Minutes of the Meeting held at West Byfleet Social Club on Thursday 6th February at 7.30 am.
Present:
Pauline Hedges – Chair
Catherine Richardson, John Ashcroft, Roland Nevett, Oliver Lodge, Stella McMillan, Gary Elson, Shani Orchard
Welcome and apologies
PH welcomed everyone and reported that apologies had been received from Richard Smith, Noel Richardson, Mark Fuller, Robert Navarro, Ron Enticott, Christine Osborne, Jessica Maybanks, The Morrisons, Ian (from Surrounds)
Minutes of the meeting dated 9th January 2014 were approved
Matters arising
Management Committee Meeting this took place to define the two committees, the management committee meeting is for the officers and then there is this particular general meeting today which anyone can attend. Non members are welcome to encourage them to become members. On this occasion the main topic discussed at the MCM was membership. It was been decided to send a letter to current and potential members. The cost of membership remains at £25.00 which enables the member to be affiliated to Woking Chambers of Commerce and have membership rates at all events. In addition, membership to the Surrey Chambers of Commerce. Lastly entry in the Chambers of Commerce Directory – free. PH regularly circulates information on the Chambers and they have an informative website.
Accounts we received a set of accounts from the Treasurer which willbe circulated to all members. We have £1035 in the one account and the Christmas Lights Account – £325. There was £463 raised from Waitrose which has been received and sent to Ron. A letter of acknowledgement has been sent to Nicola Page. The Minutes Secretary raised the fact that Pauline Hedges is owed monies from previous events at which the committee agreed that she should submit invoices for payment.
Free School application – there is an interesting article in The Resident – local magazine for West Byfleet Residents Association. Ongoing PH will obtain copies for the committee. It costs £3.00 a year and is delivered in West Byfleet to the residents by Street Reps. In which there is a large article regarding the school – PH will scan it in and it will be circulated.
Free school for 4 – 18 year olds and will pick up the overflow from the two current schools in West Byfleet. There is another application from Oakfield for planning application for housing.
Which will probably have to go through SCC and WBC for planning application. Not as controversial as a housing block or building.
West Byfleet LI:VE 25th – 26th July
The meeting to discuss this was cancelled last week due to personal circumstances.
PH has a meeting at WBC at 10.00 am today (Thursday 6th February) regarding Ride London which will be coming through the village on the 10 August. PH reported that Council are pushing hard for the festival to move from last weekend in July to coincide with the Cycle Ride. GE enquired whether there had been funding from WBC for West Byfleet LI:VE – contribution towards a leaflet, or booklet as with Pyrford last year. Due to the fact that bookings have been made and PH had requested for no cricket matches for the whole of the week for the purpose of setting up and breaking down. It would be difficult to move the date. Also it is a different focus for the village. WBC has not asked asking any other body to move their events. This is complimenting the Celebrate Woking which is a year of events – Food & Drink Festival/community events. Suggestion to have donation buckets over the weekend to help with the costs.
However, to compliment the Ride London there will be a Family Picnic day – family afternoon on the Rec. Some roads will be closed and this is one of the reasons why to have the West Byfleet Festival at the same time as the Ride London would not work.
Website – there will be update next meeting but the committee agreed it is a great asset.
Membership – The Treasurer has informed the Management Committee that 20 invoices have been distributed in respect of subscriptions. Please note that Richard Smith has said he’d sponsor a new members meeting. Although he is currently away he can be contacted by email. Membership is for anyone with a business interest in West Byfleet. Whether employed with a business, or has business etc. etc. For example 4D are members based in Oyster Lane can offer IT support and are looking for opportunities in West Byfleet. Although it was pointed out that the Postal address down Oyster Lane is West Byfleet.
Woking Chambers of Commerce
CR reported that Friday Networking meetings are well attended by 40 – 50 persons every month 12 – 2.00 pm. on a Friday. There is also an event – Jonathon Lord hosting a dinner at Houses of Parliament sit down dinner – £75.00 a head in May. Room booking is for 24 attendees so if anyone is interested you need to express this now – you can take a business contact/friend. It is a great opportunity and Jonathon is an interesting speaker.
