Hersham Residents Association Blog

Our next meeting is coming up soon – an agenda has not yet been finalised, so any views, concerns or queries about Hersham, ideas for improvement or innovation would be welcome. Any ideas about how the HRA could do things differently and better would also be useful.

If you would be interested in attending the next meeting you would be very welcome, please email info@hershamresidents.info

Possible agenda items gathered so far include:-

• the EBC local plan and what implications it might have for Hersham
• a suggestion to create a Hersham Christmas lights competition for Dec 2017
• CIL grant applications
• local planning matters
• an HRA newsletter

Elmbridge is currently consulting on a new local plan.  This is a really important document which sets out priorities and future strategy for housing, leisure and business in the Borough.  Elmbridge residents are being asked to give their views and the HRA will be responding from a Hersham perspective.

To help us do this we would like any views from Hersham residents to help us create a response before the deadline of 10 February.  If you have any comments please send these to info@hershamresidents.info by the start of February if you can.  The key thing to look at is the Strategic Options Consultation Document – but for more background click the link in the following webpage:

http://www.elmbridge.gov.uk/news/local-plan/

There will also be public exhibitions at the following venues in January and  February when residents will have the chance to find out more about the proposals.  Any feedback from people who have attended one of these events would be very valuable.

– Tuesday 10 January 7-9pm Weybridge Library Lecture Hall (1st floor)
– Wednesday 11 January 7-9pm Cobham Community Centre
– Thursday 19 January 7-9pm Hinchley Wood Secondary School
– Monday 23 January 7-9pm Cecil Hepworth Playhouse (Walton)
– Thursday 26 January 7-9pm Civic Centre, High Street, Esher
– Saturday 4 February 10-2pm Civic Centre, High Street, Esher

HRA’s comments on the Drake Park application to build over 1000 housing units on the border of Hersham generated much discussion at the last committee meeting. The HRA response can be downloaded here drake-park-pdf (or hra-response-to-drake-park-application-november-2016)

There are various events and activities planned in Hersham this Christmas which the HRA will be highlighting / signposting on the Hersham Hub and elsewhere as and when information is provided, so watch this space. For example EBC has asked the HRA to spread the word about a family Santa Run – this year in Coronation Recreation Ground – it sounds great fun and well worth supporting – click family-santa-run-2016 for further details.

HRA would like to say thanks to our sponsors and supporters!

Hersham’s Sunflower Competition has been a great success again this year, with sunflowers grown in gardens all across Hersham. Over twenty of these were put forward for judging and each had to be carefully measured and assessed. The winner of the tallest category went to a fantastic specimen grown in Pembrook Avenue who clinched the HRA £25 cash prize with her impressive sunflower (see photo below).

The competition was designed to help brighten up Hersham, and that’s why some of the prize categories focused on flowers which were visible form the street. West Grove won the prize for the street with the most number of visible sunflowers and growers there all received prize vouchers from Squires – for more seeds!

There was also a £25 Squires voucher prize that growers of short sunflowers could win; the prize for the nearest to a randomly selected height decided on the day before judging, went to a plant which was nearest to the selected 1.2m height along Molesey Road – see photo below left.

The best Street facing display went to a grower along Queensway North, who was delighted with their £25 Squries voucher – see above right.  

The prize vouchers and the seeds for the competition were generously donated by Squires Garden Centre in Hersham; Flowers and Things in Hersham also helped support and promote the competition, especially around seed planting time. Hersham Residents Association (the HRA) organised the competition with Hersham in Bloom, and were very pleased that many said that it created a bit of community sprit and plenty of discussion between neighbours.

The HRA exists to help promote Hersham and its community, and has run various competitions over the last few years with that in mind. If you have any thoughts or ideas for a community competition in 2017, or would like support the work of the HRA they’d be pleased to hear from you.  Do you think we should run the competition again next year – or try something different – any views mailto: at info@hershamresidents.info

On Thursday 29th September the Hersham Community Council Group launched an initiative to promote the creation of a Community Council for Hersham.  An item about the launch was published in the Surrey Ad as below –

– but the following will explain the background: –

The Hersham Community Council Group is a non-political group of local people who have come together to promote the creation of a community council for Hersham following the recent Elmbridge boundary changes. These changes have seen Hersham North and South Wards replaced by a much smaller Hersham Village Ward. As a result, many voters who used to be in Hersham are now represented by councillors from Esher, Burwood & Oatlands and St Georges Weybridge.

