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CHRISTMAS IS COMING! 

SCOUT CHRISTMAS POST & CHRISTMAS TREE SERVICE 

Refreshments, mulled wine and mince pies will be available. Please contact call Jenny Randall on 020 8398 7161 ext 141 for more details and to purchase tickets. Adults £6, Concessions £2.50.



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PROPOSED REDUCTION IN STATION TICKET OFFICE HOURS.  South West Trains are proposing to reduce the ticket office hours at many of their stations, including Hinchley Wood.  Under these proposals our ticket office would close at 10.10 a.m. on weekdays, and would not open at all at weekends.  Many station users are concerned about the effect of this, as are users of other affected stations.

The objections are well summed up in the following statement from Claygate Parish Council: 'Claygate ticket office is well-used well beyond the proposed closure time of 10.00. In particular, Super Return tickets to London are not usable until 11.34. Also people use the available opening hours to buy complex tickets, such as season tickets. Squeezing all this in before 10.00 will increase the queueing in the rush hour, and the risk of travelling without a ticket and suffering embarrassment and penalties. The ticket machine, although welcome, is not adequate, since it is confusing to many travellers, and it regularly has an unsatisfied queue which has to rush for a rush hour train. The reduced ticket office opening hours also reduce the availability of other facilities at the station, including the waiting room and toilets.'  Most of this is equally applicable to Hinchley Wood: an additional consideration is the increased risk of vandalism and antisocial behaviour if the station is unstaffed for an even longer period. 

Objections can be submitted to www.londontravelwatch.org.uk, or see the notices at the station and in the village about signing the local petition, copies of which are held at:
* Crossy's Home and Garden
* Il Forno Bakery, and
* Hinchley Wood News
The deadline for objections is Monday 4th August.

The campaign against the closure is supported by local M.P.s, who have , as indicated in Ian Taylor M.P.'s letter to the Chairman of HWRA, signed a House of Commons Early Day Motion on the subject.


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HINCHLEY WOOD SUMMER FUN DAY

The sun came out (at last!) on Saturday 20th September for the Hinchley Wood Fun Day, and a good time was had by all.  See the pictures on Flickr.


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Calling all retired and semi-retired professional and business men:  the  Probus Club of Hinchley Wood and Thames Ditton is a newly-formed club which aims to provide good fellowship among its members. It is strictly non-political, non-sectarian and non-commercial, and completely focussed on leisure and pure enjoyment. The club meets every third Tuesday monthly at The Angel pub, Portsmouth Road at 10.30. a.m. sharp. The club will aim to have an interesting speaker at each meeting, and refreshments will be available. New members welcome - for further details please contact Ken Thomas on 020 8398 0526 or by e-mail.

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MAJOR PLANNING ISSUES

LATEST NEWS: At the planning commitee meeting on 21st July, the proposed redevelopment of the A309 government offices site was unanimously rejected by officers and committee.

This development was discussed at the HWRA AGM on 27th March, when a representative of Taylor Wimpey spoke and answered questions.   Concerns were expressed from the floor about issues such as access, drainage, closeness to the rear of Claygate Lane properties, height of buildings (some of which would be three-storey), capacity of local schools, and social implications of the proposed occupier mix. The Taylor Wimpey representative pointed out that on many of these issues both they and the planning authorities were governed by national policies. Surrey County Council highways and education services had been consulted and not raised objections to the plans.

Don Beardshall, Chair of the 'Save Hinchley Wood' Steering Commitee also addressed the meeting about the campaigns in relation to the A309 site, Grantchester House School, and the proposed redevelopment of 1 Heathside. It was important for residents who had concerns about these developments to put these to the planning authority, and they should not be deterred if the advertised closing date for objections had passed: objections would still be taken into account if they were received before the application came up for consideration.

The 'Save Hinchley Wood' campaign has become an umbrella for action on all these applications. Further details of the the applications and how to go about objecting can be found on the campaign's website www.savehinchleywood.co.uk .

The Chairman of HWRA has also written to the Planning Inspector about the Hinchley Way and Heathside developments.  Copies of the letters can be viewed here.

For more on local planning issues, see the news and events page.


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HINCHLEY WOOD POLICE PANEL

The panel meets four times a year and attendance is open to all residents. It's your opportunity to meet the local police team and have your say about policing priorities in the local area. Discussion at the panel really does make a difference to local police activity, so it's well worth coming along if you can.

Future meetings will be held in conjunction with HWRA road representatives meetings - see news & events page or check the local police page on the Surrey Police website.


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Newsletter No.2 of 2008 is now out, with news about the local elections, the summer fun day and poor maintenance by Surrey County Council of roads and grass verges, as well as updates on the planning matters mentioned in the previous newsletter.

Newsletter No.1 of 2008 is still available for download, with news about the AGM, and planning applications at the A309 government offices site, Heathside, Manor Road South, Grantchester House, Couchmore Avenue and the fruiterer's shop in Manor Road North. Other topics include parking, Surrey County Council works at the Scilly Isles junction, and the planned litter pick on Saturday 12th April (10 o'clock start at the Memorial Gardens).

More volunteers are still needed to help with Hinchley Wood Care. If you can help please give Ken Hibberd a call on 020 8398 7979. For more information please see clubs, societies and voluntary organisations.

See also the News & Events page for more about issues of current local concern.

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This website is brought to you by Hinchley Wood Residents Association. In conjunction with the weblog at hinchleywood.blogspot.com, it is intended as an interactive resource for the local community, where you can find information about local services, activities and events, and have your say on issues of current concern.

We plan to update the site regularly with local news, information and features, and welcome comments on the site and suggestions for improvements and new features. Please send us your feedback here.

Local traders, services, clubs and groups are listed free of charge on the website. If your organisation has not been listed please let us know the details and we will add it to the site. Local organisations can use the site free of charge to advertise forthcoming events, such as jumble sales, fetes etc.

Please contact us here to arrange for your organisation or event to be listed on the site.


Our Residents Association Councillors hold regular surgeries at which you can discuss problems directly with them. Please check the News & Events page for details.

Site last updated 20th November 2008

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Did you know that the LWT series 'The Charmer' (1986), set in the 1930s and starring Nigel Havers, Rosemary Leach and Bernard Hepton, was partly filmed in Hinchley Wood? You can see some pictures of the filming here. It is also available on DVD from Amazon, but note that you will need a multi-region player.