There is also an Independent Retailers Forum at present it is just pooling ideas and brain storming. Initially primarily concentrated on Woking, but the next biggest area is West Byfleet – JM was planning to go. Could they just concentrate on West Byfleet as the Independent Retailers Centre? PH & CR attend the Executive Meeting – which is attended by WBC members Sue who covers Finance | Leisure Services | Chief Executive Ray and Douglas Spinks – they meet three times a year. West Byfleet is not a separate agenda item. Gradually changing the focus as Woking has concluded all its planning so the next funding available will be focussed on West Byfleet.
AOB
AGM is the 19th March at 6.30 pm at Sheer House in the Board Room. Drinks after at West Byfleet Social Club.
Gary Elson reported that there will be changes to the size of the council reduced to 30 councillors extending each councillors ward.
There are currently 36 councillors for 17 wards so there is disparity in the wards so it was felt that councillors should have roughly the same number of electorates. We pushed for 30 as there were significant reduction in staff. It has been accepted by the Boundary Commission. So there will be 3 councillors per ward of 10 wards. So this is being discussed. It also may get Byfleet and West Byfleet merged more. Final draft will go to public consultation. GE then explained the election process.
Pauline reported that the Treasurer had suggested for two free memberships to be given for Eikon (a charity) and the West Byfleet Social Club as recognition of your hosting. This offsets the charges of the room use. Stella felt that was good as she has to justify the non charge to the body this to the committee.
Note of thanks to Oliver for his assistance at Christmas was made by the Chairman.
Roland asked a question regarding Christmas – trees worked extremely well and lifted the festive atmosphere but need high level decoration. Is there any funding available from the Council for this? GE said that the council stopped funding as they would have to fund in all villages Agreed now is the time to ask. CR said that the town centre decorations are being replaced so would they be recycled. GE said he’d check. There is a case of where would they be put and the cost of electrical works. However the fact that there are new lamp posts which means that they are electrically compliant to adapt for lightings. Richard Wilson had donated monies and there are monies in the Christmas fund – WBBA. There is talk of lights in trees in the village, but this has not yet been confirmed. Chobham had an effective display. Agreed that this would be a separate Agenda item and a subcommittee meeting to get together to get an idea of what is wanted to achieve.
Planning
The Residents Association are agitated about Sheer House and the planning applications and are planning to hold a drop in next Thursday 13 February at St Johns Church Dora Honour Room. Times to be confirmed, but there should be a leaflet distributed locally imminently.
RN reported that the current situation is that the original planning application from last year was refused and was the subject of an appeal in October – it was determined by the Inspectorate and refused. Principal reason was not to do with parking or traffic, but the inspector stated that in the middle of West Byfleet Sheer House was an inappropriate carbuncle and that the development of this additional residential will perpetuate and will allow this carbuncle to fester for our life times and the appeal should be denied. There were no other substantiate reasons he gave for denying the appeal. Since then the council have received three planning applications for 30 odd flats to go on existing buildings. Planning consent granted outside the authority of the local authority to convert offices to flats which has since been endorsed by the local authority who have approved the outside cladding. There have been some errors in advertising the applications so that the official date for making comment by people has been delayed to the 20th February. So there is more time to make official comment, although the council has a liberal view on comments and will accept online virtually up to the date of the decision that is anticipated sometime in April as the major applications have 13 weeks rather than the normal 8 weeks.
