a huge success for the Society and a first NHS rebuild. There is a good argument in terms of securing major CIL funding. to be made for urgent ‘joined-up’ thinking Weybridge Society Newsletter – Spring 2018 on longer-term prospects for the whole employees in our last newsletter about of the town centre, as the Surrey County the threat to Rylston, great numbers of Council-run town library, located across the public collectively signed a petition the street from the NHS site, has also long against any such move. The Society is now needed refurbishment and repurposing informed that SCC has taken the strength (the second floor is now mostly vacant). of opinion on board and is exploring other This added issue of a remodelled library options that would prevent Rylston from opens the door to thinking more broadly being sold off and/or destroyed. Instead, and deeply about how Weybridge’s town it is hoped that the beautiful Edwardian centre might be given new life and how building will retain its current use as a limited space might be optimised and site for weddings, registry and citizenship combined for various public services ceremonies, while the Council works and parking, concurrently with the NHS to find other ways to utilise the site to reconstruction plans. capacity and make it financially viable for the long term. Among other critical work by the Society, the Planning Panel has continued to monitor closely all problematic planning applications submitted to Elmbridge Borough, fighting off a number of inappropriate plans through sound arguments made by residents and residents’ associations. In the case of Clive House on Queens Road, a particularly pernicious application has been seen off by the Weybridge Society in recent months. The Weybridge Society is now at the forefront of assembling ideas and formulating this town centre revitalisation plan, with an advisory group composed of member and outside experts working on a set of proposals to be made public. Again residents and businesses are invited to contact the Society now with any forward-looking thoughts on how to best recommission key public services, with a view to creating a Weybridge town centre Many know Clive House as the old driving that is vibrant, retains character and is fit test centre, a drab building well set back for the 21st century. from the road and consequently without In another urgent action, the significant impact on the street-scene. Weybridge Society moved quickly this The proposal for its re-development was past autumn to investigate, publicise and based on bringing a much bigger building oppose an idea floated at Surrey County further forward, a move that would have Council (SCC) that the Register Office at completely dominated the streetscape. Rylston on Oatlands Drive should be re- Objections by the Society, along housed at the town centre library building. with the Triangle Residents Group, the Having informed local residents and residents’ association in the Queens Road 2 Weybridge Society Newsletter – Spring 2018 area, clearly demonstrated the strength visibility for pedestrians crossing Baker of feeling against the application. The Street at the Monument Hill junction. The Borough Planning Committee rejected the Society has made a formal complaint to developer’s application on 13th July, and Elmbridge Borough Council (EBC) about on appeal the Planning Inspector agreed these concerns, with EBC responding with points put forward by the Weybridge that there was no fault with the process Society – a real success for local residents that determined the fate of the planning and the Society, though we remain vigilant application. The Society is not satisfied as developers often resubmit proposals. with this response and has made a formal In another planning application complaint to the Local Government challenge, the Old Grotto pub at the Ombudsman that EBC has failed in its top of Baker Street was knocked down duty of care to residents, both pedestrians to make way for a block of flats whose and drivers. We await the outcome of the boundary wall significantly reduces Ombudsman deliberations. Weybridge Society Organisational Notes A new membership data base went live in November, following months of work on various options to update and improve an old manual system that created much administrative work for the membership secretary. Having tracked down all known members, we corresponded with still current and registered members to inform them of our new system. Our new system is now in line with the way most clubs and societies do business: online, with memberships integrated to an online payment scheme. Prospective members can now join and enter payment details, completing their membership applications in about two minutes. The website also saw a major relaunch in the past year, as it was completely overhauled, rewritten and redesigned by a team including Steve McCarthy, webmaster, and Lesia Scholey, editor, as well as local resident Phil Wragg, who was hired to help redesign the site. The website was relaunched in January, with a new navigation system and a bright fresh feel, and it is now compatible with modern devices such as smart phones and tablets. Our newsletter also received a major revamp, thanks to editor Lesia Scholey, who brought her journalism background and instincts to bear on format, writing, editing and the process of publication and distribution. A new and more compact A5 size was introduced, making it easier to place the newsletter publicly at shop tills, racks and the like, as well as making it more convenient to carry in smaller bags. An external designer, Steve Varman, who is also an award-winning photographer, was hired to help work on layout, smoothing the technical aspects of work and also contributing to visual aspects such as logos, photos and graphics. As part of the newsletter’s relaunch, earlier this year newsletters were delivered free to all addresses in the KT13, directly leading to an influx of about 60 new members. We plan to have another such delivery later this year in a bid to increase public awareness of what the Society does and to encourage more people to join the Society. Many thanks to Chairman Dave Arnold and the whole executive committee for valuable input and for agreeing, championing and overseeing the process. 3 Weybridge Society Newsletter – Spring 2018 PLANNING UPDATE Disclaimer: The following information is objections and Councillors refused the summarised from the Weybridge Society’s application. Unfortunately, the Inspector Planning Panel’s records. We endeavour to decided to allow the development on make it a true representation of the panel’s appeal. opinion and our actions and plans, and it is up to date at the time of writing. For the - . latest and most accurate developments on 2016/4126 Clive House, Queens Road planning, please consult Elmbridge Borough The appeal was dismissed for the following Council or our website at weybridgesociety. reasons: org.uk 1. the proposed scale and height would have a harmful impact of the street 2016/3151 - Roundabouts at Brooklands scene, an argument put forward by the Weybridge Society and the local Road, 2016/3155 (Station roundabout), (Morrisons Roundabout) & residents’ association the Triangle 2016/3158 Residents Group (TRG); 2016/3160 (War Memorial roundabout at the Cricket Green). 2. the proposal would “swallow up” the views and “enjoyment” of Salisbury House (#20) a locally listed building. This is an important ruling by the Planning Inspector as maintaining the environment of the Queens Road Village is vital to ensure the clear distinction between this area and the rest of Weybridge. It is considered likely that the Applicant will submit a new application. These four applications relate to advertisements on roundabouts.