1. LOOKING AHEAD WITH THE CHAIRMAN
2. PUBLICATIONS
3. PLANNING MATTERS
4. JOINT PROGRAMME WITH GODALMING MUSEUM
5. THE LAMMAS LANDS SUPPORT A HIDDEN WORLD
6. A NATURE WALK
7. TRANSPORT ISSUES
8. HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED

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The Godalming Trust will be celebrating its fortieth anniversary in March this year. This is a notable milestone for any institution, and we intend to recognise it in a suitably upbeat way. We are planning, first of all, to organise an exhibition at the Godalming Museum illustrating, with documents and photographs from our archive, both the Trust’s achievements over these four decades and also the major changes in our townscape which have taken place during this period.

In conjunction with the exhibition, we intend to produce a handsome brochure for our members – and prospective members – reminding us of some of the most significant and controversial issues in which the Trust has engaged since its foundation. Both the exhibition and the brochure will be launched at the end of August, and we look forward to welcoming as many members as possible to the Museum at that time.

Shortly after the exhibition opens we shall be organising, in mid-September, an ambitious programme of events as our contribution to the Europe-wide Heritage Open Days weekend. We envisage that our programme will focus special attention on the life and work of four famous people who played a notable part in Godalming life in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: the architect Charles Voysey; the cricketer Julius Caesar; and the composers Ralph Vaughan Williams and Peter Warlock.

Even before these celebratory events take place, we shall be adopting a new constitution which, as you will see from the Minutes of last November’s Annual General Meeting enclosed with this Newsletter, was unanimously endorsed at that meeting, and will, we hope, shortly secure the approval of the Charity Commission which regulates the activities of registered charities.

To a large extent, this revised Constitution is a “tidying up” document which makes few radical changes to the aims and procedures that have governed our affairs satisfactorily since 1965. But it is surely right to have reviewed our rules, and assured ourselves that they remained sound, as we move towards our golden anniversary – and beyond.

More immediately in prospect, as the New Year gets under way, is the next stage in the Trust’s campaign to forestall the approval of an additional storey to the Atrium building now under construction on Woolsack Way. The AGM Minutes record the Executive’s concerns about the potentially profound impact that this building could have on Godalming’s townscape, and I shall not repeat them here.

But I should record why the Executive have thought it right to take the unprecedented (for the Trust) steps to challenge Waverley Executive’s support for the developer’s application to extend the height and bulk of the Atrium: by referring to the Audit Commission the question of the lawfulness of approving a planning application on largely financial grounds, and by complaining to the Standards Board for England of the failure of the Waverley Executive to provide the public and Councillors with key information relevant to proper consideration of the planning application.

We judged that the intervention of these two public authorities was necessary to ensure that this crucial planning decision was thoroughly considered by the Council on appropriate planning grounds.

In our judgement, no planning decision since the relief road scheme in the 1960s has so threatened the character of Godalming town centre; and none has so disregarded the Council’s Local Plan and planning guidelines.

In wishing you all a rewarding New Year, may I repeat my hope that some members of the Trust will be encouraged to write to the Newsletter Editor putting their views on matters on which the Trust is involved. We would very much like to have a page of the Newsletter devoted to members’ letters in the Spring and Summer editions. Please make this your New Year’s resolution!

Alan Brown

P.S. Six months after writing to the Leader of Surrey County Council about the malfunctioning of the retractable bollard designed to restrict the entry of vehicles to the High Street on Saturdays, I have had a reply making much of the difficulties of resolving the technical problems which have dogged this system from the outset (in Godalming and elsewhere) – and promising the “best endeavours” of the County Council to overcome them. Another New Year resolution?

STOP PRESS: At a meeting on Monday 31 January the Waverley Borough Council rejected by a significant majority the application from the developers for a 4/5 storey flat roofed Atrium!

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Sales of our two “walks” booklets have continued well during the past few weeks, with further orders from schools confirming their educational value. Good sales of “A Nature Walk Around Godalming” mean that it is already approaching break-even on the cost to the Trust.

