myKnaphillWhat a great show!
The excitement of the annual Knaphill Village Show is over again for another year. But what a year it was! Our 10th anniversary event brought out the biggest crowds we have ever seen, and even the weather behaved itself.
I’ve got to admit that as the time was drawing near, the weather forecast was looking decidedly dodgy, and the KRA organising committee were sending each other regular updates and comparing MET Office versus BBC. In fact, even with only just over an hour to go before the start, the heavens opened in a dramatic downpour, but this was clearly just to get it all out of the way, because by the time the show began, at 1pm, it was bright, sunny and warm (but fortunately not scorching like 2018!) and remained so for the rest of the day. Someone was clearly smiling down on us!
Maybe it was the good weather, maybe it was the fact that it was our tenth annual show, maybe it was because the KRA organising committee have been working harder than ever to make it our biggest and bestest show yet, but whatever the reason, the general public turned out in force, giving us our highest attendance on record (a staggering 2000 attendees!).
Unfortunately, with such a popular event, the car park, manned by our dedicated volunteers, became full on a number of occasions leaving a few frustrated attendees. We always lay on a free minibus to shuttle visitors from the village down to the event and back again, so that you can ‘park and ride’ as it were, and I’m thrilled to say that this year we had much greater take up.
The fun dog show, organised by Oscar pet food, took place, as it does each year in the cool, calm of the central clearing, and they too had their busiest year so far, with 97 entries. It was a lovely enthusiastic crowd down there, so even if you’re not a dog owner, it’s definitely worth checking out next Summer (although we might need a little lie down in a darkened room before we start thinking about next year!).
On the theme of animals, this year we had two new additions that proved to be the shining stars of the event; Pentangle Aquatics and Little Magic Ponies. The latter were a huge success for the little ones to ride on, and the former had constant queues forming of adults and children eager to meet their guestsssss!
A new area for this year was the handmade marquee; located in the cool shade next to Mizens ticket office, this space was filled with local residents who proudly brought their homemade wares to sell. It was lovely to have them along, and we were super impressed with the wide range of crafts they all made. We hope you were too!
Our official photographer, Claire Bemister Photography, was busy snapping throughout the day. A few of her highlights can be found here, but a full gallery will follow soon.
As always, we have to thank our fantastic musicians and entertainers who really gave the whole event a wonderful vibe, with something to suit all ages. In no particular order, thank you to Scott No Fans, Ukejam, Ruth the harpist, Ukeaholics, Punch & Judy by Mr Magic, BellyTricks, Chobham Morris Dancers, and finally the newbies to our little show, Hartbeeps who entranced and engaged our youngest visitors.
As every year, we are always thrilled and staggered at the generosity and support of local businesses for our event, so for one final time, I’d like to thank our sponsors and also those who kindly donated to our raffle. As always, any profits from the event are donated to a local charity, so check back here soon to find out how much we raised, and to whom the money is going.
Planning Updates July 2019
A roundup of some of the latest planning activities in our village:
Homebase and Garden Centre, Redding Way.
Approval has been given to replace Homebase with 3 retail units plus 7 additional parking bays. In the past there have been restrictions on what they can sell in Sainsbury’s and Homebase. With the latest approval the conditions have been watered down. In our opinion, Sainsbury’s have frequently breached these conditions already (the addition of Timpson’s being an obvious one).
Condition 4: The range of goods sold in the development hereby approved shall be solely comparison goods unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.
Condition 7: No part of the total floor space of the store shall be used for separate concessions including key cuttings/shoe repair, hairdressers, banking, photo developing studios, opticians, dry cleaners or any other concession unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.
Ref PLAN/2018/0973
146,148,150 Robin Hood Road
Planning application to build a part two storey, part single storey rear extension plus rear dormer roof extensions and sub-division of x 3 dwelling houses into seven flats (3 x 1 bedroom and 4 x 2 bedroom) with associated parking.
Ref PLAN/2019/0554
Englefield Road
last month the Planning Officer refused permission for Thameswey to build 4 terraced houses on the land between the Co-op and the bungalow, however Thameswey have submitted an appeal to the Secretary of State. Thameswey is wholly owned by Woking Borough Council and they refuse to accept the decision of the local Planning Office.
Ref PLAN/2019/0276
Land adjacent to No.10 Ivydene.
Planning application to build a two storey detached dwelling (4 bedroom).
This is not the first planning application for this piece of land. The land belongs to a house on Bagshot Road. In fact the last application that was rejected is still pending a decision on an appeal.
