There is a Christmas Market at Pirbright on Wednesday 1st December which is being organised by the local Army Welfare Service (AWS). They are holding a Christmas Shopping Bonanza – with the opportunity to get your Christmas gifts and help raise funds for helping local families of serving troops.

The event will be held at the Jubilee Centre, Billesden Road, Pirbright GU24 0PL, from 1.00 pm till 7.00 pm.  Admission for Adults is £ 1.00 and includes a glass of Mulled Wine and a Mince Pie.

You can find out more about the event by calling Finola Pickwell 
on 01483 798296
or email her at
cdw-aws@armymail.mod.uk

Background to the fundraising for ‘Army Welfare Service’.
One of the main sources of support available to Army personnel and
their families is through the Army Welfare Service (AWS). It offers important welfare support service for servicemen and women and their families, wherever they are located. They help families to settle in
to new surroundings when there are postings; support families during periods of separation; offer advice and help on housing and health,
schools  and childcare and other aspects of life that forces families may face. Funds raised from this Christmas Market will help in the work that AWS does at Pirbright Camp.

Surrey Police is appealing for anyone who may have seen a serious assault on a young couple in the Sythwood Park area of Woking to contact officers with any information they might have.

The assault happened at around 5pm on Wednesday, 6 October when an 18-year-old student and a 15-year-old girl were making their way across the football pitch in Sythwood Park. A group of youths in the park attempted to kick a beer can at the couple and verbally abused them as they passed by. One member of the group pulled the girl’s school bag from her shoulder and tipped out its contents onto the ground, urinated on the bag and then set fire to it.

The schoolgirl’s boyfriend phoned police and following this activity two of the gang set upon the victim, punching him to the face. The teenager fell and the suspects continued to punch and kick him on the ground. The victim’s girlfriend tried to pull the offenders away but was then attacked herself and was pushed down to the floor.

As a result of the assault the 18-year-old suffered a broken jaw and the 15-year-old suffered slight cuts and bruises.

Cara Jowett investigating said: “This was a totally unprovoked attack in broad daylight on a young couple who were just going about their everyday business, making their way home after school. It was a vicious assault which led to serious facial injuries and Surrey Police will not tolerate this type of brazen violence in our neighbourhoods.

“I am asking anyone who may have been in the vicinity at the time of this despicable offence to contact officers with any information – there are a number of local people who use the area for dog walking and there may well have been people in the locality who use the route to walk home at the end of their working day.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Surrey Police on 0845 125 2222 quoting reference WK/10/7283. Alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously and free of charge on 0800 555 111.

Two 17-year-old youths from the Woking area are currently on bail pending further enquiries. They are due back to report back at Guildford police station on Thursday, 4 November 2010

Following the huge success of last year’s event the “Steam Trains & Fair Organs Oktoberfest” will be taking place on Sunday October 17^th from 12 noon to 5pm in the grounds of the Mizens Railway, Barrs Lane, Knaphill.

This local day out with a difference will offer not only the chance to enjoy rides on the mile long 7 ¼ in gauge miniature steam railway but also to see and hear some magnificent vintage mechanical fairground organs which will be attending as part of a unique festival. Up to six different instruments will be playing throughout the day around the site.

This fairground organ festival attracts “enthusiasts” from far and wide.  Last year saw visitors travelling from as far away as Cornwall and Scotland. There was also a contingent of visitors from Holland who had made the journey specially to attend.

One of the antique mechanical organs this year will itself be on a first time visit to the UK and its owner is travelling from his home in Munich, Germany with the organ specially to attend the event.  This is a local event which is fast becoming one that is famous internationally among devotees of these mechanical musical masterpieces from the past.

To add to the atmosphere all the trains in service on this special day will be hauled by steam locomotives.  The sights and sounds of the old time organs combined with the whistles from the steam engines and the aroma of steam coal and hot oil should prove quite a nostalgic cocktail for the senses.

With an old time children’s fun fair, crafts stalls and demonstrations, an authentic Oktoberfest style Bockwurst food stall and a beer tent provided by The Garibaldi Pub to complete the scene, there will be something for all the family.  There is free parking on site and facilities for the disabled.

Admission £1.00 per person. A Souvenir Programme will also be available to purchase.

For more information and to view some great photographs taken at last year’s Oktoberfest go to www.mizensrailway.co.uk and click on “programme 2010”.  Under the Oktoberfest heading is a link to two sets of great photos which capture the atmosphere of last year’s event.
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Sincere thanks to Paul Kirrage for organising this unique event and to Mizens Railway for hosting it at their beautiful site in Knaphill.

Photographs reproduced by kind permission of Paul Kirrage & Ron Dewar (Mizens).

Wednesday 4th August – Submit your comments to Woking Borough Council.If you wish to make comments on the Sainsbury’s Extension Plan (PLAN/2010/0600)
we suggest you submit them direct to the Case Officer, James Hutchison by email:
james.hutchison@woking.gov.uk

Several KRA members have reported to us that the facility to ‘Submit Comments’ via the Plan on the Woking Borough Council (WBC) website is ‘not working’, ‘not letting me add a comment’. The difficulty in using this facility has been acknowledged by WBC’s IT Department and it is apparently going to be updated over the coming months. But until the access is made simpler and easier, this is yet another flaw in WBC’s ‘Statement of Community Involvement’ (SCI). How will the Council know what local people’s views are on Planning Applications if we cannot easily submit them.

Recently Knaphill residents who live close to the Sainsbury’s Store received a letter from Sainsbury’s advising them that a Planning Application to extend the Brookwood (Knaphill) Store was to be submitted to Woking Borough Council. That application has now been made and details of the proposals posted on the Council’s website.
http://caps.woking.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_searchresults.aspx

Then you need to key in the Application Reference : PLAN/2010/0600

There is growing concern in the village about how an application for a development of this size and nature can be submitted without Sainsbury’s giving the local community an opportunity to properly understand or be adequately consulted. The KRA feels that there needs to be far greater openness, a full process of consultation with the people of Knaphill and clearer community involvement in the planning process.

Questions are being raised on matters like:
How large will the extended store be?  What types of goods will the extended store sell? What will happen to Knaphill Village if Sainsbury’s grows even bigger? What about the extra cars and traffic?

Now that fuller details of the development are emerging, a number of more specific issues are also starting to raise concern:

Noise – the application will generate more cars, more lorries and more service yard activity and a new area of car parking is proposed immediately adjacent to existing houses in Hampton Close. However, Sainsbury’s have not produced a report which assesses the noise impact on neighbouring residents.

Retail Impact – it would appear that Woking Borough Council has not asked Sainsbury’s to submit a full “retail impact assessment” that would demonstrate how this development could affect existing businesses within the village and adjoining areas.

Loss of Trees – the application appears to involve the felling of a large number of established trees within the existing car park.

Traffic – the application appears to suggest that the additional traffic generated by the store will result in traffic problems on the A322 and that a road widening scheme is required to deal with this.

How can an application for a development of this size and nature be submitted without Sainsbury’s giving the local community of Knaphill an opportunity to properly understand or be adequately consulted.

To live up to its ‘Statement of Community Involvement’ KRA feels that Woking Borough Council should arrange for The Vyne Community Centre in Knaphill to be available at convenient times during the next few weeks and invite Sainsburys to put a full  display, exhibition, with models, plans and detailed information about the Sainsbury’s expansion;  followed by a full period of consultation and discussion and a Public Meeting where all points of view can be expressed.