Other

OTHER INFORMATION

• KAPOW (Kids And Parents Of Outwood)

• Parish Boundaries Review

• Outwood Conservation Area

• Dayseys Hill Meadow

• Surrey County Council

KAPOW (Kids And Parents Of Outwood):

This is an independent group of parents in Outwood who got together in 2006 to work for better amenities for children in the village. As the group says on its website, "With over one hundred children in our village and with the only facility for recreation being a play area suitable for ages 0-7 years, a group of parents would like to see what can be done to entertain our older youth. Outwood is surrounded by National Trust owned land, including woodland, pasture and common land. There is no available council land other than that already used for community use, namely the Lloyd Hall and its small ground, on Brickfield Road. So a working party of parents is trying to find a new area of land that meets the needs of the younger part of our community."

The Parish Council fully supports this group but our options for helping KAPOW are somewhat limited as we do not own any land of our own. The group has set up a website - http://www.freewebs.com/kidsandparentsoutwood - where you can find out what the parents have been trying to do on behalf of their children, and offer help if you can.

Parish Boundaries Review:

Details of the impending boundary changes between the Parishes of Outwood, Bletchingley, Burstow and Nutfield, together with a summary of the movement of properties between Parishes and a detailed map, can be found here on the Tandridge District Council website.

Outwood Conservation Area:

There are 18 conservation areas in Tandridge District. Conservation areas are defined as "areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance". The special character of the village of Outwood, centred around Outwood Common and the windmill, resulted in a large area of the village being designated as a Conservation Area in 1990. At 34.3 hectares (nearly 85 acres), the Outwood Conservation Area is the largest in Tandridge, and its designation should help to ensure that the character and historical significance of the 'core' of the village is protected in future years.

More information on Conservation Areas can be found here on the Tandridge District Council website. Maps showing their location and extent can be seen at the TDC Offices during normal office hours.

Dayseys Hill Meadow:

Update - January 2006:

Well, how are things progressing down on the meadow? This is a question that cropped up a number of times during the late Summer and Autumn of last year and therefore I felt it would be useful to provide an update. Last year was only the second full season since the Parish Council took over responsibility for the maintenance of this site from the County Council Highways Department. Initially, as many of you will recall, the main task was the spot treatment of the high concentrations of docks and thistles, coupled with a cutting schedule designed to encourage natural reseeding, in order to achieve a better balance of flora and an increase in the fauna, particularly butterflies and moths. However, despite the relatively short period of time, the early indications are that the maintenance programme is already paying dividends. The good news is that a number of wild flower species have increased in density and last year proved to be a good one for butterflies.

By mid-Summer the site had started to look like a real wildflower meadow, with the proliferation of buttercups, common knapweed, plantains, mare's tails, lesser yellow and bird's foot trefoils and common forget-me-not amongst many others. One fascinating wild flower that has shown a marked increase in numbers is the grass vetchling (Lathyrus nissolia), which has the apt and beautifully descriptive nickname of 'crimson slipper'. This flower is not rare but it is relatively uncommon and its occurrence is unpredictable. It is an annual, a member of the pea family and, in the past, has struggled to survive on this site because the County Council contractors simply cut the plants down before the seed had set. However, the new cutting schedule for the main section of the meadow now takes place just once a year in August or early September, thus giving the crimson slipper and all the other grasses and wild flowers plenty of time to ripen and distribute their seed. Despite the fact that the numbers of crimson slipper have increased enormously they are still not easy to find. Their foliage looks like grass and the only real giveaway as to their presence is the vivid crimson colour of the tiny flowers, which appear during May and June. Do take the opportunity to look for it this year - it is a real delight!

Butterflies were also more plentiful than in past years, with sightings of many species including the Large and Small White, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown, Dingy Skipper and even a few Commas. In particular the Gatekeeper, which is also known as the Wood Brown or Small Meadow Brown, was very numerous indeed. They started to appear at the beginning of July and could be seen regularly right through to early September. They lay their eggs amongst grass and the larvae feed on various grasses, including coltsfoot, until the Autumn when they go into hibernation. They start feeding again in the Spring and finally pupate in June. Once again the new grass-cutting schedule has benefited this species. Also, there was a healthy population of Common Blue butterflies to be seen feeding on the clover, bird's foot trefoil, other vetches and medicks during June and July. So what about the coming year? Well, hopefully further improvements in the range and density of many plant and insect species will become evident and this in turn will bring benefits to a whole variety of birds and small mammals.

Mike Johnson - January 2006

Update - July 2006:

When I last reported back in January the weather was cold and wintry, but how different it has been over the last couple of months. The lack of rainfall and the high temperatures have started to take their toll. However, down on the meadow, despite the grasses turning prematurely yellow, it has been a good year for the flora and fauna even though some of the plants are a little shorter than usual.

