Tag Archives: Surrey Heath Borough Council

Attending the Proclamation of the new King

Late on Friday afternoon last we received an invitation to attend the Proclamation of the new King at Surrey Heath House in Camberley.

Why us you might ask. I was a mayor of the Borough in 2011-12, before standing down as a councillor at the end of my term of office. It seems that the Accession Council requires past mayors and aldermen to be in attendance at Proclamations, I imagine it’s a historical precedent. Proclamations of a new monarch aren’t, obviously, frequent events.

Dressed in my dark grey lounge suit with my badge of office, I looked at my black tie and considered it was time for a new one. You’d think gentlemen’s outfitters would have one. Not at the two I tried. Me getting a touch worried, thought, ah yes, Marks and Spencers are sure to have one. No luck, amazingly their stock of ties could be counted as a few dozen, sign of the times I guess. Went next to Next, who had a selection of black ties. Relief.

The Proclamation was read on the lawn in front of the Council Offices. At the end of the reading the invited guests and members of the public simply dispersed. Duty done I suppose. The Proclamation in Surrey Heath was attended by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Surrey, local MP Micheal Gove, and past mayors and councillors of Surrey Heath. Revd Andreas Sistig of St Anne’s Church in Bagshot led the prayers.

One interesting thing to note was the action of the council mace bearer during the proclamation. I hope I’m right here, the turning down of the mace signifies the death of the monarch, and upturned for the new monarch.

Enjoying the chance to don formal dress

As a past mayor of Surrey Heath Borough Council, we, the past mayoress and I, we pleased to receive an invitation to the Annual Meeting of the Council, otherwise known as the Mayor-making ceremony.

Covid-19 precautions seemed to still be in place, for example the lift from the ground floor to the second floor Council Chamber contained a notice that said, ‘once person only in the lift’. Naughty us, we both got in the lift to the second floor.

It was an excuse to wear my formal striped trousers, black jacket along, and pocket square, with my past mayoral badge of office. It’s been a while since I wore this outfit, feeling it was a mark of respect to the event and the mayors.

Here are the photos, with captions, I took of the meeting.

Disappointed the bronze-age bowl barrows in Brentmoor Heath are covered with scrub

On my last lengthy heathland walk, and feeling that Surrey Wildlife Trust had done some good work cutting back heathland trackside vegetation, I walked to the four bronze-age bowl barrows in Brentmoor Heath.

I was hoping that the bowl barrows had had similar vegetation cut back. No such luck. This scheduled ancient monument in a borough remains unloved. I’ll have to write to the Council and the Trust. That’s a morning’s activity allocated – these things always take me longer than I think. I can’t like some simply knock off a letter. I try hard to add all possible evidence I can to get the result I want.

I’ve added three photos of the bowl barrows as they look currently, ( First photo is approaching the bowl barrows, then being alongside them, and finally at the information board ). Below the photos I’ve copied the text from the Historic England website website entry on them., and below that a photo of what they looked like a few years ago.

I’ve written lots of blog posts on them, which you can read HERE, if you’re interested. This article of mine HERE, offers the best chance to learn more about them.

Here’s part of what Historic England say about them,

Despite partial excavation, the four contiguous bowl barrows on West End Common survive well as an outstanding example of a very rare form nationally as well as being the only example of its kind in Surrey. As one of a clearly defined group which, from the evidence of the single ditch, may have been built in a single phase, the site will contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the social organisation of Bronze Age communities in this area, their economy and the landscape in which they lived.

Pleasing improvements to Knoll Walk in Camberely

Before Christmas we visited Camberley town centre, where I was pleased to see that Knoll Walk, the footpath between Knoll Road and the High Street, was open. Surrey Heath Council’s latest update on Knoll Walk renovations says,

The walkway is now open to pedestrians. Improvement works are now taking place.  The improvements will bring new trees, a green wall of plants, seating and lighting to this area. The new lighting fixtures are now in place and the majority of the paving is now complete.  The street furniture is in the process of being installed.

I’m pleasantly surprised at the improvements, about which I originally had reservations  Here’s my photo of the status of the work.

