The Village Plan process for Bookham is underway now.  We’ve got a Steering Committee, a sizable army of willing volunteers, the beginning of a process, and a name –

“Bookham Vision - your voice shaping our future”.

The project is divided into a number of areas covering the Environment; the Economy; Transport; and Community and Social aspects. We are fortunate to have attracted some very well qualified and even expert people in these disciplines onto the Steering Committee.

Bookham Vision will be a detailed and formal process, carried out on a voluntary basis, by well qualified individuals and will be recognised by local government and other agencies. It will collect feedback from the people who live in, work in, or depend on Bookham.  It covers all aspects of life in Bookham from schooling to shopping, pubs to parking, and from roads to recycling and recreation.  We’ll be seeking everyone’s input on matters concerning the environment (waste, recycling, green spaces, broadband and mobile coverage, carbon reduction etc), Bookham’s economy (employment, retail and leisure, industry and agricultural, services and commercial and so on), transport and access (cars, trains, buses, parking, footpaths etc) and the social and community aspects of life in Bookham (schools, recreation, healthcare, crime and policing, culture etc).

It will result in a report with specific actions and recommendations for improvement that these agencies can take into consideration in their planning and budgeting processes.  Other towns completing Village Plans have gained support for a variety of improvements ranging from small immediate schemes for community facilities, traffic and parking changes, environmental and clean-up campaigns to significant town centre schemes.

The Bookham Vision team has been doing a lot of work behind the scenes in preparation for this far-reaching consultation process.  The chances are you won’t have seen much of the activity to date, unless your child has been working on an entry for our logo competition, but I can assure you a lot of work has been done already.  I can also assure you that you’ll be seeing and hearing a lot more from us moving forward!

We’ve recently received a grant from Mole Valley District Council of £8,000 to help fund the project.  Add this to the £5,000 previously granted by Surrey County Council and we now have sufficient of a war chest to proceed full ahead.

Before we can embark on the public consultations it’s important to get a snapshot of where we are today – a fact-finding exercise; gathering data and talking to various ‘stakeholders’.  There have been discussions with Council officers, with the Heads of some of our schools, businesses and so on.  In mid October the Steering Committee met with representatives of Mole Valley District Council Planning Department, for example, to get a good mutual understanding of each other’s activities and make sure we are well coordinated.  On that note, you might be interested to know that the “proposed submission version” of Mole Valley’s Core Strategy document comes out on November 14^th for 8 weeks for consultation and feedback (it will be on their website www.molevalley.gov.uk).  The Core Strategy sets out MVDC’s proposals on where development will be directed for the next 20 years, what type of developments and how they will be delivered. It’s being put out for consultation so that residents and developers alike can provide feedback, so it’s important you have your say.

For the Village Plan to be successful we need to make sure it represents the views of as many residents, workers and visitors as possible, across all the areas the plan will cover, so that our data is accurate and supportable and the plan is seen as credible.  Please don’t be shy.

Look out for us at the Bookham late night shopping event in December, and make a note in your diary to come and see us on the following Saturday, the 13^th December.  That’s when we’ll be going public.  We’ll be having a launch event that day where you can hear more about the plan process, meet the Bookham Vision team, and importantly give us your initial views on life in Bookham – a chance to have your say.  Watch out for details of the time and place in due course.

The task is a large one, so we would always welcome additional volunteers, either to get involved in a particular work group, or simply to help deliver and collect leaflets.

In the mean time, please feel free to email or call Trevor Sokell ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 01372 452052) or Nick Applegarth ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 01372 458456) if you have any questions, comments, or would like to help.