The new ward boundaries create an uncertain future for Hersham and its continued sense of identity and community. So, what can be done? Now that the new ward boundaries are fixed, a community council offers the only way to keep Hersham on the map and collectively represent the people who live there.

The Community Council Group suggest that creating a Community Council will help ensure a better future for Hersham – by putting Hersham first

 A community council for Hersham would:-

• Re-establish and retain Hersham’s identity and heritage using natural geographic and historic boundaries
• Provide a focus for lobbying for Hersham residents and for maximising and channelling investment in Hersham
• Strengthen Hersham’s community and ability to represent and serve its residents

The community council which the campaigners would like to see established would focus on local issues that matter to local people without the political wrangling. They suggest that in an uncertain future where borough and county services to residents, and remaining green space across Elmbridge are under increasing pressure, how can we afford not to have a community council?

Further details about the campaign are to be provided – watch this space

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Background from the previous post: –

Hersham Community Council Launch Event 29 September.  

A launch event for the initiative to create a Community Council for Hersham took place on Thursday 29th September in the WI Hall in Burhill Road.  The theme of the evening was the benefits of a community council.  The Hersham Community Council Steering Group invited all Hersham residents to come along, listen to the arguments and ask questions.

Click this link to see the flyer which provides some useful background information

At the last HRA committee meeting it was suggested that the association should and its membership should help identify notable trees in Hersham which are worth highlighting and protecting.  Any comments about this project – or suggestions about particular trees mailto:info@hershamresidents.info

The HRA response to a planning consultation and associated new traffic flow system using Turners Lane was approved at an HRA committee on 15 September 2016 and is available here.  If you have any comments about this please mailto:info@hershamresidents.info

Since the original post about this (see July 21, 2016) – various suggestions have been put forward as detailed below:-

PLEASE NOTE:- these are at this stage simply ideas, projects and aspirations put forward by groups and individuals; they are not endorsed by the HRA but we hope they will encourage and focus debate about what might benefit Hersham in the future.  Further comments and suggestions would be welcome.

Ideas:-

• Make a schedule of trees that enhance the street scene of Hersham, and help advise Elmbridge which trees in Hersham need protection by making tree preservation orders for them.
• Establish a cash point machine in Hersham Centre which is free – with no charges.
• Create some kind of ‘Hersham Hero award’ – based on nominations to identify and recognise a person who has done something significant, perhaps behind the scenes, to benefit Hersham
• Start up a range of clubs and societies (where these are not provided for elsewhere).  These could perhaps be advertised and promoted though a connection with the HRA.  For example – does Hersham need a chess club, and cycling club, perhaps it’s own theatre group?  Any thoughts or ideas along these lines – we would be interested to hear.
• A cycle lane down the Queens Road from Sir Richards Bridge roundabout – and along other busy roads in Hersham to make them safer and more cycle friendly
• Hold a potato / marrow / or pumpkin growing competition
• Explore seriously the idea of having a bridge over the river Mole which would allow walkers access from the Burhill Road / Turners Lane area on the Hersham side to West End village.
• Explore the idea of Hersham being twinned with another town in Europe or beyond
• Hold some kind of Christmas market in Hersham Green Shopping Centre
• Carry out some kind of survey designed to find out / confirm what Hersham residents want

Background to this post:-

HRA’s response to an outline application for housing development at Drake Park is available here.  Whilst the proposed development is outside the boundaries of Hersham, the committee nevertheless commented about the wider effects such a development would have on the area in terms of the growth of traffic and implications for the green belt. If you have any further thoughts and views about this development please mailto:info@hershamresidents.info.

For more / background see http://thehershamhub.co.uk/drake-park-application-for-2016/