Warlingham Parish Council is continuously active in pursuing projects to protect and improve Warlingham’s environment, facilities and community. Current and recent initiatives include:
The Green
• Maintaining the planters outside the Co-op and the seating area by the Farleigh Road junction
• Installation of seating at the Farleigh Road junction.
• Hanging baskets: regularly refreshed
• Unauthorised banners and posters removed: the Council has permission from the District Council to authorise up to three banners on the central Green advertising community events
• Commercial review undertaken: traders’ views recorded and will inform future actions.
• War Memorial: took on custodianship to ensure proper care and maintenance. Extensive cleaning and restoration has been undertaken and more work is planned (see separate section below).
THE GREEN IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
Background and History
Between 2004 and 2008 Warlingham Parish Council sponsored the production of a Parish Plan with the involvement of a large number of residents, which set out what the community wanted for the village. One of its findings was that The Green was looking tired, was dominated by traffic and parking so that pedestrians felt unsafe, and it needed a major makeover. It mandated the Council to develop a plan to improve it. A great deal of work was then done to develop an improvement scheme, led by a working group comprising an architect, parish councillors, shopkeepers and representatives of groups which organise events on The Green. Highway engineers and Surrey Highways were consulted, and a formal consultation with residents was undertaken in 2018.
The main improvements proposed were: 1) the cracked and uneven pavements all around The Green to be replaced with attractive stone paving; 2) new pedestrian crossing points from each side of The Green to the centre and a new zebra crossing at the western entrance, to improve access and encourage use; 3) a new drainage system to deal with the flooding at the eastern corner and stop the grass getting so boggy; 4) new street furniture and planting including benches, cycle racks and low-level lighting on the central part of The Green, plus a water feature; 5) re-laid paths on the centre of The Green with a greater area of hardstanding; 6) new roadway surfacing at the entrances to The Green and on parking bays; this with speed tables at the zebra crossings to slow down drivers and indicate they are entering a special area. All these improvements were incorporated into the Warlingham Green Masterplan presentation drawing.
The Plan was put to residents in early 2020 in a formal online public vote hosted by the District Council, and received an 81% vote in favour.
Discussions revealed that funding was not available to implement the whole scheme at one time, and that it would have to be split into three phases. The first phase to deliver what the Parish Council perceived as the highest priorities, namely: the repaving of the western and southern pavements, the crossings, some small adjustments to corners and islands to make it easier for large vehicles to turn and improve the exit from Glebe Road; improved drainage at the eastern corner; the road tables to slow traffic entering The Green and some new furniture and planting. In addition there were some modifications to the design to meet the safety requirements of the Highway Authority, most significantly the substitution of crossing points for actual crossings.
An application was made in 2021 to Tandridge Council for £492,000 of CIL (“Community Infrastructure Levy”) funding towards the £600,000 cost of Phase One, and this was approved in December 2021, with the Parish contributing the balance of £108,000 from its own CIL funds. (Note: “CIL” is paid by developers to pay for local infrastructure projects).
Lengthy negotiations then took place with Tandridge on the terms of the grant in order to protect the Parish Council’s position, and the grant contract was finally agreed by the Council on 1 February 2023. At the same time the Parish progressed the appointment of a developer to implement the Project, taking into account the requirements of Surrey County Council for works being undertaken on its highway. In the course of discussions it became apparent that it would not be possible to appoint a private contractor given Surrey’s requirements, and consequently Surrey was appointed to deliver the Scheme in July 2023.
As Surrey’s estimated costs were higher than those in the Funding Bid, mainly reflecting escalating material and construction costs, the scope of Phase One had to be reduced, with a reduction in the area of repaving on the south pavement, 3 rather than 5 crossings, no changes to the corners, no drainage works or road tables. However the key deliverables of new crossings from each side and repaving in yorkstone of two out of three pavements remained, ensuring that the prime aims of improving safety and giving the Green a facelift were maintained.
April 2024 Update: Detailed Design Phase nears completion
The Detailed Design Phase is almost complete after months of work by the Surrey Highways team appointed to deliver the Project, including undertaking the necessary surveying and investigation of the ground.
The exact locations of the three crossings – one from each side, the detailed parking layouts , street furniture specifications and the type of yorkstone for the new pavements have all been agreed with the Project Steering Committee, consisting of parish councillors and trader representatives, and the latest plans circulated to businesses and residents around the Green to confirm that nothing had been overlooked.
