Godstone Village Appraisal Project (GVAP)

Background

• Started in July 2001 with a village wide meeting
• There followed a series of open meetings throughout the autumn of 2001
• January 2002 saw the beginnings of a questionnaire
• In March 2002 the questionnaire was tested on willing volunteers
• April 7^th–21^st 2002 nearly 1200 households were visited twice or sometimes three or even more times
• By early summer it was clear that a splendid 72% return had been achieved.
• This was the largest democratic act held in Godstone and our feelings then, as now, are that villager’s views should not be dismissed lightly.

Action Plan

• September 24^th 2002 was the launch night for Appraisal results.
• Each area was discussed and recommendations made
• Project Groups formed to work on six different aspects of village life and they determined the questions to be asked.
• Crime and Neighbourhood Watch
• Traffic and Parking
• Health and other services
• Communication
• Environment
• Consultation with  South Godstone and Blindley Heath
• Copies of the report were distributed to every household by willing volunteers. This document was an honest reflection of village views and a statistical success for those with that kind of mind. It was well received by residents, councils and all those that took the time to read it.
• Awareness/fundraising events were held to finance the Project. All have been fun, all have been financially successful and all have been jolly hard work for those organising.
• A mailing list of over 100 names has been established – of these some 65% receive regular information by e-mail.
• Success is difficult to gauge when GVAP is working with so many statutory bodies that cannot give a straight answer to a straight question.
• A second mini questionnaire was distributed in June 2003 to establish more information about specific traffic, parking and health issues
• As time marched on with no apparent “big hit” interest waned towards the autumn of 2003.
• A new booklet entitled “One Year On” was published in September 2003. In addition to sharing progress with residents this booklet provided relevant information about a raft of village organisations. Each group reported on activities for the previous year – some had made great progress while others had been held back by outside forces or had faltered through lack of support.
• Following the Forum in November 2003 it was decided to abandon separate Project groups and concentrate efforts through the Steering Group made up of the willing Project Leaders.
• Communication is the key to any project such as this and to this end the Steering Group has decided to report to the village at each Forum meeting and hold at least four awareness events each year.

The Future

• GVAP Steering Group continues to meet on a regular basis and is quietly working on a number of the issues raised by villagers.
• The Steering Group will continue to keep an eye on planning applications affecting all residents. 
• To continue making progress GVAP needs more active volunteers.
• Communication is the key to a successful project. We hope that by keeping villagers informed GVAP can make Godstone an even better place to live.
• It is not easy to eat an elephant but by eating a small piece at a time you would be surprised how it gets smaller and smaller.

Latest
    1.      Surrey Waste Consultation
    2.      White Hart Barn Tea Towels
    3.      Help Control Speeding Vehicles in our Village
    4.      Village Forum 10^th May
    5.      Bulb Planting 23^rd September
    6.      Music Hall in November
    7.      Diary Dates

1. Surrey Waste Consultation
Surrey County Council are preparing their Plan for future Waste Related Activities to meet the local demand and have been looking for sites within the County.  There is consultation process and over a year ago some sites were identified within this area which should be 'safeguarded' for future use including the Godstone Brickworks, Taylors Hill Depot & Whytegate Farm; no indications were given as to whether the sites would be used for landfill, incineration or composting. GVAP submitted on objection to the above sites as well as to the Copyhold site Redhill and land south of Duckpit Wood Oxted on the grounds of an unacceptable increase in heavy goods vehicle traffic through the village. 

Now SCC have issued a consultation about a number of possible additional suitable sites one of which is the Godstone Depot in Oxted Road Godstone, currently used by SCC Highways, which is considered suitable because of its good road links; it is recognised that there are a number of dwellings close to it and also the site is close to and uphill of the Bay Pond Site of Scientific Interest. For details see www.surreycc.gov.uk/waste plan - site assessment 2E.

At a recent Parish Council Meeting, which was due to consider its response to these additional sites, Felicity Gresser on behalf of GVAP asked the Parish Council to object to the inclusion of the Godstone Depot as a safeguarded site in the Waste Plan, however Surrey County Councillor Marian Myland, who was also present, informed the Parish Council that the site was likely to be considered for a waste recycling collection centre, although no decisions by SCC have been made as yet. 

If residents are concerned about such proposals, now is the time to object to the inclusion of the Godstone Depot in the Waste Plan proposals. The date by which objections should be lodged with SCC at County Hall Kingston upon Thames is the 10th April 2006. There is provision for an on-line response. 

