Cobham Heritage

Cobham Heritage Open Meeting - Wed 20th June 2018 8pm

Cobham Heritage will be having their next open meeting on Wednesday 20th June 2018 at the Cobham Village Hall, Lushington Drive, Cobham, Surrey, KT11 2LU at 8pm, we shall be discussing the following:

Councillor James Browne who has recently assumed the planning portfolio at EBC will be talking about the timetable for the local plan and the implications for all of us.
David Bellchamber will be sharing with us the implications of the dismissal of the appeals of Wisley and Drakes Park. He will also say a word about the Community Garden.
Elizabeth Kennedy will talk about how her plans for Heritage Day are coming along.

We do hope you will come and join us and share a drink and nibbles afterwards.

Members and non-members welcome.

Three Farms Meadows/Former Wisley Airfield Development Appeal Dismissed

We are very pleased to report that the Secretary of State has dismissed the appeal by the developers who want to build over 2000 houses on Green Belt land on the former Wisley Airfield site also known as Three Farms Meadows.

The original application made by the developers in April 2016 was refused by Guildford Borough Council.

The developers appealed and the planning proposal went to the Planning Inspectorate. The planning appeal hearing took place in September 2017 where interested parties were able to take part. The Cobham Conservation & Heritage Trust took part as a Rule 6 party, entitling it to cross-examine the developers witnesses. Other local interest groups including the Wisley Action Group (WAG) and Parish Councils, appointed barristers to further the case against. After the four week hearing the Inspector upheld Guildford's decision.

The developer appealed once more and the development was sent to the Secretary of State. After much deliberation the appeal has been dismissed today (13 June 2018) by the Secretary of State.

It will be interesting to see what effect this may have on the proposed Guildford Local Plan which is currently being examined by the Planning Inspectorate, the result of which is expected in July 2018.

Wisley Airfield Developers map

February & May 2018 Newsletter Diary Dates Correction

An error has been spotted in the "Diary Dates 2018" section of our February and May 2018 editions of the printed Newsletter sent out to members.

Please note the dates for the Cobham Heritage Open Meetings should read:-

Wed 26th Sept 2018 at 8pm		CCHT Open meeting at the Cobham Village Hall, Lushington Drive, Cobham
Wed 12th Dec 2018 at 8pm		CCHT Open meeting at the Cobham Village Hall, Lushington Drive, Cobham

Local Children sow Poppy seeds at the Avenue of Remembrance

Children sow Poppy and Wildflower seeds at the Avenue of Remembrance On Tuesday 24th April 2018 over 30 children from St Andrews, St Matthews, Royal Kent and Cobham Free Schools sowed poppy and wildflower seeds around the beautiful new blossoming cherry trees on the Avenue of Remembrance in Cobham.

Both the cherry trees and poppies will maintain the memory of those Cobham men who fell in the Second World War. The children were supported in this task by Elmbridge Leisure Services and Cobham Conservation & Heritage Trust, and had a wonderful time raking in the seeds. Their teamwork was impressive and the children and parents expressed pride to be involved with a project the results of which will be appreciated by Cobham residents, and those driving through, for years to come.

Re-dedication of the Avenue of Remembrance, Cobham

Despite the rain more than 120 Cobham residents attended the re-dedication of the Avenue of Remembrance on Sunday 8th April 2018.

The Avenue of Remembrance is an important memorial to those who lost their lives during WWII and lived in and around Cobham.

A community initiative to restore the Avenue of Remembrance Cherry Trees in Cobham was launched by Elmbridge Borough Council and local organisations in September 2017. The much-loved and admired memorial was originally created and dedicated in 1946 by the Cobham Womens’ Institute who planted the cherry trees in commemoration of local service people who lost their lives in WWII.

Over the last 70 years the avenue had lost its impact, due to some trees becoming diseased, and replacement trees not thriving. A consultation carried out with Cobham and Stoke D’Abernon community in September 2017 highlighted a wish to restore the avenue to its former glory.

A recommendation to renew the Avenue of Remembrance to protect it for the future was approved by Elmbridge Borough Council who also financed the project. Works started in earnest in February 2018, culminating in a "Topping Out" ceremony on 15 February to mark the planting of 46 Cherry trees to replace the original ones. The replacement trees were grown by Barcham Trees from Cambridgeshire. They are now in place to mark the centenary of the end of WW1, and will hopefully be fully mature for the WWII centenary commemorations in 2039-2045.

This project is a fantastic testament to the dedication and commitment of local organisations to look after and nurture their environment, in partnership with the Borough Council. The organisations involved in this initiative are Cobham Cedar Club Women’s Institute, Royal British Legion Cobham Branch, Cobham Conservation and Heritage Trust, Cobham and Downside Residents’ Association, Stoke D’Abernon Residents’ Association and St Andrew’s Church Cobham, together with other churches in the area.

View the photo gallery View the re-dedication programme

Successful CIL funding application for three footpath projects

Footpath Sign We are delighted to report that in February 2018 the Trust was successfully awarded CIL (Communities Infrastructure Levy) funding by Elmbridge Borough Council for three footpath projects. The three footpaths are:

A new footpath on Leigh Hill Road, which will join Leigh Corner and Leigh Place
A new all weather footpath along the north side of Downside Common
Improvements and repairs to the footpath that borders Knowle Hill Park (behind Lodge Close).

In total we have been awarded almost £50,000 and the Trust will be topping this up with another £9000. We will be working with Elmbridge Borough Council and Surrey County Council to implement the works and hope to be able to complete the improvements over the summer of 2018.

Latest News

Welcome

The Cobham Conservation and Heritage Trust (CCHT) was relaunched in November 2005 from the Cobham Conservation Group. You can find out more about the Trust on the About Us page.

We hope you enjoy exploring our website and find the information interesting and stimulating and if you are not already a member that this will spur you on to join and support us. Click on the Membership menu for more details.

Become a Volunteer with Cobham Heritage

The Cobham Conservation and Heritage Trust is a local charity which relies on vounteers to help run the Trust, promote local history and conservation issues and organise fund raising events such as our annual Cobham Heritage Day. If you think you might like to join us, visit our Volunteer Vacancies page to find out which roles you might like to get involved with. We always try to make it fun.

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