GE agreed that the local application of planning has to be advertised close to the neighbourhood ie on lamp posts which was delayed. CUBE is operating by stealth are trying to put bits in here and there. A committee will be discussing this planning officer is not familiar with the history. Richard and Gary will talk to the planning committee. The biggest fear is that the flats will be sold with a 99 year lease. The block over Londis will be the affordable housing block of six one bedroomed and six two bedroomed. Does the rejection of the appeal helps. Yes, as it has set a precedence. Katie Dunk who knew nothing is getting up to speed. She has a very large case load 50 cases before this one. Inspector’s statement about the existing block and it’s perpetuation is enormously helpful if the council decides it does not want to approve. Hope that the council considers all of this as a single application. CUBE is hoping that one will be approved! In defence of the council, Ray has said at the Chief Officer’s meeting if they had the money they would develop the place and would develop it as part of the consultation process. Hugely supportive of us but not sure whether this enables us to do something physically. They will back us as far as they can go. A member asked about purchasing Sheer House, but it was mentioned that Rocksburghe house cost £8 million! A general discussion took place with regards the situation with Sheer House, it was mentioned that Enterprise House had been empty for years.
CR – said that when attending the Chief Officers meeting Douglas Spink offered a meeting with planning officer to talk about it directly which could happen which may assist.
RN said we need to decide where we are going? Residents Association. etc etc. We need to be one body as being disjointed won’t work. Drop in for next week but one clear plan is required from The Village – there is an aspiration and a local development plan sets out future for 2022 for the rest of the borough – how many new houses, new business, whatever happens has to fall into that plan. What is in the plan is good news, but it also states that the council will only support new development where there is no loss of offices – that has not happened. As when the new ‘ j’ class was mooted the council had the opportunity to make an application for WB to be exempted from being allowed to convert offices into flats – nothing happened, so was very disappointing. Amount of retail space doubled in West Byfleet, – where is it going to go? There are 70 shops currently in West Byfeet with a core plan for another 150,000 square feet of retail, but where? What is the councils idea of aspiration. We need to understand the thinking of the Woking Borough Council. There was consultation with the public some time ago which was before the WBBA was properly formed. The plan had to set out the vision of WB and the borough. It goes up to 2022/27 and further on. Review of the green belt which is coming forward with consultation as the borough has to set out how it plans to meet the available land required for housing over the next couple of years, but this can influence the town centre development. PH will send page 38 – 41 regarding West Byfleet which will be sent out with the minutes. Go to website and you’d find it there. Broadoaks can meet the office needs with data centres. RN suggests that for today we need to think about what we want to do. Should we join with the various forums to make comments on the applications? However, the needs and aspirations of the business association will be different to the wider residents community.
We can liaise and work with them, but retain our own identify and put forward our own thoughts:
-
Outright objection – don’t want it
-
Yes forgone conclusion but want minimise disruption and no proposals to the improvement to the retail and commercial environment.
-
Or just go along with it.
Roland has put a formal proposition to the meeting in that the WBBA, as an association should submit objections. The association should have their own identify. All agreed.
These planning applications are going to affect the businesses. Business is providing the amenity. We need to push the view as to how it will affect the businesses. Richard and Gary as local councillors will totally support the views of these bodies.
Policy decision rather than tactics. There has been discussion and divergence of view – Andy Davis let’s work towards something to re-model village etc. the route map torturous. We have Waitrose who wants it to happen as quickly as possible to increase footfall. We as a business association need to think if we are going to make our own proposal we need to decide what to say. A straight objection – totally inappropriate goes against core strategy perpetuates a horrible building.
It is possible that if it is residential on top of the blocks refused the conversion may not be so attractive so the result should be offices. The Village centre should be shops surrounded by houses.
Gary Elson said he was happy to work with the WBBA and have support from the planning offices. Suggestion to submit a straight forward objection and put a second objection, statements submitted with regards its’ implementation and demands made with regards the improvement of the retail environment.
Roland will draft this and this will need to be done formally and a meeting with member and officer level to talk this through. Gary can arrange this. There will be a need to put together a working party to formulate the view for the future which then could work with CUBE, the residents association, the council and all the other stake holders.
Thanks to Stella and the West Byfleet Social Club for hosting. These meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month
Date of next meeting: 6th March 2014 at 7.30 am. at West Byfleet Social Club.Minutes of the Meeting held at West Byfleet Social Club on Thursday 6th February at 7.30 am.