“West Surrey Architecture 1840-2000” moved into profit some time ago, so we have been able to reduce the retail price of this superbly illustrated book to £9.95. All our publications are available from the Museum and Surrey Bookshop in Godalming High Street.

The website too has proved its value over the past few weeks, carrying copies of the letters sent by the Trust to the Audit Commission and to the Surrey Advertiser, and other information on the Key Site issue.

The contacts page has been used to contact the Trust by concerned members of the public, and the publications page has even attracted an enquiry from the United States for a publication! The links page directs viewers to related sites such as the Godalming Museum. In turn, the Museum website gives a simple link to our site.

If you have not tried our website then please have a look at www.thegodalmingtrust.org.uk

Angus Palmer

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David Hope, Chairman of the Planning Sub-Committee, reports:

Our Planning Sub-Committee comments on planning applications to the Godalming Town Council and to Waverley Borough Council in the interests of Godalming as a whole. We also comment on emerging plans, such as the Local Development Framework for Waverley now in preparation. Members are welcome to make their views known to me or to a Committee member, but the Trust cannot be influenced by personal or financial considerations.

UP-DATE ON APPLICATIONS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED

KEY SITE, PHASE 1 – THE ATRIUM, WOOLSACK WAY (WA/2004/1750):- Waverley’s Development Control Committee, meeting in September last year, voted to refuse permission, reversing a prior approval by the Central Area Development Control Sub-Committee. But under the Council’s Standing Orders, certain Councillors then required an ultimate decision to be made by the whole Council. Next, the developer requested postponement, and the Council’s handling of the application was investigated by the District Auditor, as reported by the Chairman in this Newsletter.

The eventual decision will influence the form and scale of subsequent development on the Key Site. An enlarged 4/5 storey flat-roofed Atrium would have a very high residential density for Godalming and a rather forbidding mass – an undesirable precedent. We continue to press for future plans for the rest of the Key Site to be brought into the open for public consultation without further delay.

LADYWELL FARM BUILDINGS (WA/2004/1428):- Revised plans for residential conversion were approved in November 2004. Hopefully, the scheme will be a contender for our next round of Civic Design Awards.

ABBEY NATIONAL PLC, HIGH STREET (WA/2004/1944):- Consent under the planning Advertisement Regulations has again been refused, and we await further action by Waverley’s planners.

GODALMING COLLEGE (WA/2002/1398):- Planning permission for 49 dwellings has been allowed following a public inquiry, and this development is intended to finance a new sports hall and a learning resource centre. Recent plans for the latter (WA/2004/2610) show a pleasing modern design.

8 QUEEN STREET, GODALMING (WA/2003/1833 & 2004/0483):- The 2003 application was dismissed on appeal; the 2004 application was refused. The planning appeal Inspector thought that the restaurant scheme had merits and would conserve a building of interest. But the appeal failed because the applicant wanted an unrestricted A3 (food and drink) use, which could have led to disturbance to residents by binge drinkers.

12 SHADYHANGER (WA/2004/2080):- We did not object to revised plans for a pair of three-storey semis and six flats. However, the application was refused by Waverley in November last year.

NEW APPLICATIONS

GODALMING BUSINESS CENTRE, WOOLSACK WAY (WA/2004/1443 & 1590):- We criticised proliferating air conditioning units on the front of this modern building opposite the Post Office Sorting Office. Waverley investigated, and as the existing units were set up without planning permission over four years ago, they are now immune from enforcement action. Permission has now been granted for six further units!

THE MANOR HOUSE, HUXLEY CLOSE (WA/2004/1480):- We felt that permission for change of use to an unrestricted non-residential training establishment, and hotel able to hold a specified number of functions with music, would be incompatible with the situation of The Manor House in a quiet residential area. A decision is still awaited on a planning appeal (WA/2003/0585) regarding an unrestricted change of use to an hotel.

