Introducing our Neighbourhood Police Constable

My name is Freya and I’ve recently been designated as one of the several Neighbourhood Police Constables for East Guildford.

You may have already come across PC Jonny Smale, PCSO Emma Welland and PCSO Damon Young! I specifically work for the Safer Neighbourhoods Team which aims to work closely with local communities and partner agencies to police and find longer-term solutions to more complex issues that may be affecting the area. It is great to be working in a village with such a welcoming, engaged, and vibrant community, reflected in the numerous events involving local businesses highlighted in the Burpham Pages.

As a Safer Neighbourhoods Team officer, I am always keen to engage with local communities to find out about local issues/ concerns, monitor the effectiveness of existing police interventions and simply provide a police presence within the area. The Policing Vision 2025 emphasises the importance of physical police presences within local communities, which I believe is very important in providing opportunities for police-public engagement and for police officers to develop better knowledge of their areas. So, if you ever see an officer out on patrol within Burpham, please feel free to come and chat with us!

In terms of crime within Burpham, as a town it has fewer crime occurrences compared to other Guildford areas and the national average. However, this does not mean by any means that it is not worth police attention and patrol. In fact, it makes our role as Safer Neighbourhood officers even more integral in establishing local concerns and issues before they have the potential to escalate into crimes. We therefore encourage residents to not hesitate in contacting Surrey Police via the relevant channels to report any incidents, so that it can be designated to police attention as quickly as possible.

Across the East of Guildford, we are concerned with numerous incidents of fraud tradesmen attempting to persuade residents to let them do work on their property, before then charging them an extortionate amount of money. This is a topic we will be aiming to conduct community engagement events about in and around Guildford, so please look out for those advertised in due course. In the meantime, we remind you to never accept DIY work from tradesmen or alike businesses that come to your home who cannot prove their identity, and never pay them in cash.

In terms of reporting non-emergency crimes, as well as phoning 101 or using their Live Chat function via their website, www.surrey.police.uk, Surrey Police also offers a reporting platform via Facebook Messenger. Simply find ‘Surrey Police’ on Facebook and select ‘Message’ to begin a private message with one of our contact centre operators, where you will be asked a set of questions to provide detail about the non-emergency incident. Please remember that if you are calling about an emergency situation, to call police via 999.

Burpham Pharmacy Update

We were delighted to hear that there will be a pharmacy in Burpham after all.

Following Zohib Sheik’s appeal and many responses from local people, the NHS have granted a contract for a pharmacy to open in the former dry cleaners on Kingpost Parade. Thank you for supporting this issue.

Summer Walks …and a Tea Party

There are three more walks in July.

On Saturday 6th, a guided tour round Painshill Park (meet at the ticket office 10.00am) and on Saturday 20th a walk round Whitmoor Common (meet at Salt Box Lane car park at 10.00am).

The season ends with a walk along the Wey Navigation on Saturday 27th July. It begins at 10.00am from the car park at the end of Bowers Lane and will take us along the Wey Navigation. This is England’s oldest canal and we shall pass the first lock built in England, finishing up at Stoke Mill. It used to be a corn mill but is now the home of the Surrey Advertiser and we will have a tour of the building. Our return journey will be via the board walk in Riverside Park. After the walk back we will head for the Village Hall for an outdoor tea party. There will be tea, cakes scones and jam and we hope Burpham residents who have not been able to make the walk will join us.

Burpham Summer Walks are organised for residents and are free. We go if it drizzles but not in pouring rain. If you wish to be warned by email early on the morning of the walk if it is going to be postponed, or for more information, please write to secretary@burphamca.org.uk

Memorial Hall

We are – very slowly – getting closer to having the Hall back into community use.

In association with Burpham Church, Burpham Wellbeing and other interested sports and community groups, we have established a Charitable Incorporated Organisation to manage the Hall when it is not being used by the Nursery. We have agreed Heads of Terms with GBC, and it is with their legal advisers to draft a licence.

Sign of the Times

You may have wondered why the Burpham Village sign disappeared a while ago.

It certainly got the committee worried! However, all is well. It had been removed for cleaning and repainting and is now back in place. Our thanks to Guildford Borough Council for carrying out this work.