Present:
Pauline Hedges – Chair
Catherine Richardson, John Ashcroft, Roland Nevett, Oliver Lodge, Stella McMillan, Gary Elson, Shani Orchard
Welcome and apologies
PH welcomed everyone and reported that apologies had been received from Richard Smith, Noel Richardson, Mark Fuller, Robert Navarro, Ron Enticott, Christine Osborne, Jessica Maybanks, The Morrisons, Ian (from Surrounds)
Minutes of the meeting dated 9th January 2014 were approved
Matters arising
Management Committee Meeting this took place to define the two committees, the management committee meeting is for the officers and then there is this particular general meeting today which anyone can attend. Non members are welcome to encourage them to become members. On this occasion the main topic discussed at the MCM was membership. It was been decided to send a letter to current and potential members. The cost of membership remains at £25.00 which enables the member to be affiliated to Woking Chambers of Commerce and have membership rates at all events. In addition, membership to the Surrey Chambers of Commerce. Lastly entry in the Chambers of Commerce Directory – free. PH regularly circulates information on the Chambers and they have an informative website.
Accounts we received a set of accounts from the Treasurer which willbe circulated to all members. We have £1035 in the one account and the Christmas Lights Account – £325. There was £463 raised from Waitrose which has been received and sent to Ron. A letter of acknowledgement has been sent to Nicola Page. The Minutes Secretary raised the fact that Pauline Hedges is owed monies from previous events at which the committee agreed that she should submit invoices for payment.
Free School application – there is an interesting article in The Resident – local magazine for West Byfleet Residents Association. Ongoing PH will obtain copies for the committee. It costs £3.00 a year and is delivered in West Byfleet to the residents by Street Reps. In which there is a large article regarding the school – PH will scan it in and it will be circulated.
Free school for 4 – 18 year olds and will pick up the overflow from the two current schools in West Byfleet. There is another application from Oakfield for planning application for housing.
Which will probably have to go through SCC and WBC for planning application. Not as controversial as a housing block or building.
West Byfleet LI:VE 25th – 26th July
The meeting to discuss this was cancelled last week due to personal circumstances.
PH has a meeting at WBC at 10.00 am today (Thursday 6th February) regarding Ride London which will be coming through the village on the 10 August. PH reported that Council are pushing hard for the festival to move from last weekend in July to coincide with the Cycle Ride. GE enquired whether there had been funding from WBC for West Byfleet LI:VE – contribution towards a leaflet, or booklet as with Pyrford last year. Due to the fact that bookings have been made and PH had requested for no cricket matches for the whole of the week for the purpose of setting up and breaking down. It would be difficult to move the date. Also it is a different focus for the village. WBC has not asked asking any other body to move their events. This is complimenting the Celebrate Woking which is a year of events – Food & Drink Festival/community events. Suggestion to have donation buckets over the weekend to help with the costs.
However, to compliment the Ride London there will be a Family Picnic day – family afternoon on the Rec. Some roads will be closed and this is one of the reasons why to have the West Byfleet Festival at the same time as the Ride London would not work.
Website – there will be update next meeting but the committee agreed it is a great asset.
Membership – The Treasurer has informed the Management Committee that 20 invoices have been distributed in respect of subscriptions. Please note that Richard Smith has said he’d sponsor a new members meeting. Although he is currently away he can be contacted by email. Membership is for anyone with a business interest in West Byfleet. Whether employed with a business, or has business etc. etc. For example 4D are members based in Oyster Lane can offer IT support and are looking for opportunities in West Byfleet. Although it was pointed out that the Postal address down Oyster Lane is West Byfleet.
Woking Chambers of Commerce
CR reported that Friday Networking meetings are well attended by 40 – 50 persons every month 12 – 2.00 pm. on a Friday. There is also an event – Jonathon Lord hosting a dinner at Houses of Parliament sit down dinner – £75.00 a head in May. Room booking is for 24 attendees so if anyone is interested you need to express this now – you can take a business contact/friend. It is a great opportunity and Jonathon is an interesting speaker.
