IDS

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	2008
There has to be 2 key considerations in our view - SHOULD the Hall be built on Common Land AT ALL ?
And if the answer is YES, then what other issues should be considered to make sure that we get the best possible solution. You MUST make you position well known NOW so that the COUNCILLORS and the PLANNERS know what the local feeling is.

The Common Land Problem - should we allow any development to take place on Common Land - is a black and white issue - YES or NO - you decide.
Getting the best out of a YES vote is different - many more thing to consider here. So let's look at them:

Then you need to consider if St John's is being used as a focus to meet the need for sporting and recreation activities for the Borough ? And is this right - or should it be used primarily for the benefit of local residents first.

	KEY ISSUES

Do we want cricket played on the green ?	Pitch to be big enough for League Cricket if a successful Club is to be re-created.	What else can it be used for - football or just local family leisure use ?

Car Park - Needs to be flood lit and have improved security	WBC are proposing to put CCTV to cover Car Park	Walkway to the Hall will have low level lighting when needed.

Where can Football be played	The Rear Lye will be properly drained and laid out as a proper club pitch.	Front Lye will have junior pitches on cricket outfield for saturday clubs

Club Room	There will be a viewing area across the cricket pitch	Will this be available to other clubs during week/non playing time ?

Management of the Heath, water courses and woodland areas	WBC Leisure to draw up a management plan with consultation	Should the Lye be left as it is, in a natural state for all to enjoy as now ?

ECO credentials	Hall to have rain-water harvesting, phot-voltaics on the roof, sound and heat insulation, and sympathetic materials used	All very well, but this looks like St Johns is becoming the centre of a lot of leisure activity for the Borough, rather than meeting local needs.

Management of the Hall	This will be done by Memorial Hall Committee, who are likely to manage the bookings for the sports too on behalf of WBC.	What happens in the event of a local resource not being managed appropriately - would it be handed on to a commercial operation ?

Type of Bookings to be sought	MHA assure us that they are almost fully booked now by existing user groups and will not be seeking bookings likely to disturb residents	Historically there was inappropriate lettings that resulted in an injunction, and this would probably happen again if Hall too noisy and rowdy

What about the SWAP LAND	An integral part of this would have to be a swap of land of equal amenity value to replace the land being taken up for the building	No details have been forth coming on this point so far. Where would it be and what could the Village use it for ?

How long a lease will the MHA get on the new building	Not yet finalised	Probably a long one 99 or 125 years but subject to negotiation.

UNDERTAKING re future Development	We feel that WBC need to undertake that NO FURTHER DEVELOPMENT will take place on the Lye and that it will remain Common Land for all to enjoy in perpetuity. Of course you may not be in favour of this development - so you need to make your feeling known and soon !

Management Structure of the Hall	No plans have been forthcoming from MHA at all regarding Business Plan or Management Structure. For local residents this is a key issue that has not been addressed	Not yet finalised

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	2006
Woking Borough Council have produced a plan to rebuild the Memorial Hall on the Lye, located where the old cricket pavilion was. In order for WBC to justify the funding it hads to have Borough wide benefits. This means Woking has to benefit not just St John's. And that principle we would all support. However it means in this case that the existing Hall site would be used for affordable housing and the Hall would have to support changing facilities for sporting activities. We may all agree to that too, in principle. But an entertainment licence, 2 bars and a club room on site is pressing the wrong buttons for local residents.		Part of the problem here is the birds nesting on Horsell Common. The Dartford Warbler, Nightjar and Woodlark are 3 protected and endangered birds and they are ground nesters, so very vulnerable. English Nature have a strategy to protect these birds and this means, to us, that Horsell Common gets less use and other Commons get more use. For details of the strategy click here to see the English Nature proposals. Protecting one lot of wildlife is now damaging another. And English Nature will say that Horsell Common is more important. Not to Us it isn't ! The only way to keep our Lye as it is is to maintain the pressure on our local Councillors and Council Officers to fight on our behalf too.

So if all the candidates for the coming Election would like to tell us in 250 words what they would do for St John's , St John's Lye and our local environment, we would like to hear. Contact us now and we will post their views and election promises for all to see and all to judge.

	This website has been developed to put forward the case against rebuilding the Memorial Hall on St Johns Lye. Why ? ... It is on Common Land It is a Conservation Area It is an SNCI - Site of Nature Conservation Importance Contrary to Local Government Plan (NE2 REC3 REC4) We will lose recreational Open Space and a noted local visual amenity
No one can deny the Memorial Hall needs rebuilding . It has served the village and it's user groups since 1948 as a local hall. And it is time to rebuild it and secure the facility for the 50 years. But why use such a valuable amenity and the Lye for rebuilding when the Memorial Hall Association already owns the freehold of the existing site ? Surely a Hall could be built that meets the existing need on that site at a reasonable price ?

This piece of woodland will become the car park - a space for 44 cars to park whilst their owners use the facilitiesof the Hall. It will be screened by the trees and presumably some planting of shrubs etc and you can be sure that at night, just like the Lye Car Park and the Children's Play Area, it will become a place to race cars and motor bikes and somewhere to deal drugs. Anyone who has done a Village Clean Up will tell you that this area is a regular haunt for glue sniffers, and addicts using needles. They won't stop using a favoured area, especially if it is lit, and sheltered.

KEY ISSUES
PROS		CONS

Hall get rebuilt Funding issue resolved Local Groups retain their facility No loss of continuity Brand new facilities Opportunity for Cricket Club to return Opportunity for Other Sports Clubs Greater use of Lye by Villagers Opportunity to increase user base Woodland type Car Parking will be available for Hall users Release of existing Car Parking space	The thin end of the wedge for Lye encroachment Area of Common lost Destruction of Habitat of deer birds etc Increased traffic and noise Potential widening of the approach road to new site Increase in anti social behaviour Area is an SNCI Loss of wild natural area of approx 1 acre Exchange land not of equal amenity value Car Park likely to attract undesirable activity Increased Drug abuse and dealing Increased Policing resource will be required 2 developments rather than 1 - Hall and houses

For US, the main issue is the loss of the Lye and all that implies. Wildlife Habitat, view, tranquility, natural area for walkers and dog lovers, family outings in the summer and all the reasons peoiple use the Lye now. This would represent the thin end of the wedge and provide opportunity for further developments in the future. The Lye is a unique area and largely unspoilt. Woking Borough Council are gradually improving the area with projects like the works on the pond. The building of a Hall on the Lye would dominate the whole area. Residents will tell you of the problems currently experienced in the evenings with alcohol abuse, drug abuse, car and moped racing, violent behaviour and general anti-social activity.

That said we want the Memorial Hall rebuilt. The building is fading fast and further deterioration will only provide more opportunities for vandalism. The Village needs a Hall for Jumble Sales and kids parties, Dancing Classes and Guides, Cubs and Brownies. All need a place to operate from and the Memorial Hall has done a good job over the years providing that facility. Time to rebuild - YES ! Location - where it is now.

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