Two surveys carried out during April/May and June/July have shown that both the number and the density of wild flowers continue to improve. The total number of species on the site has increased to 79, comprising 63 wild flowers, 7 grasses and 9 sub-shrubs and trees. Two new species of particular note are the Common Spotted Orchid, which was found in a small flowering group on the top edge of the dry ditch, and in a similar position a small clump of a hybrid mint, possibly Mentha Smithiana – a cross between Water Mint, Corn Mint and Spearmint. Other newly identified species include Mugwort, Self Heal, Fleabane and Nipplewort. As with last year, red clover, which withstands lack of rainfall quite well and is an important food source for bumble bees and other insects, has shown a substantial increase in density. Also, as reported last year, the Grass Vetchling aka "crimson slipper", is becoming much more widespread. The small patch of Ox Eye or Moon Daisy, which can be a real eye-catcher, is expanding slowly, but most notable this year has been the prominence of two vetches – the Tufted Vetch which is purple in colour and clambers up through the grasses and the Meadow or Yellow Vetchling, which has flowered profusely over the last few weeks and could even be spotted from passing cars. However, as they say, you’ve got to get close up and personal, if you really want to see the wild flowers in all their glory. Regular walkers encountered on the new mown path through the meadow have commented with delight on the profusion of different wild flowers. Currently the Common Knapweed, also known as hardheads with its purple flowers that attract bumble bees and honeybees, and the aptly named Bristly Oxtongue are coming into their own.

In line with the improvement in the flora has come an increase in the insect population. The last few weeks have seen an explosion in sightings of butterflies including the more common Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers but also a fair number of Commas, Red Admirals, Skippers and Peacocks. Also, there have been plenty of unidentified, small day-flying moths. T o the uninitiated, and I am one of them, many moths can be best be described as LBJ’s – "little brown jobs". Talking of moths, this year has been a good one for Cinnabar Moths; their particular food plant is Ragwort of which there is a fairly stable distribution across the site. The Cinnabar Moth and its larval stage are highly coloured. The caterpillars, which can be seen over the next couple of months, are striped with orange and black bands, whilst the moths are coloured iridescent black with scarlet patches. The annual cut will take place in September, so until then, enjoy!

Mike Johnson - July 2006

Surrey County Council:

General information about the work of Surrey County Council can be found at http://www.surrey.gov.uk.

Recent News (February 2006):

Council's largest-ever review to cut costs and improve services

Surrey County Council’s Executive has given the go ahead to start formal consultation on the biggest ever review of how the council delivers services to the residents of Surrey.

The county council has achieved regular efficiency improvements of £12million or more per year and high levels of public satisfaction with the council and its many services. This year the council has been awarded the top "4 stars" rating overall by the Government’s independent watchdog the Audit Commission.

The county council is determined to improve services further and protect council tax payers, despite the Government’s progressively switching national grant away from the county. The review aims to sharpen the council’s responsiveness to the changing needs of its residents, while achieving even better value for money.

The county council will start a formal statutory consultation process with unions and staff representatives within the next few days. There will also be extensive engagement with staff, residents, members and partner organisations before final recommendations are put to the full Council later in April.

Three options were presented to the Executive, who took the decision to endorse the recommendation to redesign the council. This will deliver a new organisation focused on increasing investment in front line services, refining and improving behind the scenes processes and delivering value for money.

The proposals for the new organisation include:

• Gross savings of £238million over five years, £99million used to meet increased demand in services for older people as well as restructuring costs. This gives a net saving over five years of £139million.
• A gross saving of £47.3million in 2006/07 giving £22.7million net savings in 2006/07after investment and costs.
• Bringing together adults and children's social care into a Service for Families to improve service for users.
• A reduction of 661 jobs – the gross figure is a reduction of 784 jobs but 123 new jobs will be created mainly in frontline social care.
• Reducing the number of buildings used by the council so that the money can be invested in services
• Further streamlining of ‘behind the scenes’ processes.
• Strengthening the council’s handling of enquiries through a single contact telephone number.

Nick Skellett, Leader of the County Council, said: "I understand that this is an unsettling time for many people. To help minimise this uncertainty we will start formal consultation with staff representatives as soon as possible. In addition, we will do all we can to take into account the views of staff, residents, members and partners over the coming weeks.

"The coming year will be particularly challenging for the council. The government’s grant to Surrey is one of the lowest in England and underlined our prudence in deciding to go ahead with such a profound review of everything we do. This is the council’s biggest ever review and it is only by doing this that the council will be able to improve services while limiting council tax rises to around 5% this year and in the future."

More information about the above review can be found here on the Surrey County Council website.

Outwood Parish Council received a letter (dated 14th February 2006) from Surrey County Council as part of the above consultation process - this can be found here:- Page 1; Page 2. Please make your views known - either via your Parish Council or directly to SCC!