There is also an Independent Retailers Forum at present it is just pooling ideas and brain storming. Initially primarily concentrated on Woking, but the next biggest area is West Byfleet – JM was planning to go. Could they just concentrate on West Byfleet as the Independent Retailers Centre? PH & CR attend the Executive Meeting – which is attended by WBC members Sue who covers Finance | Leisure Services | Chief Executive Ray and Douglas Spinks – they meet three times a year. West Byfleet is not a separate agenda item. Gradually changing the focus as Woking has concluded all its planning so the next funding available will be focussed on West Byfleet.
AOB
AGM is the 19th March at 6.30 pm at Sheer House in the Board Room. Drinks after at West Byfleet Social Club.
Gary Elson reported that there will be changes to the size of the council reduced to 30 councillors extending each councillors ward.
There are currently 36 councillors for 17 wards so there is disparity in the wards so it was felt that councillors should have roughly the same number of electorates. We pushed for 30 as there were significant reduction in staff. It has been accepted by the Boundary Commission. So there will be 3 councillors per ward of 10 wards. So this is being discussed. It also may get Byfleet and West Byfleet merged more. Final draft will go to public consultation. GE then explained the election process.
Pauline reported that the Treasurer had suggested for two free memberships to be given for Eikon (a charity) and the West Byfleet Social Club as recognition of your hosting. This offsets the charges of the room use. Stella felt that was good as she has to justify the non charge to the body this to the committee.
Note of thanks to Oliver for his assistance at Christmas was made by the Chairman.
Roland asked a question regarding Christmas – trees worked extremely well and lifted the festive atmosphere but need high level decoration. Is there any funding available from the Council for this? GE said that the council stopped funding as they would have to fund in all villages Agreed now is the time to ask. CR said that the town centre decorations are being replaced so would they be recycled. GE said he’d check. There is a case of where would they be put and the cost of electrical works. However the fact that there are new lamp posts which means that they are electrically compliant to adapt for lightings. Richard Wilson had donated monies and there are monies in the Christmas fund – WBBA. There is talk of lights in trees in the village, but this has not yet been confirmed. Chobham had an effective display. Agreed that this would be a separate Agenda item and a subcommittee meeting to get together to get an idea of what is wanted to achieve.
Planning
The Residents Association are agitated about Sheer House and the planning applications and are planning to hold a drop in next Thursday 13 February at St Johns Church Dora Honour Room. Times to be confirmed, but there should be a leaflet distributed locally imminently.
RN reported that the current situation is that the original planning application from last year was refused and was the subject of an appeal in October – it was determined by the Inspectorate and refused. Principal reason was not to do with parking or traffic, but the inspector stated that in the middle of West Byfleet Sheer House was an inappropriate carbuncle and that the development of this additional residential will perpetuate and will allow this carbuncle to fester for our life times and the appeal should be denied. There were no other substantiate reasons he gave for denying the appeal. Since then the council have received three planning applications for 30 odd flats to go on existing buildings. Planning consent granted outside the authority of the local authority to convert offices to flats which has since been endorsed by the local authority who have approved the outside cladding. There have been some errors in advertising the applications so that the official date for making comment by people has been delayed to the 20th February. So there is more time to make official comment, although the council has a liberal view on comments and will accept online virtually up to the date of the decision that is anticipated sometime in April as the major applications have 13 weeks rather than the normal 8 weeks.