Surrey Heath Tree Wardens improve Warren Wood

On a recent Saturday I joined a small group of members of Surrey Heath Tree Wardens for a working party at Warren Wood in Frimley.

The wood is owned by Surrey Heath Borough Council, who say of it on their website HERE,

On the outskirts of Frimley, is a small remnant of ancient woodland which once covered the whole Warren Rise estate.

Until I was directed to the wood by Jerry Brownlee, the Vice Chair of the tree wardens, I’d no clue as to how to access the wood. The wood is on a steep slope, which housing developers undoubtedly considered unsuitable for housing, hence it remains heavily wooded. Access to the wood is by a path between the houses 86 and 88 in Warren Rise, and at the end of Fairfield Drive. You can see where the wood lies on the map below. It’s the arc of greenery in the middle of the map.

The wood is managed by Surrey Heath Greenspace team. It’s last major maintenance was over 40 years ago, since when the tree canopy has grown such that little light penetrated to the ground below, and in areas invasive scrub has taken over.

The volunteers of Surrey Heath Tree Wardens, working with Surrey Heath Borough Council have, over the last 18 months, begun to improve the amenity value of Warren Wood. The Tree wardens see this as a five year project such is the amount of work needed, where the Wood’s restricted access precludes to use of large machinery.

Here’s my photo record of my work with the working party. If you enlarge the photo of the signs below, by clicking on it, there’s more information to discover about the Wood and its management.

Prescient, moi. Surrey Heath Council tweet about the Obelisk

Today, yes, on this very day I wrote about visiting the Obelisk in Camberley, and lo and behold, Surrey Heath Borough Council tweeted twice today on the subject. Firstly about how the gates to the access path are locked in accordance with other local parks, namely 4.0pm for the Obelisk. Here’s their most recent tweet,

General Edward Abbot Anderson Memorial’s new home

This week I spotted the memorial to General Edward Abbot Anderson in its new home in the garden area of the London Road Recreation Ground in Camberley.

The recreation ground isn’t on the London Road at all, it’s in Grand Avenue. There got that bit of info out.

The memorial had been for many years near the entrance to the car park of the Arena Leisure Centre, which again was in Grand Avenue, but could reasonably said to be on London Road as it faces London Road.

The new home of the memorial is more suitable than its previous home. While the memorial looks good in its new home, it still needs stone cleaning, which would make it look even better.

Here’s my photo  – do you think it need a good clean? [Click on photo to expand]

 

R.I.P Ian Cullen, actor, teacher, and a fellow past local borough councillor

Ian Cullen, the actor most well known for his role in the TV series Z Cars, has sadly died.

Ian was a kind, generous, and lovely gentleman, with whom I enjoyed our time on the local borough council.

Ian’s voice made his readings with his dear wife Yvonne a pleasure to listen to.

 

New playground opens in Lightwater Country Park

Surrey Heath Borough Council announce the opening of a new playground in Lightwater Country Park.

The new playground at Lightwater Country Park has officially opened. After an £80k makeover, the fantastic new facility was opened on Friday 8 November at a ceremony at the playground’s new location next to the cafe.

Lightwater Country Park new playground

The new playground features two multiplay units, pick up sticks climbing frame, activity net, various swings including a basket swing, an agility trail, musical babel drum and a ‘rock ‘n bowl’ roundabout.

The winning Wicksteed design was chosen following an extensive consultation held by SHBC earlier this year, including local children, followed by a public vote. This playground was refurbished as part of a wider Play Area Improvement Scheme across Surrey Heath, worth £650,000 over three years.

Other play areas refurbished so far include Cheylesmore Park, Camberley, Frimley Lodge Park, Briar Avenue, Lightwater and Evergreen Road, Frimley. Further playgrounds earmarked for improvement through the scheme include Old Dean Recreation Ground, Camberley.

Lightwater Country Park is a 59-hectare area of predominately heathland habitat, which also features ponds, woodland, meadows and areas of scrub. The heathland within the Country Park has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and as such is an important area of high conservation value.

The park is home to a wide variety of birds, animals, insects and plant life. Facilities and features of the park include walking trails, grazing livestock, fishing, a cafe, educational service, tennis courts, sports pitches and a leisure centre. www.surreyheath.gov.uk/lcp