News & Updates - Oct/Nov 2018

TREE POISONER LATEST

Sad to say the Oakfields Tree Poisoner has eventually won as the Council's Tree Dept have felled the poisoned Oak. A sad end to what was once a magnificent old tree and the poison perpetrator deserves the full force of the Law. 

Still there is now a very clear view of the Allotments from that part Oakfields which the Oak once obscured.

Let's hope the Poisoner enjoys the view - but now the tree has gone, if they can see us clearly, we can also see them!  

(See News & Updates Jan 2018 for more details)

WASHA AGM - October 2018

A pretty well attended meeting by plot-holders and local politicians including our MP Anne Milton.

The politicians seemed genuinely appalled at the recent behaviour of GAS towards the site and its wardens. So maybe things will start looking up now they have taken a renewed interest.

Quite a detailed meeting and the draft minutes have merited a section on this website - see menu on the left.

ALLOTMENT SITE IS OF HISTORICAL INTEREST

Some of the longer term Allotment tenants & local residents were probably already aware that the Aldershot Road Allotment site had some historical significance and that part of the site was once known as Foxburrows Hill.

Thanks to local historian David Rose and Travel Smart Surrey there are some excellent local leaflets detailing the history of Westborough & Park Barn – the most relevant leaflet is entitled “Tracing a Medieval Royal Deer Park”. Here is an extract:

“Todays’ Westborough. Park Barn, Woodbridge Hill and Onslow Village were all once part of an enclosed area of about 1,620 acres in which deer were raised for the benefit of the king and his courtiers. This royal deer park (from which today’s Guildford Park and Stag Hill take their names) was created by Henry II in 1154 and remained an enclosed area until the early 17th century.

Its old boundaries can still be traced by a number of features today – to the north and east it follows Broadstreet, Aldershot Road and Woodbridge Road”

So that says it all - the Allotment Site is firmly at the northern end of the old deer park and is on an old historical site after all!

The Editor takes great delight in posting this information as in past years, local naturalists & ecologists told him the Allotment Site & Westborough Woods were not of interest/historical significance and the Woods weren’t really that old!

A snook has been cocked in their direction!

LOCAL PLAN UPDATE

WBDRA along with many other local Residents & Action groups have always doubted the accuracy of GBC's Housing Numbers in the current Draft Local Plan.

We like many others have supported GRA (Guildford Residents in their quest for accuracy and rationality in Housing numbers and presrevation of our Green Belt land. Their team of experts have worked out a completely new set of Housing Numbers based on new information from ONS.

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data when worked into the Guildford Housing Model now gves a total of approx 350 homes p.a. - which is a long way from GBC's forecast of 630 which when added to Woking's shortfall of 70, gives a Guildford total of 700!!

Fortunately the Planning Inspector (Mr J Bore) has agreed to hold a re-examination of the Draft Plan - as described in this extract from the Guildford Society's recent press release:

"The Guildford Society (GSoc) and Guildford Vision Group (GVG) have welcomed the decision by the examining inspector Jonathan Bore to re-open the Local Plan hearing to consider new housing numbers in the light of revised, lower Office of National Statistics (ONS) projections. The inspector has asked the council to propose dates for another hearing session.  Both societies are also requesting the examining inspector allows the reopened public hearing to also consider the council’s proposed new town centre policy wording, not just the housing numbers"

ALLOTMENT SITE INTRUDERS & THEFTS

Not a good year for site security on the Aldershot Road Allotments.

Fencing has been broken for some time along the Westborough Woods border along from the Woodside Road entrance which permitted unrestricted access to the site for some months. Thanks to the efforts of our Warden, GBC eventually came to deal with it but instead of an effective secure repair have merely managed to join bits of the old metre high wire fence together. Looks like we'll be revisiting this one again - and soon!

Produce Thefts have hit an all time high this season. Pumpkins, Pears. Plums and Strawberries among some of the items stolen. The Strawberry theft was particularly unpleasant and spiteful as the the thief took the entire crop leaving just one berry for the plotholder to see. The victims have a good idea who the perpetrators are and the miscreants must have a good view of the site so that they could do their thieving without being noticed. Surprising to learn that one long term tenant was discovered with a full carrier bag on someone else's plot halfway up the site who took off at great speed when they'd been spotted.

Intruders - main concern has been one individual who lives close by the site who regularly climbed over the the 6ft high Oakfields gate to take a short cut to the Aldershot Road shops, When challenged on site he threatened to damage plots - next morning pipework had been wrenched off one tap and taps turned on to pour gallons of water overnight all over the lower path & plots parallel to Oakfields. WBDRA understands the Police have visited the house of this individual but at time of writing we are not sure of the outcome of their interventions/investigations.