THE BRAMBLES, OFF TWYCROSS ROAD (WA2004/2683):- We felt obliged to object to a proposed further dwelling because of the problematical implications for woodland which is subject to a Tree Preservation Order and to the Godalming Hillsides Policy in the Waverley Borough Plan. Although the application included a management plan for the woodland, this was supposed to have been implemented 20 years ago when The Brambles application was originally permitted subject to planning conditions imposed to conserve the woodland (WA/1983/1460).

14 CARLOS STREET (WA/2004/2600):- This further application to extend greatly a modest house and convert it into two flats seems as damaging to the character of the house, and potentially to Carlos Street, as the previous scheme which Waverley refused (WA/2004/1482).

LAND AT EASHING FARM, NEW WAY (WA/2004/2707):- We have objected to adding antennae to an existing telecommunications mast – the mast appears prominently on the hillside above the Pepperpot when you look down Godalming High Street.

SKATEBOARD FACILITY, THE BURYS FIELD:- A corner of the field near the car-park has now been concreted over. Planning permission was not required.

PLANNING ENFORCEMENT We have pressed Waverley planners about some unresolved breaches of planning control in the town centre by large multiple businesses or retailers, including Caffe Nero, who either acted first and sought permission (if at all) belatedly, or failed to remove work for which permission had been refused. Waverley’s enforcement staff do their best to resolve cases of unauthorised works or changes of use, but they have been under-resourced. We were pleased, therefore, to hear from John Anderson, the Borough’s Development Control and Policy Manager, that the Executive Committee is making additional resources available for enforcement. A dedicated Enforcement Officer is being recruited, and any future Planning Development Grant received from Central Government will be used towards creating a planning enforcement team.

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Wednesday 2 March: Lecture on the architect Charles Voysey, by Michael Edwards, at St. Hilary’s School, starting 7.30 pm. Tickets at £4 from Godalming Museum.

Sunday 24 April: Visit to Hoe Farm, Hascombe, which has been restored, at 3.00 p.m. Tickets at £3 from Godalming Museum.

Sunday 3 July: Summer Lunch at Vann, near Hambledon, by invitation only.

Tuesday 30 August to Saturday 17 September An exhibition at Godalming Museum celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Godalming Trust.

Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September Heritage Open Days.

Wednesday 28 September: Annual General Meeting of the Godalming Trust.

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Sarah Henderson, Countryside Ranger for The Waverley Borough Council, explains the management of this Site of Nature Conservation Importance.

As a salient feature of Godalming, the immediate appeal of the Lammas Lands lies with their impressive visual impact. However, the seemingly uniform meadows support a hidden world.

The Lammas Lands are rich in wildlife and have been designated as a Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI) and a Local Nature Reserve. They are home to plants that thrive on wet moist ground, and these support many insects, some of which are nationally and locally rare – for example, a white-faced bee and a number of beetles which are associated with the River Wey. The area also supports a wide range of bird life including snipe, reed bunting and kingfisher.

Grazing has always been essential to the management of the Lammas Lands, and with the help of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, Waverley Borough Council has been able to graze the land more sympathetically. Having fewer cattle grazing the land increases the structural and botanical diversity of the area, allowing more plants and grasses to flower, which in turn encourages a greater number of insects and birds. For example, whilst snipe are present they do not breed on site because the past grazing intensity deprived them of cover. However, fewer cattle means that areas of taller vegetation are left for this rare ground nesting bird.

There is much more to the management of the Lammas Lands than balancing the grazing levels. There is also the constant battle against invasive species, which are a problem as they threaten the botanical diversity of the site. We are making some progress with the ragwort which is also poisonous to cattle. But the bigger challenge is in controlling the non-native Himalayan Balsam which is rapidly marching along Hell Ditch.

If you would like to help with the management of the Lammas Lands please contact me on 01483 423081.

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Sarah Henderson was joint author with her colleague Denise Roffey of A Nature Walk Around Godalming, published by the Godalming Trust last year as a companion volume to the Trust’s town guide – Two Historical Walks in Godalming.

