12th November 2012
Chairman's Corner

Well, summer is well and truly over and we are deep into autumn, so what has been happening lately?

Deepcut Neighbourhood Forum:

We liaised with residents of Deepcut to support their plans to designate a Neighbourhood Forum for the area. To this end a Neighbourhood Plan has been submitted to the Council. The Council has publicised the application and asked for comments from the public, particularly those who live, work or carry out business in the Deepcut area. The consultation closed on 17th September 2012 and the results should be forthcoming in the near future.
The consideration of the Neighbourhood Forum and Neighbourhood Plan Area is a separate process to the anticipated planning application for the Princess Royal Barracks site.

Military/Civilian Community Development Workshop:

On behalf of the Society I attended the Military/Civilian Community Development Workshop in September. The idea was to understand the different perspectives of the two communities and to seek better ways to integrate the needs of both. I will be attending a further workshop in November.

7000 Extra Flights at Farnborough Airport:

Recently there has been a proposal made by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Aviation that the Government should consider incorporating in their upcoming plans for a new Aviation Policy the idea of moving approximately seven thousand general aviation movements currently using RAF Northolt to Farnborough Airport. For more on this see the previous Chairman’s Corner.

Half Yearly Public Meeting:

Our biannual public meeting was held in October where our local MP and Secretary of State the Rt. Hon. Michael Gove was in attendance. Our guest speaker was Amanda Glover, Manager of the Frimley Green Library. Amanda gave a very informative talk on the Library as a “Hub of the Community” highlighting that it is not just a place where residents can borrow books, but that it also provides newspapers and computers as well as a place where young children can be brought by their parents to take part in reading sessions. Amanda also pointed out that Library staff visit local schools to encourage youngsters to become more interested in reading. Amanda and her staff, along with volunteers also serve coffee to visitors on a Tuesday morning. The Library also has a well kept garden where, when the weather permits, residents can meet within a quiet and relaxed atmosphere.

Unfortunately, due to other commitments, Michael Gove was only able to stay for a short period but dealt with a number of questions from the audience.

If you would like to hear more of what Michael had to say on these questions you can view videos by clicking on the following links.

After Michael had bidden us farewell we took a break for refreshments.

This was followed by a vote to accept some modifications to the constitution of the Society. These were unanimously accepted with one minor amendment.

PCSO Barbara Ball standing in for Sergeant Jon Castell then gave an update on Police matters within the three villages. We then moved on to Question Time with our Local Councillors. Councillor Whittart, Councillor Deach and Councillor Alan Whittart remained throughout but Councillor Pitt and Councillor Potter offered their apologies and said that they would have to depart early. Councillor Fennel was unable to attend the meeting.

The Councillors fielded questions ranging from planning issues to the potential increase in aircraft movements if a proposal to move flights from RAF Northolt to Farnborough was adopted.

We then had the usual raffle before the meeting terminated.

For more see the Minutes of the meeting.

Kevin Daley    (Chair, MFGD Society)