About The Bookhams Residents’ Association
Who we are, and what we do...
The Bookhams Residents’ Association (BRA) is an apolitical voluntary membership organisation open to all residents of Great and Little Bookham.
The BRA is “of the community and for the community”. Its purpose is to be a voice for resident’s views on local issues, and to help get things done to maintain and improve life in the Bookhams.
To deliver its purpose the BRA works hard to:
- Understand local issues and views;
- Deliver recurring and strategic work, and make Bookhams views heard; and to
- Report Back to residents on what has been done on their behalf.
Understanding local issues and views
The BRA does this by:
- Gathering local views through its monthly meetings, its website, social media and correspondence, word of mouth and common knowledge.
- Providing a consultative link between residents with councillors, public authorities and utility services.
- Working with voluntary and other organisations that are involved with the social, cultural, faith, business and entertainment life of the village.
- Co-ordinating voluntary services that are of environmental and amenity benefit to the community.
Recurring work and making Bookhams views heard
The BRA delivers this in a variety of ways, including: reviewing, consulting, lobbying, advising, co-ordinating, linking, supporting, attending, and liaising on resident’s behalf. The BRA does this by operating a number of specialist groups that focus on specific community interest topics:
Planning
Reviewing all planning applications and commenting as needed to preserve the character of the Bookhams.
Highways
Consulting with Surrey County Council (SCC) Highways and Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) on matters from parking to repairs, flooding, speeding, and improvements.
Infrastructure
Lobbying statutory infrastructure providers for improvements and resolving local issues.
Environment & Amenity
- Maintaining a “tree watch” across the village. The Tree Warden provides advice and arranges for new and replacement trees to be planted.
- Managing small-works contractors for MVDC e.g. pathway clearing; and co-ordinates litter picking.
- In association with the Bookham Retail and Business Association, providing Christmas Lights in the High Street and Church Road and in the summer hanging baskets on lampposts.
- Maintaining benches and other local features
Youth, Education and Cycling
Maintaining close links with village youth work and lobbying on education facilities
Health
Supporting the Patient Participation Group for local medical practices, and attending NHS public briefing meetings.
Transport
Liaising with bus companies and lobbying groups on Bookhams’ bus services.
Strategic work
Strategic work generally involves topics or work with longer timescales and complex multi-organisational working. The BRA’s strategic projects include:
- Flooding. After many years of lobbying SCC, work has been completed to alleviate flooding on the Lower Road between the Squareabout and East Street. The BRA is now monitoring how the improvements cope with rainstorms and whether the flooding issue has been removed.
- Youth & Community Centre. The BRA worked with SCC and MVDC to create a plan for a new youth and community facility on the Lower Rd Recreation Ground to replace the facility (at the Eastwick end of the Lower Rd) which closed in 2018. SCC has allocated funding and MVDC has agreed outline planning permission for a new facility. The BRA will continue to work with SCC, MVDC, youth workers and local residents to see this much needed project completed.
- Vehicle speed. The BRA has helped local residents liaise with SCC Highways and the Police to establish a Speed Watch scheme in Little Bookham Street. The next step is to install speed warning units in Little Bookham Street to advise motorists of their speed and encourage slower driving.
- Eastwick Park Medical Centre. The Eastwick Park Medical Practice’s building is overstretched and not configured effectively to cope with current day demands. The Doctors are keen to develop a new fit for purpose building in the vicinity of the existing practice. The BRA is engaging with the Doctors, MVDC, SCC and the NHS to see what it can do to help the Doctors realise their plans.
- A multi-service Health Hub for North Mole Valley. Alongside local GP practices there is felt to be sufficient demand to create a multi service health and welfare hub for the people of North Mole Valley (similar to Dorking’s Medwyn Centre). This would involve joint working between the BRA and the residents’ Associations of Fetcham, Leatherhead and Ashtead, together with MVDC, SCC and the NHS with the aim of creating a North Mole Valley Community Health Centre.
- New strategic projects, e.g. the redevelopment of Lower Shott, will come from MVDC’s new Local Plan which is expected to increase substantially the amount of housing in Bookham. That will in turn place considerable extra strain on the local infrastructure including school places, health provision, roads, sewers, and drainage - infrastructure that is already straining to cope with current demands.
The BRA will continue to lobby MVDC, Surrey County Council and other infrastructure providers to make sure that the infrastructure is improved in order to cope with the extra demands placed on it.
Reporting Back
We report back constantly, and in various ways, throughout the year: The BRA Annual General and monthly Committee meetings are open to the public. Articles are placed on our website and in social media. We publish a Spring and an Autumn Newsletter packed full of reports on what has been done on residents behalf. We also have five regularly updated Notice Boards around the village centre, and of course there is also direct correspondence, and word of mouth.
Committee & Directors for 2023 - 2024
Directors | Simon Edge | Chairman |
Neil McDowall | Treasurer | |
Les Huett | Company Secretary and Communications | |
Geoff Tranter | Projects | |
David Smith | Noticeboards Co-ordinator | |
Cllr Clare Curran | Surrey County Council nominated Councillor | |
Cllr Roger Adams | Mole Valley District Council nominated Councillor | |
Committee | Carolyn Elson | Membership Secretary |
David Armstrong | Minutes Secretary | |
David Cox OBE | Education and Young People | |
Diane Poole | Plastic Free Bookham; Blue Hearts; Effingham RA/PC liaison | |
Frances Fancourt | Tree Warden and Environment | |
Gill Caldwell | Churches Together | |
Julia Dickinson | Education; Cycling | |
Margaret Lawson | Litter Pick Co-ordinator | |
Michelle Smith | Vice President; Noticeboards Co-ordinator | |
Simon Baxter | Vehicle Activated Signs Co-ordinator | |
Nick Forrer | Project Support (as and when required) | |
Planning Sub-committee | Keith Whale | Chairman |
Julia Dickinson | Member | |
Peter Whitter | Member | |
Chris Cunningham | Member | |
Christine Milstead | Member | |
Geoff Tranter | Member | |
Richard Moyse | Member |
Want to get involved?
We are always looking for new members, and for people who want to help “do something positive” to help their local village. If you would like to get involved with maintaining and improving life in the Bookhams please contact us.
