Haslemere Vision is delighted to announce the following three winners of the Prize Draw prizes, entered by them on it’s stand at the Charter Fair on 5 May.

• Mrs Dawn Brown won a £30 hamper donated by Haslemere Cellar of West Street, Haslemere.
• Paul Carter won a £30 voucher donated by Waitrose of West Street.
• Caroline Quinn won a £20 voucher donated by The Good Fish Shop of West Street.

Haslemere Vision would like to thank the three Haslemere businesses for their generous support, and also The Haslemere Sweet Shop on the High Street, for its donation of a jar of sweets.

In February 2014 Waverley Borough Council, having listened to representations from Haslemere Town Council, Haslemere Vision and others, withdrew its application to re-surface the Wey Hill Fairground and install the infrastructure for pay-and-display parking at a cost of £342,000. The community now has the chance to state its preference for the future of this important community space. Local residents and organisations are invited to weigh the merits of the alternatives at a public workshop, organised by Haslemere Vision, at the Wey Centre on Saturday June 21st 2014.

The Wey Hill Fairground is registered, under the Commons Registration Act of 1965, as one of only two tracts of common land in the town centre. From the early 20th century it was a green space used for informal recreation until the late 1950s. It was then paved with crushed stone and rough macadam, as it is today. From 1906 an annual fair was held there for over 100 years until the operators declared the site too expensive.

In 1968 ownership of the site transferred from Haslemere Urban District Council to Waverley Borough Council at no cost. Under WBC management, it has, for some years, been used as a free car park divided between commuter and local parking. On Saturdays WBC provides green and household waste collection on the site.

Some question the legality of the present use of the site and argue for it to be returned to its former use as a town green. Others argue that, as the town is so short of off-road parking, the site must continue to be used primarily as a car park, though other compatible uses of the space could be explored. Other proposals, including that recently proposed by the Haslemere Chamber of Trade, envisage creation of a public space or town square combined with a mix of commercial, residential and community premises, with or without the provision of underground parking.

None of these choices are simple. What do you think? If no alternative vision is realised for the space, or no value put on it as a community asset, then WBC will reapply for the designation of the site as a car park and deregister the Fairground from the Commons Register. Come to the Wey Centre from 2-5.30pm on June 21st and help to determine the future.

Look out for next week’s article in which we will discuss our townscape – The look and feel of Haslemere

The rolling hills and affluent market towns of Surrey are among the most expensive real estate in Britain. While the Government’s Help to Buy scheme offers 95 per cent mortgages in an effort to help first-time buyers and second steppers, the upper property value limit of £600,000 won’t stretch far in the swankiest parts of the county.
Virginia Water, for example, reached the milestone this summer of becoming the only area outside London where an average home now costs £1 million or more. But don’t let the eye-watering costs of Surrey’s gated enclaves deter you. Outside of Virginia Water, the footballers’ mansions of Englefield Green and the increasingly oligarch-friendly Wentworth Estate, there are plenty of other options to explore without the need for a seven- figure budget.
HASLEMERE
This market town has become increasingly alluring for London commuters thanks to the opening of Hindhead Tunnel, which has helped with traffic gridlock on the A3 between London and Portsmouth.
As well as being from 49 minutes by train to Waterloo (annual season ticket £4,456) Haslemere is less than an hour’s drive to Heathrow or the south coast, and right on the doorstep of the South Downs National Park which, says Adrian Hardwick, of Keats estate agents, means it is possible to have the best of all worlds. “There are a lot of great facilities in the to~, plus it is really easy to get around.”
The pretty town centre has a good mix of independent and high street shops, cafes and restaurants, plus film, music and theatre at the Haslemere Halls. There are regular festivals (from music to beer) in this community-spirited town, known for its safe, low-crime feel, plus a monthly farmers’ market, and sports clubs from athletics to rugby.
At present the town’s average property price is £459,000, up almost eight per cent in the past year. Chris Hebert, manager of Hamptons International, says £600,000 would buy you a three bedroom, semi-detached house in the centre of town within walking distance of the station.
“The schools in Haslemere are a real draw for those moving out of London,” adds Hebert. “Shottermill first and middle schools and Fernhurst Primary are extremely popular and their catchment areas tend to be tight. From a private, school perspective, The Royal School, Haslemere Prep, Amesbury School and St Edmund’s are attractive options.”
Over the past year the town has started to show signs of a property recovery – not only are prices up but Hebert says the number of applicants is up 51 per cent year on year. Lack of stock, however, is a consideration. “It is not usual to have three families bidding on property,” he says.

All the photographic competition entries are now available for viewing on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.631569416857477.1073741829.617232631624489&type=1&l=f79bcd589f.

Feel free to Like your favourites photographs and while you are there, Like our Facebook page too! facebook.com/HaslemereVision.

Enjoy!

More than 250 local residents from Haslemere and the surrounding area attended the launch event for Haslemere Vision at Haslemere Hall last Saturday April 27^th and learned of  detailed proposals for engaging the whole community in the process of preparing and drafting a neighbourhood plan for Haslemere and the villages that surround it. Of those who attended 216 voted in favour of the proposals and only six against and many volunteered to take an active part in the future planning process.  The Organising Group plans to hold a series of smaller events around Haslemere and the villages seeking further volunteers and explaining  the proposals to the widest possible cross section of the community.

Launch at Haslemere Hall 27th April 2013

During the five hour Haslemere Vision launch at the Haslemere Hall on Saturday  more than 250 local residents studied large scale maps and aerial photographs of the area as well as thought provoking computer generated pictures showing possible future developments for the town and villages. They were invited to post suggestions and comments on future developments they would like to see, to consider the trends that may affect the future of the area and  to add their thoughts on what makes for a good society. They also enjoyed video and film of Haslemere past and present. Visitors were able to study details of the work of the organising committee so far and of  proposals to form a new Haslemere Vision Forum and Steering Group  to take on the process of community engagement and plan preparation in the coming months.  They were asked to vote as to whether or not  they approved of the process so far and  the proposed future process. The results of the votes were: 225 approved of the process so far and 5 did not; 216 voted in favour of the proposed future process while 6 against.

Stewart Brown, chairman of the organising group said “ We are hugely encouraged by what appears to be an emphatic endorsement of our proposals at this first launch event but we will hold a series of smaller events in May and June to reach the widest audience we can before the present organising group disbands  and a new volunteer steering group  is  formed to take on the actual plan preparation process.”    

Minutes from all Haslemere Vision meetings are now available on our website haslemerevision.org.uk/downloads/

Our new website has now gone live! We have been designing our new website to be able to better engage with you and bring you more information about what we are doing for Haslemere and surrounding villages.