ENVIRONMENT

These are comments put forward by members of the public at the formal Launch of the Healthcheck held on 15^th January 2003. The “dots” figure indicate that the suggestion was agreed with by that number of people.

Likes	Dislikes/Improvements
Haslemere Hall Museum – successfully developing The Edge 3 dots The Herons with some reservations Improvement of Crown and Cushion corner	Recycling – better range, e.g. plastics 7 dots
Proposed South Downs National Park including Western Weald to Surrey Border 1 dot	Somewhere for teenagers to socialise
Hope we can keep (and improve services) at hospital in Haslemere 10 dots	Vacant shop units 1 dot Irresponsible landlords
There is an opportunity for a trans‑Haslemere cycle route/bridleway starting near Sturt Farm House 5 dots	Too much litter Piece‑meal development 1 dot Not enough area planning
Good management of Surrey Hills by SHO	Street clutter 1 dot XS road signage
Heathland restoration projects by National Trust; Lynchmere Society and others	Close existing A3 when tunnel built to enable National Trust land to join up and provide wonderful environment for walking etc
Town Meadow improved but still not sure drainage okay 1 dot	Over‑development – we are building even more houses than required by the H4 plan; over‑development is changing the character of our town
Like – let’s improve it	Could we try for a walk through the old Concours site to Swan Barn and the walks which lead to Chiddingfold or to Blackdown Georgian guests would love it (like Charter Walk)
There is plenty of parking – let’s avoid more tarmac	Can we have some palm trees?
Excellent for open spaces; plenty of trees; street clutter okay if necessary	Improve area from Lower Street to Weyhill 2 dots

Likes	Dislikes/Improvements
Praise the National Trust Wardens – they are doing a wonderful job (reducing the number of trees) 1 dot	Chop down the high‑rise planters 1 dot
Improved design of Weyhill; street paviours, street furniture, trees	Keep character of town – high density housing a future problem because of housing pressures from Government
Good walks Cycling for the energetic 2 dots Beautiful countryside	Concentrate on town centre enhancements instead of concentrating on countryside
	Stop proposed de‑listing of Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (due to proposed National Park) 1 dot
	Parks for children aged between 9 and 15 years of age - the local parks only cater for young children under 7
	Support traditional local crafts/industries, i.e. using local resources – hazel, willow, chestnut
	Plant trees to screen the railway
	As the Haslemere Health Check is to enable the survival and success of “market towns” and to ensure that local communities have a “proper input” into Council decisions, how much change can we expect to see as a result of Waverley’s policy of allowing infill development in gardens, potentially on an unprecedented scale? This will, if it is not strenuously resisted, affect adversely: · residential amenity; · traffic congestion; · parking and local services all part of the Health Check’s remit
	The shrub land between the railway car park and Lower Street from the taxi office to the car park exit; that lands needs to be cleared of rubbish 1 dot

Likes	Dislikes/Improvements
	Number of empty shops – frequency of change of business in shops 3 dots
	Overcome the Gibbs Trust 11 dots
	Locality Office, as the public face of Waverley, in the town looks very scruffy outside; what is the point of that fencing?
	Surrey County Council should pass care of the verges to Waverley Borough Council so that the leaves may be swept from the verges as well as the pavements. It is quite ridiculous to clean the streets and have them dirtied by the next puff of wind – in addition to blocking the drains 1 dot
	Differential between Haslemere Town and Weyhill – smarten Weyhill, Beacon Hill etc. Lion Lane (Surrey County Council) renew surface and equal up humps which are causing damage to cars 1 dot
	Pelican/zebra crossings for: 1. Woolmer Hill School 2. Lower Street 6 dots 3. Three Gates Lane and High Street
	Why do we need a betting shop in a prime position, i.e. Charter Walk? Surely we should be attracting interesting and good shops 7 dots
	Link to Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Management Strategy (Haslemere should let the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty know its needs)
	Can part of the Town Meadow become a nature/pond area?
	Drains – Weyhill – flooding

Likes	Dislikes/Improvements
	Clean up and police the Town Meadow after dark
	Fly tipping 4 dots
	Better recycling facilities – more recycling collections, e.g. glass, garden rubbish, cans etc collected for residences 10 dots
	Car parking at hospital chaotic and inadequate. ? concrete all the grass around it for parking !! 20 dots
	Better access to commons – Haste Hill no proper paths; very overgrown Improve access to town woodlands with decent paths clear and even; replant poor areas, i.e. Sandrock Haslemere will be “gateway” to South Down National Park – “promote”
	Some public byways in very bad repair – path from Recreation Ground down to Valewood is almost impassable especially on horseback (dangerous ditch caused by rain water) 1 dot
	Public footpaths poorly signposted – lots of walkers get lost 3 dots
	Footpath officer needed – set up by Town Council; this will keep to ensure footpaths do not disappear 6 dots
	New Local Plan (Waverley Borough Council); Green Belt threats; density of dwellings
	New Library Probe further how other towns have obtained funding support for a purpose‑built library, e.g. Epsom 19 dots

Likes	Dislikes/Improvements
	Widen and improve the footpath between Somerfield Car Park and Town Meadow; it’s useful but unattractive
	Improvements to access onto local footpath and bridleway network Provision of horse margin (and walker margin on main roads 286, 283 etc (e.g. Holdfast Lane to Lythe Hill Hotel)
	Lack of street cleaning 9 dots
	Improve protection and wildlife value of existing green spaces 1 dot
	Periodic voluntary community clean‑up pick‑up 2 dots
	Let’s have a Waitrose 5 dots
	Fill the empty shops and lower the rates 1 dot
	Reduce and harmonise street furniture clutter, e.g. car park signage
	Put parking charge on Tesco car park Get rid of the traffic lights at Tesco and ease congestion on the A287 Get rid of Tesco! 14 dots
	Clean up dogs mess and broken glass; lots of each on our pavements
	Stop the destruction of our Victorian and Edwardian housing heritage in Haslemere (especially on Weydon Road) 3 dots No more apartment blocks
	Collect domestic refuse on same day each week for whole year 2 dots

Likes	Dislikes/Improvements
	Suggestion: in America, when driving, one sees signs like ‘This road is kept tidy by the, say, local Scouts, WI etc!’ Could a similar scheme be started for country lanes, bridleways etc in our area?
	Redevelop the Somerfield car park as a town square (and car park) with inward facing shops and trees 6 dots

cex/file2/445