Ref PLAN/2019/0521 and PLAN/2018/0736
For more details on these take a look around our website, and visit the WBC planning portal here.
Committee Meeting Minutes – June 2019
If you weren’t able to join us at the latest KRA committee meeting then take a look here to see what was discussed and agreed:
Knaphill Village Show Programme
If you want to stay ahead of the curve, and get a sneaky peek into everything this years Village Show has in store, then now you can. Click here to download this years bumper 8 page programme, packed with all the plans, activities, stalls and details that you need to know to make your afternoon a successful one. (Please note – this is a large file so it may take a few moments to download it)
If you haven’t already, then mark Saturday 20th July in your diary, as it’s the biggest event of the year, and you wouldn’t want to miss it!
We always run our free minibus to and from The Vyne so you don’t have to worry about any parking issues. Or why not walk down?! It’s only half a mile from the centre of the village, across Waterers Park.
myKnaphill Summer Issue
Our eager team of volunteers are out there pounding the pavements to bring you the latest issue of your local magazine – myKnaphill. It’s a fantastic issue covering all the hot happenings this Summer, including the hottest of them all – the KNAPHILL VILLAGE SHOW of course!
So stand by your letterboxes! And if, for some strange reason, you don’t receive your copy through the post, or you’re outside our catchment area, then fear not, you can simply pick one up from many locations on the high street, or click here to visit our MAGAZINE page where you can download your copy now, or any of the previous back issues.
KRA AGM 2019
We are so grateful to those residents who could join us for the annual business of the Knaphill Residents Association Annual General Meeting.
The AGM was held on Wednesday 8th May, 2019, at the Knaphill Baptist Church, High Street, Knaphill. John Butler, chair of the committee warmly welcomed everyone and then handed over to our speaker, Sarah Squire, who gave us a fascinating talk on the history and background of Squires garden centres.
Afterwards, we covered the official business:
- Apologies
- Minutes of the 2018 AGM
- Chairman’s Report
- Treasurer’s Report
- Nominations and appointment of Officers
- Nomination & appointment of Committee members
- Questions & Answers
Click below to download all the documents associated with the AGM:
Brookwood Country Park Fishing Pond
Did you visit Brookwood Country Park last week and notice a couple of large pumps going in one of the fishing ponds, and wonder what was going on?!
Well we got in touch with Goldsworth Park Angling Club who manage the ponds, and who had put up the notices, to find out a little bit more. Here’s what they said:
On Wednesday 24th April we noted a sudden change in water colour from the normal brownish to a grey/brown and some fish mouthing the surface suggesting an oxygen problem.
The Environment Agency were contacted and were on site within the hour taking dissolved oxygen tests, which proved to be dangerously low at only 15%. At this point Thames Water were called out, aerator pumps were deployed and water samples taken.
It would appear that something nasty got into the pond through the drainage pipes.
Only a handful of small fish have died and the dissolved oxygen level, thanks to the pumps, is at a safer level. We are also given to understand Thames Water brought in camera crews to investigate all the drain pipes for possible sources.
A few days later Thames Water have confirmed that all is now ok and the problem has been solved, however under data protection they will not provide any further information, but to get back in touch if anything unusual happens again.
So, the answer is that we don’t know what was causing the problem, but that it seems to be better now. Fishing has recommenced, however perhaps dog owners might want to exercise caution over letting their dogs swim or drink from that pond for the time being, purely as a precaution.
A big apology to the residents of Percheron Drive who had to tolerate the noise of the pumps and generators running 24hours a day during that time.
Note: the site owners are Thames Water, and only pond number four (not ponds 1, 2 or 3) were affected.
KRA Committee Minutes – April 2019
Please click here to view the minutes from our most recent meeting.
Knaphill Residents’ Association AGM 2019
The Knaphill Residents Association Annual General Meeting takes place on Wednesday 8th May, and everyone is welcome to attend. Come to hear a talk from our guest speaker, Sarah Squire, owner of Squires garden centres, followed by a round up of the work we have carried out in the last year, as well as a review of the Village Show.
We encourage all residents to come along, and refreshments will be provided.
May 2019 Elections – Nominated Persons
We are pleased to be able to share the list of Persons Nominated for the Borough Council Elections, which will take place on Thursday 2nd May, 2019. The KRA has no political bias so we will not comment on any candidates. The full list for the borough can be found here and the Knaphill nominations are shown below.
Once again, don’t forget to take your photographic ID along with you when you go to the polling booth, as you’ll need it to be able to cast your vote. Full information on this can be found at Woking Borough Council’s website, here.
