Paul Nicholls

Sutherland Memorial Hall

The BCA, along with other local groups (known collectively as the Burpham Community Hub) has been working hard to get the Hall back in use for all of the community.

The first task was to get registered as a charity and we are very pleased to announce that this was achieved last November. Now the less good news. At the beginning of this process GBC were asked to confirm that they could issue two leases on the same premises – ours as well as the existing lease to the nursery. We were told this would be fine. GBC now say this information was wrong and it cannot be done. Instead they will change the nursery lease to a licence – this may take some time – and the Community Hub will be granted a lease. This will allow both organisations to share the Hall and make optimum use of it for the community.

The Running River

This is the Running River which flows from Stoke Lock to Sutton Place. The planners of Weyside Urban Village describe it variously as “an unlicensed drain” and “an open sewer.”

Well, it may look pretty foul these days but it has a noble history which begins in Sutton Place.

The manor was granted to Sir Richard Weston by Henry VIII in 1521. His great great grandson was also Sir Richard Weston, born in 1591. He spent some time in the Netherlands where he became interested in inland navigation and how locks work. This gave him the idea of using locks to make the River Wey navigable from Weybridge to Guildford. As a Catholic and Royalist, his property was sequestrated during the Civil War and he went into exile. He was able to return to England during the 1640s and instigated a bill in parliament to authorise construction of the Wey navigation – a massive undertaking finally completed in 1653.

Sir Richard was also responsible for creating the Running River, using the techniques he had discovered – water meadows kept the ground warm in winter and the river irrigated fields between Stoke Lock and the north side of Sutton Place in the summer. He also made many agricultural improvements including this irrigation scheme and crop rotation.

Maps of the early 1960s show the course of the Running River but the Slyfield dump and the industrial estate destroyed the centre section. The land is currently owned by GBC and Thames Water who are involved in the Weyside Urban Village project. We have been told that the Running River will be integrated into the Village as an historical asset.

Our thanks go to Jim Allen who has worked hard on behalf of the BCA and Burpham Neighbourhood Forum to help preserve Sir Richard Weston’s incredible legacy.

Joint BCA/BNF Public Meeting

November 2nd 2023

There is so much going on at the moment it is difficult to keep track of what is happening. This joint meeting was held to inform residents about major projects which will affect our Ward in the near future.

It was well attended with over 80 people in the audience.

The topics covered were:

• Weyside Urban Village by Christian Holliday
• The London Road Active Travel Service by Andy Clapham
• The Gosden Hill development by Sue Hackman
• The relocation of the Sewage Treatment Works by Jim Allen

We would like to thank all the speakers.

All the topics generated a lot of interest and in some cases provoked lively discussion. The meeting was judged to be a success and we propose to hold similar meetings in the future.

…and on the subject of roads

The BNF recently conducted a survey of roads in Burpham. The main roads were tolerable but the side roads and pavements are often in poor condition.

One part of London Road pavement floods in wet weather, forcing mums with pushchairs into the road.

Other stretches are uneven, a hazard for all but especially for the elderly or disabled. We are asking you to take a look at your own road and pavements and get back to us with a review – pictures of dangerous damage would be great. Please email to secretary@burphamca.org.uk

NEWS

Gosden Hill

Martin Grant homes will shortly submit their outline plans for Gosden Hill which were shared with the public in November.

BCA responded to the plan which will create 1800 new homes on the land bounded by the A3, the railway and Merrow Lane (Burpham end). Initial plans include schools, shops and a railway station.

The plan is not without its attractions: it will include a large woodland park in Cotts Wood, ease Guildford’s chronic waiting list, and introduce a southbound slip onto the A3 a little way up the A3 at the main access to the estate, and introduce a nearby railway station.

Naturally, our main concern is about the traffic it will bring down adjacent roads as the estate fills up over a 10 year period. 1800 houses means 3400 extra cars which will make their way down London Road to get to the town centre and our shops.

