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. The Warlingham Green Masterplan incorporating these improvements can be viewed here.
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. The Phase One plan can be viewed here.
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. The latest design drawing can be found here.
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.
Cllr Simon Morrow, Chair of the Project Steering Committee, 30 April 2024.
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