2. White Hart Barn Tea Towels

The White Hart Barn can now offer you a limited edition tea towel to send to far off lands, put on the wall or even just to dry up with! They are reasonably priced at £4 and available from Godstone Village Crafts in the High Street. Shipping orders can also be placed with Di Grose by contacting her on 01883 742983

3. Help Control Speeding in our Village
One of the many recommendations made in the Three Villages Report was to control speeding throughout the Parish. To this end the Parish Council, with financial support from South Godstone Resident’s Association, has agreed to purchase a “speed gun kit”. This consists of a radar type gun, reflective jackets etc and training for volunteers. This is where you come in! Terry Tomlinson is organising training for willing volunteers to carry out this work. The time commitment, once trained, will only be a couple of hours a month. This will suit residents who can be available during the day and want to make a difference to our village. If you would like to find out more about what is involved please e mail Terry terence.tomlinson@ntlworld.com or contact the Parish office Tel. 01883 744209. This will only be a success if real people get involved. It’s no use leaving it to someone else – they think you are doing something! 

4.Godstone Village Forum 10^th May, the Endeavour Godstone Green
The last Forum in February was a great success. Very informative reports were given across a range of village issues. Some even got answered on the night. Please book the date for the next Forum now so you can come along and have your say as to how GVAP can assist the Forum going forward. There will be an article in the April edition of Godstone Parish Magazine which asks a number of questions – here’s a taster:

 How can we encourage more of our 2600+ residents to become more involved in our village?
 What’s important that can be tackled? For example, is it speeding? If so, why not volunteer to become a trained Speed Gun operator?
 Or is it parking? Too many cars and too few spaces?
Could your organisation benefit from a joint fundraiser? Or at least be aware of what other groups are doing.
Could your group use the talents of others? If so, in what ways?
Should the Forum be used to ask for volunteers for specific things such as pond clearance or leaflet drops?
 Would your committee/organisation benefit from being more closely allied to the Forum and its resources?

Please give these questions some thought and talk to fellow residents so that on the 10^th May we can have an informed discussion about the key issues facing our village.

5. Bulb Planting North of the Village
This autumn we will once again be inviting residents to come along and help brighten up the village. This time we will be planting bulbs at the top of the village near the entrance to Tylers Close and northwards towards the motorway. Saturday 23^rd September 2006 is the date to put in your diary, which is also the same day as Godstone Fire Station will be holding their open day. The Gardeners Club are already advising Jane Innes (our Project Manager!) and offers of donations and practical assistance are most welcome, even at this early stage. For any new residents, there is a memorial book held in the Parish Office giving details of donations given in 2003. The bulbs planted on Green View, in memory of loved ones, will hopefully be up soon! More details in future updates.

6. Music Hall 17^th and 18^th November 2006
Once again Dai and Brenda Davis have agreed to mastermind this extravaganza for GVAP. More offers of help to take part or assist back stage are needed. Rehearsals will take place in October / November – more details to follow. Please make contact direct on 742393.

7. Diary Dates

Friday 24^th March 1^st Godstone Scout Group Top of the Village Quiz.7.30pm White Hart Barn. For more details contact John Mackintosh 742700
Saturday 25^th March COG Lions Barn Dance St Catherine’s School Bletchingley. There are a few tickets left. (e mail recipients please see attached poster.) If you are interested please contact me and obtain tickets for you.
Saturday 22^nd April “A Celebration of Flanders and Swann”, St Catherine’s School Bletchingley from 7 for 8pm. This stars Gordon Peters (of Dad’s Army, One Foot in the Grave and Little Britain fame) accompanied by David Carter (from Caterham) at the piano. Tickets are £10 from me and transport can be provided for anyone who is unable to get to Bletchingley under their own steam. This promises to be a great evening. All money raised will go to assist those less fortunate than ourselves in the Tandridge area. (poster attached for e mail users.
10^th May Village Forum 7.15pm the Endeavour Godstone Green

If you know of anyone that would like to receive GVAP updates please let me know and conversely if you do not wish to receive these updates in future, likewise let me know. 

• The Appraisal committee continues to organise fund raising events each year to support some of the issues raised by the questionnaire, e.g. planning 1,4000 bulbs on Green View in August 2004
  	For further details or to become involved yourself please get in touch. John Quincey, Chairman GVAP. john.quincey@btinternet.com