In a last-minute change, the developers added a southern exit at the corner of New Inn Lane and Merrow Lane by the railway arch. Yes, it’s already a pinch point. It will only work if they take a very large bite out of the protected woodland next to it and box in the cottages there. In its favour, it would allow some cars to avoid Burpham altogether if they were heading into Merrow.

The most contentious thing – at least immediately – is that construction traffic looks set to go up existing roads – that’s London Road (adjacent to current slip road), New Inn Lane and Merrow Lane during the first phase of building. If you know these roads, you will understand why we find this unacceptable.

We have other concerns which will crystallise as plans become more detailed. Most of them involve securing adequate infrastructure to take onboard the extra demand for local services, school places and health care, and upgrading pipes and cables careful for the extra sewage, water demands, drainage, energy and so on. Like every other community association before us, we say:

Infrastructure in place first, please.

For the full text of our response, drop us a line at secretary@burphamca.org.uk

Winter lectures

Our popular winter lectures are back and you can attend for free every Friday night in January starting 7.30pm at the Village Hall.

3 January 2025
King Ludwig II of Bavaria and his famous castles (Andrew Plumridge)

10 January 2025
Picking up the pieces: a short history of the jigsaw puzzle (Matthew Plumridge)

17 January 2025
Sidney Sime: local artists and illustrator (Mary Broughton) 24 Jan The Zulu Wars (Chris Hopper)

31 January 2025
Family Mysteries (Dinah Bisdee & Sue Hackman)

Winter walks

We will be taking a leisurely winter walk on two days this month, hopefully catching winter at its crisp, dry and sunny best.

Walks start at 10am. If you send your email to secretary@burphamca.org.uk, we will send you a stand-down notice on the morning if the weather or underfoot conditions are too poor.

Saturday 8th February
Over the downs to Clandon
Meet on the sharp bend on Merrow Common Road. There’s a pub at the far side if you are keen to stop.

Saturday 15th February
Newark Priory to Pyrford Lock
Meet by Grayshott Farm on Newark Lane (A367) just outside Ripley for flat a riverside walk. Poetry fans will enjoy John Donne’s love nest. Pub fans will enjoy the pub at Pyrford Lock at the far end of this walk.

Walks in your own time

Following the paths of popular short walks we have undertaken in the past, we now have eight walk guides which we distribute free at our events. They include both direction and commentary:

1. Burpham Greenway – the quick, traffic-free walk into town
2. The sights and sounds of the wetlands – a guided ramble round the Riverside Nature Reserve
3. Stoke Park – a circular walk to introduce you to all the best bits of Stoke Park, the pleasure gardens on our own doorstep
4. The Sutton Stretch of the River Wey – to look at the less-visited riverbank.
5. Jack’s Copse – a mini-walk to see Burpham most secret small woodland
6. Deadman’s Wood – a tour around the woodland and village pond that covered the land of Burpham before we did!
7. Historic Buildings of Burpham – a guided history tour of Burpham’s heritage.
8. Whitmoor Common via the Boardwalk – a tour of the eastern side, yes, there is a pub at the end!

Update: London Road and Boxgrove Roundabout

The proposals for the London Road Active Travel Scheme have been in play since the large public meeting at George Abbot School in January 2023.

Finally, it seems to be settled after safety considerations were felt too difficult to resolve:

• To proceed with the redesigned Boxgrove roundabout to make it safer for cyclists and pedestrians;
• Not proceed with the segregated cycle lanes from Boxgrove to York Road;
• Not to proceed with the segregated cycle lanes and additional pedestrian crossings between New Inn Lane and Boxgrove roundabout.

The Cabinet of Surrey County Council reconsidered its controversial at the Cabinet meeting in November, and upheld the decisions listed above.

Although we are relieved that a decision has been reached, we do think there is work to do to fix the on potholed, puddled and overgrown pavements, and we will relay this message to the council.