GE agreed that the local application of planning has to be advertised close to the neighbourhood ie on lamp posts which was delayed. CUBE is operating by stealth are trying to put bits in here and there. A committee will be discussing this planning officer is not familiar with the history. Richard and Gary will talk to the planning committee. The biggest fear is that the flats will be sold with a 99 year lease. The block over Londis will be the affordable housing block of six one bedroomed and six two bedroomed. Does the rejection of the appeal helps. Yes, as it has set a precedence. Katie Dunk who knew nothing is getting up to speed. She has a very large case load 50 cases before this one. Inspector’s statement about the existing block and it’s perpetuation is enormously helpful if the council decides it does not want to approve. Hope that the council considers all of this as a single application. CUBE is hoping that one will be approved! In defence of the council, Ray has said at the Chief Officer’s meeting if they had the money they would develop the place and would develop it as part of the consultation process. Hugely supportive of us but not sure whether this enables us to do something physically. They will back us as far as they can go. A member asked about purchasing Sheer House, but it was mentioned that Rocksburghe house cost £8 million! A general discussion took place with regards the situation with Sheer House, it was mentioned that Enterprise House had been empty for years.
CR – said that when attending the Chief Officers meeting Douglas Spink offered a meeting with planning officer to talk about it directly which could happen which may assist.
RN said we need to decide where we are going? Residents Association. etc etc. We need to be one body as being disjointed won’t work. Drop in for next week but one clear plan is required from The Village – there is an aspiration and a local development plan sets out future for 2022 for the rest of the borough – how many new houses, new business, whatever happens has to fall into that plan. What is in the plan is good news, but it also states that the council will only support new development where there is no loss of offices – that has not happened. As when the new ‘ j’ class was mooted the council had the opportunity to make an application for WB to be exempted from being allowed to convert offices into flats – nothing happened, so was very disappointing. Amount of retail space doubled in West Byfleet, – where is it going to go? There are 70 shops currently in West Byfeet with a core plan for another 150,000 square feet of retail, but where? What is the councils idea of aspiration. We need to understand the thinking of the Woking Borough Council. There was consultation with the public some time ago which was before the WBBA was properly formed. The plan had to set out the vision of WB and the borough. It goes up to 2022/27 and further on. Review of the green belt which is coming forward with consultation as the borough has to set out how it plans to meet the available land required for housing over the next couple of years, but this can influence the town centre development. PH will send page 38 – 41 regarding West Byfleet which will be sent out with the minutes. Go to website and you’d find it there. Broadoaks can meet the office needs with data centres. RN suggests that for today we need to think about what we want to do. Should we join with the various forums to make comments on the applications? However, the needs and aspirations of the business association will be different to the wider residents community.
We can liaise and work with them, but retain our own identify and put forward our own thoughts:
-
Outright objection – don’t want it
-
Yes forgone conclusion but want minimise disruption and no proposals to the improvement to the retail and commercial environment.
-
Or just go along with it.
Roland has put a formal proposition to the meeting in that the WBBA, as an association should submit objections. The association should have their own identify. All agreed.
These planning applications are going to affect the businesses. Business is providing the amenity. We need to push the view as to how it will affect the businesses. Richard and Gary as local councillors will totally support the views of these bodies.
Policy decision rather than tactics. There has been discussion and divergence of view – Andy Davis let’s work towards something to re-model village etc. the route map torturous. We have Waitrose who wants it to happen as quickly as possible to increase footfall. We as a business association need to think if we are going to make our own proposal we need to decide what to say. A straight objection – totally inappropriate goes against core strategy perpetuates a horrible building.
It is possible that if it is residential on top of the blocks refused the conversion may not be so attractive so the result should be offices. The Village centre should be shops surrounded by houses.
Gary Elson said he was happy to work with the WBBA and have support from the planning offices. Suggestion to submit a straight forward objection and put a second objection, statements submitted with regards its’ implementation and demands made with regards the improvement of the retail environment.
Roland will draft this and this will need to be done formally and a meeting with member and officer level to talk this through. Gary can arrange this. There will be a need to put together a working party to formulate the view for the future which then could work with CUBE, the residents association, the council and all the other stake holders.
Thanks to Stella and the West Byfleet Social Club for hosting. These meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month
Date of next meeting: 6th March 2014 at 7.30 am. at West Byfleet Social Club.