It has been necessary to move the crossing from the southern side to outside The Gallery, due to safety and parking issues identified with the original location outside Tesco, and it has been agreed to install part time loading bays outside Tesco and on the western side to address delivery issues. The Tesco bay will operate in the early morning and early evening and revert to normal/disabled parking during the day. Unfortunately it has not proved possible to redesign the configuration of islands in front of the Glebe Road junction to facilitate easier exit so this area will stay as it is.
There is still some legal work to be completed involving obtaining the written consent of the owners of private forecourts in front of shops to them being re-paved, and obtaining the approval of the Secretary of State for installing a new path on The Green itself, necessary owing to the particular legal status of the central Green. It is hoped this will not unduly delay the signing of the agreement between the Parish and Surrey for the construction of the Scheme nor its subsequent implementation.
The current estimate, taking into account outstanding issues, the lead time to obtain the yorkstone and the need to avoid disruptive work during the critical trading months of November and December when important community events also take place on The Green, is that construction will take place from January to April 2025.
Warlingham Green Improvement delayed until summer
Warlingham Parish Council has had to postpone the start of the construction phase of The Green Improvement Project for possibly six months, due to circumstances beyond its control.
It had been planned to begin construction in January, but pricing uncertainty in the building industry and the complexities of implementing the scheme mean the final costs have not been agreed between Surrey County Council Highways, which is undertaking the work on behalf of the Parish Council, and its main contractor. This means that work is more likely to start at the beginning of the school summer holidays in 2025.
Phase one of the project principally entails the paving of the south (Tesco) and west (Village News) sides of The Green with Yorkstone, which, for a project of this size, is only quarried once a firm order has been placed, so the lead time is many weeks.
The Parish Council is keen to ensure that the construction, which would take up to three months, causes as little disruption to motorists and traders as possible which is why the original start time, and the alternative, were chosen.
Depending on the final, updated costing, it will be decided whether phase one of the project will be completed in one go or split into two. If the latter is the case, the south pavement, a new path on The Green itself and pedestrian build outs to aid crossing to the north side, will be the first works to be completed as the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) grants that have already been obtained should be sufficient to cover this work. It is not certain that this CIL money will also cover the cost of the west side pavement, so this may have to wait until further funds can be obtained towards the end of next year.
The traffic management that will be needed during construction is going to create disruption and so we are discussing with Surrey Highways how best to keep this to a minimum. Options being considered include possible night working, diversions where practical and temporary traffic lights. Once we have more details we will issue further news as soon as possible.
Green project begins this summer
Phase One of the Warlingham Green Improvement Project, organised by Warlingham Parish Council, will begin in July, or earlier if everything falls into place. This will allow the three to four months construction period to take advantage of as much of the summer school holidays, with its lower traffic volumes, as possible.
Phase One, in partnership with Surrey County Council Highways, will concentrate on replacing the current pavement surface on the south side of the shopping area, from in front of Tesco and The Gallery, and the west side from Barnet Fayre to Smoque.
Instead of the originally planned York-stone surface, the areas will be paved with attractive brindle-coloured blocks laid in a herringbone pattern, with areas demarked with buff blocks, allowing the £605,000 of Community Infrastructure Levy funding from Tandridge District Council and Warlingham Parish Council to go further than it otherwise would have.
As well as the new paving, the whole area will be decluttered of unnecessary road signs, new ones will be installed and new pedestrian crossing points will be constructed. In addition, The Green will become a 20mph zone.
The immediate next step will be to choose a design for new planting on The Green itself, to go with new street furniture. There will be no alterations to the War Memorial, the stone bench, or the much-loved trees.
Here’s a presentation drawing of Phase One PC1063-P-01-0100-01 Warlingham Regen – General Arrangement – Presentation
The construction work is being planned to create as little disruption as possible with some night working, access to the traders being maintained during opening hours and road diversions set up to keep traffic moving. There will also be a need for traffic lights on some occasions.
Says Cllr Simon Morrow, Chair of the Green Improvement Project Steering Committee:
“We have to be honest and say that there will inevitably be weeks of limited disruption, but we sincerely believe the result will be worth it. Phase One has been subject to detailed planning, aimed at keeping inconvenience to a minimum while delivering a high-quality result.”
Construction starts in June 2025
Arrangements have been finalised for the construction phase of stage one of Warlingham Parish Council’s Green Improvement Project.
