A BEACON Hill resident has called for urgent support to improve the village, before it deteriorates, she says, into becoming HaslemereÕs Òpoor relationÓ.
Audrey Mattock has lived in Beacon Hill for more than 50 years and is making her plea for more funding to Haslemere Town Council after noticing Òwaning spiritsÓ in the village.
Provoked into writing to The Herald after noticing a gradual degeneration of the area, Mrs Mattock is also calling for town councillors to put pressure on the relevant authorities for improvement work on Beacon HillÕs pavements and roads.
Mrs Mattock said: ÒWe pay our taxes the same as everybody else, and it would be interesting to find out what percentage of the budget is spent on Beacon Hill compared with Haslemere and Wey Hill.Ó
She described the pavements in the village as a disgrace, and added that Beacon Hill Road was Òan insultÓ to the ÒsmartÓ new Indian restaurant which would be opening soon.
But Mrs Mattock defended the community spirit of Beacon Hill and praised its caring atmosphere. The local school, cafe, churches, luncheon club, and Christmas lights committee were all mentioned by Mrs Mattock as keeping the village alive.
She also defended the floral displays outside homes and businesses in the village.
ÒI was very disappointed when I read Brian HowardÕs comments in The Herald in the Haslemere in Bloom report. A Haslemere town councillor, Mr Howard said he was sad to see there were no applications from Beacon Hill, and I think that he was being rather unfair. The percentage of businesses in the village that have made an effort with their hanging baskets and plants is, IÕm sure, equal to that of Haslemere,Ó she said.
Among the improvements suggested by Mrs Mattock are measures to smarten up the village image as well as improvements to pedestrian and motorist safety.
ÒNew lamp posts and litter bins would improve the image. The latter in particular if our council continues to pass takeaways as the future of Beacon Hill,Ó she added.
ÒThe spirit of Beacon Hill is waning and we urgently need the support and encouragement from our town council. When did we last see headlines in The Herald saying ÔHaslemere Town Council gives money to Beacon HillÕ?Ó
Waverley and town councillor for the area Peter Isherwood said he would take on board Mrs MattockÕs comments, but said he did not agree with her about the ÒunevenÓ division of the town councilÕs budget ÒI think the budget is split fairly evenly across Haslemere. Town council grants were awarded to the village for its Christmas lights and a large sum was promised for improvements to the sports pavilion and playing fields, but this second grant did not go through because we were unable to secure the Lottery grant,Ó Mr Isherwood said.
Mr Isherwood also said the Keep the Village Tidy group of local volunteers, of which he was chairman, was making good progress towards improving Beacon HillÕs image.
He said shop and business owners in Beacon Hill Road had been asked to ÒdedicateÓ the land outside of the premises to Surrey County CouncilÕs highways authority.
Mr Isherwood reported that good progress was being made with this scheme, as all the landowners had agreed to take part, with work to imporove pavements expected to start in the near future.
The scheme could also bring new litter bins and lamp posts to the village.
ÒPlans to improve the village image are moving forward, and I donÕt think we are in any way the poor relation to Haslemere. A traffic survey will be carried out when the new school year has started, and from that we will know how best to deal with the parking and traffic problems,Ó he added.
ÒWe have an excellent group of fundraisers for the Christmas lights, and tphe Tidy group has worked very hard, but it would be nice to see some new faces volunteering to help out.Ó
Anyone interested in helping the Tidy campaign should contact Mr Isherwood on 01428 605768.