Public Meeting at 7pm on 22nd June: The Neighbourhood Development Plan is now progressing towards the formal community consultation which is planed for the end of june. A hard copy of the draft plan will be sent to all householders in the Parish for a 6-week consultation. The plan will also be available online. The Steering Group and Parish Council recognise that this will form an important part of the process leading up to the formal submission of the plan to Mole Valley District Council and a subsequent submission to The Planning Inspectorate prior to a referendum later in the year. To ensure everyone understands the content of the draft plan and how to respond, a public meeting will take place at Capel Memorial Hall on Wednesday 22nd June starting at 7pm. The plan will be explained with the aid of a Power Point presentation and copies of the response form will be provided as a guide in advance of the publication of the draft plan. The purpose of the meeting will be to explain the draft plan but not to debate its content at that stage.

Ongoing complaints about dog mess on Capel Recreation Ground are receiving weekly. It is nasty stuff to get on your shoes and it can be dangerous to children. Anyone walking their dog and not carrying a bag to pick up their dog’s mess can be fined on the spot. If you walk your dog in the dark, please take a torch so you can clear up the mess. CCTV cameras are being sourced currently in response to vandalism of structures on the Recreation Ground and other illegal activities.

If you have any problems with aircraft noise from the new Gatwick flight path you may register your complaint during the current 6-month consultation period by emailing Gatwick Airport. noise.line@gatwickairport.com or calling Freephone 0800 393 070.

Mrs Lesley Bignell

Clerk to Capel Parish Council

01306 712447

capelpcc@btconnect.com

Good news for everyone in Capel who uses the pub and has been concerned about its future. The Area Manager has confirmed that the pub will be closing for refurbishment the second week of July and will open again some time in August. The work will involve a new kitchen and improvements both inside and outside, including the garden area. When it reopens there will be a full food menu and full offering of ales and drinks. The pub is being taken into the fully managed estate of punch Taverns and a new Manager will be running the pub when it reopens.

The Parish Council is currently investigating the possibility of installing a CCTV camera at Capel playground which was set on fire recently for the second time. It is very expensive to repair the safety surface and although insurance covers most of the cost there is still an excess to pay from Parish funds.

Traffic aiming is still on the agenda and professional advice is currently under consideration to help the Parish Council decide what can be done to make the roads safer in the villages.

Mrs Lesley Bignell

Clerk to Capel Parish Council

01306 712447

capelpc@btconnect.com

The new Capel Parish Office and Community Hall are now open and ready for use.  If you would like to book the Hall, please call Hall Bookings on 01306 71 1292.

The Annual Residents Meeting took  place in the new Parish Community Hall and was very well attended on Monday  14 March. The Chairman of the Parish Council gave her report on the year’s activities and thanked everyone who had contributed to refurbishment of the building as well as all the other activities within  the Parish during the year, including all the Parish Councillors, the Clerks, the community volunteers, as well as all those involved in helping with the Neighbourhood Development Plan. There followed  an update on the Henry Smith Charity  voucher scheme and a report about

Capel Assist which is being set up by volunteers to help people get to hospital and doctors

appointments when they cannot drive themselves. A short report on crime statistics for the year was given by the local PCSO and an explanation about organisational changes from  I April.   An update about Capel Youth Club was given and it is hoped this will start again very soon when enough youth workers  and volunteers  have come forward. A plea was made for more  volunteers  to help with a few hours occasionally so that the Youth Club can start up again as soon as possible.

MRS LESLEY BIGNELL

Clerk  to Capel Parish Council

01306 712447 capelpc@btconnect.com

By the time this issue of the magazine is published the Neighbourhood  Plan Sites Meeting will have been held at Beare Green Community Hall on 26 January to enable residents of Capel, Beare Green, and Coldharbour to view site proposals received and to give their comments. There is a link to the Neighbourhood Plan on the Parish Council’s website  www.capel-pc.gov.uk for anyone who has been unable to get to the meeting to view the proposals and to give their feedback. It is essential that as many residents as possible get involved and give their views because the Neighbourhood Plan can only become a reality if the required majority of residents vote for it in a referendum later this year. 2016 will indeed be a very unusual year for democracy with the national referendum about our membership of the EU taking place as well as the local referendum on the Neighbourhood Plan. As we have seen, other countries have referenda at the drop of a hat, while in England we are far more restrained about these matters!

Following the last issue of the magazine, a Parish councillor attended a briefing about the changes to Surrey’s police service.  There are not going to be a lot of cutbacks but there is going to be a lot of reorganisation within Surrey Police. The local Inspector will have a bigger team but officers will not be allowed to specialise in one particular area. Training will be given to officers to enable them to respond to a wider variety of incidents, so policing will continuing to be reactive rather than proactive.