Work began with the construction of the site compound on June 2. After considering a number of sites, the only real option is the Leas Road end of Redvers Road. Unfortunately, this will probably mean Redvers Road will be closed until October, with access maintained for residents and parking.
The first construction proper will be the laying of herringbone pattern brindle blocks on the south pavement of The Green; the Tesco and pharmacy side. Parking will be suspended to maintain traffic flow and allow room for construction. This work is planned for June and July.
To take advantage of lower traffic volumes in the school summer holiday, work on the west pavement will take place in August. Because the carriageway is narrower, it will need to be completely closed with the diversion route via Hillbury Road and Tithepit Shaw Lane. Some minor work will be done on the north side and on the central Green itself during September.
When work is carried out on the junction with Westhall Road, that road will be completely closed between its junction with Leas Road and The Green, as well as the southern and western sides of the Green. The knock-on effect of this will be that the north side of The Green will become temporarily two-way and parking will be suspended – to allow traffic to continue to use Limpsfield Road without diverting. To minimise disruption, this work will be done at night. While noise will be kept to a minimum, some disturbance to residents is inevitable.
Says Cllr Simon Morrow, chairman of the Green Improvement Project Steering Committee: “After years of planning, it is really good to see construction begin and we look forward to seeing the final result. However, this is a major construction project, being built around a major road system, so there was always going to be disruption, but we have done all we can to keep it to a minimum. Once it is completed, we believe you will agree that it has been well worth it.”
Pedestrian access will be maintained to all the shops on The Green throughout the project, but there will be disruption to bus routes and timetables.
Diversions to avoid the road closures will be clearly signed and routes will be posted on the Parish Council website. Here’s what happening in June and July 2025: Initial Work in June and July 2025
New Parish Council Website
In September 2020, the Parish Council identified that the parish council website would need to be upgraded to meet new regulatory requirements for data protection and accessibility. This was also seen as an opportunity to provide the website with a more modern design and fresh new look, making it easier for residents to find what they are looking for.
A small project team consisting of Parish Councillors and the Parish Clerk was established to identify a new website provider. Having reviewed a number of providers that specialise in websites for Town and Parish Councils, Netwise was finally chosen. The project team then worked with the developers to provide the design you see today. All that then remained was to migrate the essential data from the old website across to the new site.
The website finally went live on 31st January 2021. We hope you enjoy it. We’d love to hear what you think of the new site, so please provide feedback to clerk@warlingham-pc.gov.uk
War Memorial Restoration Project
The iconic feature of Warlingham Green is the War Memorial, a statue of a WWI Soldier standing above a Mother and Child. It was erected by public subscription in 1921 and dedicated on 4th December of that year. It is entitled “Shielding the Defenceless” and was sculpted by J E Taylerson. The memorial stands on a stone plinth with three steps and is inscribed on all four sides. It is inscribed with the names of 60 men who gave their lives in WWI. After WWII a tablet was added to the Memorial, but no names have been added, similarly there is an additional tablet commemorating the conflicts post WWII. The full history of the Warlingham War Memorial may be found here.
The extensive Warlingham Parish Council funded cleaning and renovation of Warlingham’s war memorial on The Green has now been completed; the first such renovation since its erection in 1921.
The work, supervised and managed by Warlingham-based Rowland Brothers, included cleaning and sharpening-up of the carving and a third of the lettering. The biggest challenge was the repair of the soldier’s rifle, which has been broken for 25 years. This required creating a new end for the rifle and attaching it to the remaining barrel.
The War Memorial Trust strictly controlled what work was done, only allowing essential repairs and renovation.
Grants were received from The War Memorial Trust and Surrey County Council Historic Buildings.
Warlingham Community Library
Warlingham Community Library was set up in January 2013 as a partnership between Warlingham Parish Council and Surrey County Council, after the County had stated it would have to close unless the local community stepped forward to run it.
Under the terms of the agreement the Parish Council pays for a professional librarian to manage the library at all times it is open and recruits and coordinates a large cohort of volunteers to support the librarian, which it does via a volunteer co-ordinator. For its part Surrey maintains the building, the computer systems and the book stock, and provides support to the staff so that they can provide a full library service. The Parish Council is also allowed to use the building out of hours for meetings and other suitable activities.