The 24-page booklet illustrated by 36 line drawings prepared by botanical illustrator Gwyneth Fookes, one of which is shown opposite, was edited by Clare Windsor, former Publications Officer for the Surrey Wildlife Trust.

Published with financial support from Waverley Borough Council, the booklet maps out a circular walk along the River Wey, starting at the Parish Church and taking about 3 hours with the option of a shorter 1½ hour walk. Copies are available from Godalming Museum and Surrey Bookshop at £1.95.

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I really do not have very much to report since the last Newsletter. I had hoped, over the Christmas period, to talk to rail users to find out how the new SW Trains timetable was working. Unfortunately, the former train users I had planned to ask had resorted to using motor transport before it was introduced. Perhaps any members who use SW Trains regularly could let me have comments about how it is working, or not, and we can have something in the next Newsletter.

You will have seen the Chairman’s Postscript in which he reports that he has finally had a reply to his letter concerning the failure of the rise and fall bollard to exclude traffic from Godalming High Street on Saturdays. It is disappointing that this system has not worked with any degree of consistency since summer 2003, and somewhat hampers the Trust’s idea to investigate whether there is any support to extend the scheme. Another disappointment is the failure to implement the Decriminalised Parking Enforcement by Surrey County and Waverley Borough Councils. The Godalming Community Group has produced a draft report, following consultation with residents and businesses in the town, looking at ‘the way forward’, which will be presented to the various Councils in due course.

Personally, I believe that the inability of the Councils to show commitment to maintaining the effective operation of pedestrianisation and to enforce parking restrictions in Godalming is spoiling the town. The footpaths and roadway are also poorly maintained, portraying a shabbiness and lack of pride in our town. The Trust campaign to “Smarten up Godalming” with regard to litter, vandalism, graffiti, untidy public open spaces, dereliction, pollution and road congestion was successful, but the fabric of the town centre itself now needs some attention.

Pam Talbot

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A Personal View

By David Coombs

At many times and in many ways, I find myself admiring the present chairman and committee of the Trust. Their joint and individual commitment is one thing, quite another is the variety of professional skills they possess and use so effectively in so many different ways.

Take the Atrium for example. For me as a relative outsider these days, the whole thing is beginning to smell, and none too pleasantly either. Quick as a flash, or so it seems, the Trust’s committee referred the matter to the District Auditor, who is charged, if I’m right, with the duty of investigating the financial affairs and activities of local authorities.

More or less at the same time and coincidentally or not, one of our future parliamentary candidates approached the relevant Ombudsman over the same matter.

These various powerful and entirely modern procedures set me thinking. In days of yore there would have been no thought of any form of residential development at the Wharf, which was then an industrial area. Nor did the idea of a Key Site exist in planning terms – with all that this suggests in terms of controlling overall character as well as individual buildings within a development.

That reminded me of another major change – the idea of conservation areas. None of these existed when the Trust began, and I was startled to notice in a recent national publication, Heritage Counts 2004, that now there are no less than 233 in Surrey alone.

The idea of listing buildings has been around for longer, but they were not so fiercely protected. Not only were the regulations minimal, there were no Historic Buildings Officers to enforce them and, not least, public opinion was often neutral at best, sometimes hostile at worst.

Nonetheless, even in retrospect, I still find it surprising, for example, that the Trust had to mount a fierce campaign in about 1970 against a proposal to demolish Lutyens’ Red House on Frith Hill. We had to take on not only the owner but the old Godalming Council and even Surrey County Council itself. Luckily we were supported by the Victorian Society, but it was a close-run thing.

At one stage in the course of this long battle, the Trust decided to set up an independent housing association which we were convinced would be able to fund and manage successfully a large historic building like The Red House – to the overall benefit of the community. This ran counter to the widespread view that Lutyens’ Red House was not only ugly, but too large and expensive to restore and so redundant.

David Coombs is President of The Godalming Trust of which he was a founding member and long-time Chairman.

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Newsletter edited by Derek Watson. Designed and Typeset by Karen Bryant. Adapted for the website by Angus Palmer.