The good news is that 2 new scramble bikes have been purchased by the Police to add to the 2 bought by the Parish Council and officers will be trained in their use, although the know-how  of the dedicated police officer previously assigned to off road duties in the Surrey Hills area may be lost as he has been reassigned.  PCSOs will no longer attend Parish meetings but crime statistics will be provided.  The chairman of the Parish Council will attend a further briefing in February and an update will appear in the March issue.

Further good news, a new defibrillator has arrived and been installed on the wall of the new Parish Office and Community Hall, which is behind the Capel Memorial Hall.  If you haven’t had training yet you can sign up for it.  Even without training, the machine is very easy to use and guides you every step of the way so there is no chance of “shocking” anyone by accident.

MRS LESLEY BIGNELL

Clerk to Capel Parish Council

01306 712447

capelpc@btconnect.com

At the meeting of the Parish Council on Monday 16th November there was an update on the progress of the Neighbourhood Development Plan following 3 local public meetings which were held recently in Beare Green, Capel and Coldharbour. The next public meeting about the Neighbourhood Plan for all 3 villages will be held on Tuesday 26th January 2016 at 7pm in Beare Green Village Hall and all are welcome. There was a discussion about all the traffic calming measures that might be introduced in Capel and it was suggested that enquiries be made to see if a traffic consultant could give advice about the most effective things that can be done to improve safety.

Mrs Lesley Bignell

Clerk to Capel Parish Council

01306-712447

capelpc@btconnect.com

At the meeting of Capel Parish Council on 19th October Inspector Hamlin attended with the latest crib figures. There have been 15 minor offences since the last meeting. 7 in Capel and 8 in Beare Green. He confirmed the attendance of Chris Cannon at all the Neighbourhood Plan meetings being held in October and November to discuss road safety matters. Leaflets on other safety matters where produced and these will be distributed to groups in the Parish.

The Chairman Mandy Schryver said that on the evening of Saturday 17th October there had been vandalism at the Capel Playground when youths had set fire to the playground surface. Two youths wearing hoodies and riding bikes had been seen riding away from the scene. The fire brigade were called to put out the fire. Although the damage was small in area it will be expensive to repair.

Paula Dale had attended a MVDC Bike Forum at Dorking on behalf of the Parish Council where cyclists and residents and horse riders were represented. She said there was a danger to horse riders emerging from bridle paths onto the roads where cyclists are racing and suggested they be made aware of the bridle paths before starting their races. Each group made their presentation and this was followed by a mainly polite question and answer session. Inspector Hamilin said nothing can be done to prevent cycle clubs holding races on public roads but suggested better advance warning information could be provided to communities.

Mrs Lesley Bignell 

Clerk to Capel Parish Council

01306 712447

capelpc@btconntect.com

On the 9th December Mole Valley District Council agreed that the preparation of the HOUSing and Traveller Sites Plan be terminated.

In order to fulfil our wider planning responsibilities, including the protection of our Green Belt, the Council takes the preliminary steps necessary to prepare a new Local Plan in line with the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework.

Several events have occurred which have led the Council to this decision.

The first concerns the possibility that the proposed Plan would not be found sound by a Planning Inspector. This concern has been triggered by what we have seen happen to similar plans to ours. Planning Inspectors have been taking the view that housing numbers in local plans should be based on an assessment of needs, rather than figures taken from now revoked Regional Plans. The figure Mole Valley was working towards was taken from the revoked South East Plan and we are concerned that if we were to submit the Housing and Traveller Sites Plan for examination it would not get past a Planning Inspector.

Secondly. the HOUSing and Traveller Sites Plan would almost certainly have proposed some land being taken out of the Green Belt and allocated for housing development. Recent statements by Secretary of State Eric Pickles about the Green Belt have emphasised the Government’s view that when planning for new bUildings, protecting the Green Belt must be paramount and priority given to brownfield sites.

We also know from our consultation and engagement with local communities that there is a strong body of opinion that is opposed to any loss of Green Belt land for new homes.

Finally, we have seen an increase in the number of homes in Mole Valley that have been granted planning permission and the number in the pipeline is also healthy. This has reduced significantly the amount of land that might have been required. It also strengthens our ability to resist development in inappropriate locations.

These issues have resulted in the Council deciding to terminate work on the proposed Housing and Traveller Sites Plan. However we are mindful of the Government’s requirement that local planning authorities prepare local plans to provide clarity about where and what type of development will and will not be permitted in the future. Therefore the Council will shortly need to embark on the preparation of a new Local Plan that will not only address the need to provide new homes but will also look at all the other issues we face, including jobs, infrastructure and safeguarding the environment of Mole Valley.

Jackie Coke

Clerk to the Council 01306 712447 email capelpc@btconnect.com