The library has seen an increase in visits and book issues over the years and and the volunteers continue to do displays, events and welcome visits from schools; the Summer Reading Challenge is very successful and inspires children to join the Library and read. Hiring out the library also continues for meetings and other suitable activities
January 2021 saw the 8th anniversary of the CPL It was impossible to celebrate as we would have liked to this year due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, but a huge vote of thanks goes to our volunteers without whom we would not have been able to keep going. Warlingham Community Library is heavily dependent on its volunteers to be able to operate and, with the exception of the initial lockdown in March 2020, the library has remained open for business throughout by offering either a Covid secure environment for browsing or Click & Collect and essential IT services.
Library Refurbishment and Community Hub Project
In early 2023, we outlined our ambition to totally refurbish Warlingham Community Library, bringing it up-to-date with modern furniture and shelving. Our proposal included an expansion of the facilities so that the library can become a community hub too.
The Warlingham Library Masterplan can be viewed here
Increased costs, coupled with available funding at this time, have dictated that not all aspects of the proposal can be completed in one go. So, rather than delay everything, the Council has decided to split the project into two phases, with priority being given to
enhancing the community hub facilities.
Phase 1 will, therefore, consist of all preparatory building works and will take the form of re-decoration and new carpeting throughout, the creation of a private meeting room with conference facilities, a new staff office and reception desk and on-site storage facilities to enable more flexible use of the available library space.
This has all been made possible thanks to funding by Warlingham Parish Council (Community Infrastructure Levy) and Surrey County Councillor Becky Rush (YFS Small Community Fund).
Phase 1 is expected to be completed by mid-2024.
Warlingham’s Appearance
The Parish Council does its best to keep Warlingham looking attractive:
• Bulb planting on School Common, the Common Land opposite Amanos and other suitable locations
• Regular litter picks organised on the Common Land;
• The field at Westhall/Hillbury junction attracts a lot of litter and the hedge is a problem: the occupant is pressed to get the hedge cut back and clear litter on a regular basis.
• Unsightly banners and signs removed
Parks & Open Spaces:
• School Common: bunds installed to stop traveller incursions
• Mint Walk Recreation Ground: formed working group to support residents suffering from ASB; resulting in CCTV installation and strong police engagement.
• New benches in Blanchman’s Community Wildlife Area and Hamsey Green Rec
• Common Land: regular tree surveys undertaken and remedial works done; bins & benches repaired and replaced
• Grants provided to Blanchmans and the Churchyard to help with maintenance costs
Highways:
• Regular reporting of potholes and other highway defects; but Surrey regularly sas there are insufficient funds to do the desired work.
• Crewes Close: one corner widened to stop lorry overruns causing an unsightly mess
• New parking bay installed in Blanchmans Road
• A portable VAS (“vehicle activated sign) is being acquired to deploy at sites around Warlingham where there is a speeding issue
• Snow clearance: the Green cleared by volunteers this Winter as every year. More volunteers are always welcome. Grit bins in several locations purchased and maintained.
• Grass cutting frequency has been reduced by Surrey: we’ve budgeted to pay for extra cuts
Planning
Warlingham Parish Council is a statutory consultee for Warlingham planning applications. The parish council established a planning committee which meets every three weeks to review the applications and make representations to TDC. Objections are lodged where applications are felt to be out of character or un-neighbourly.
The Planning Committee will often refer to the Warlingham Village Design Statement for guidance on appropriate development for Warlingham.
Residents can view all applications on line by going to Tandridge District Council’s planning portal https://tdcplanningsearch.tandridge.gov.uk/. Unfortunately paper plans are currently not available to be viewed in the library as this facility was withdrawn by TDC. However, the parish council is working with TDC to try and restore this facility by buying our own copy of the plans for the library.
Village Events & Community Groups:
• Christmas Lights are partly funded and fully supported: events regularly attract over 4,500 attendees
• Remembrance Sunday: a parish council committee organises this important annual service on The Green. Matting purchased to assist.
• Continue to fund and support the annual Warlingham Walk. Walks leaflets can be found here
• Every Autumn the Parish Council awards grants to organisations working to improve Warlingham’s environment, facilities, economy, security, and community. This year, we have funded:
Communications
• Monthly article in CR6 provides updates on Council activities
• Website provides core information as well as news stories. This is about to be re-launched in a more accessible and attractive format.
• Facebook Page set up and used to publicise important events and activities
• Noticeboard: please do look at the notices