The Chertsey Society is an amenity society with no political or religious affiliations that acts as a voice to represent views on local issues.
WINTER MEETINGS
An opportunity to meet members, catch up with the latest news and enjoy a presentation.
Monday 30th September 2024
My year as a Mayor of Runnymede
Cllr. Shannon Saise-Marshall was Mayor of our borough from May 2023 to May 2024, during which time she attended hundreds of events and traversed the borough from end to end and side to side. Working through an extensive wardrobe of hats, she spoke to thousands of people but this evening will be on a smaller scale, telling us just what that year was like.
Monday 28th October 2024
Before CGI: a career in film special effects
Brian Smithies, one of the World's best visual effects specialists and BAFTA award nominee, worked on many of the iconic films of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, including the Bond films Goldeneye, Octopussy and The World is Not Enough. And even non-film goers will have heard of Superman (when it was Christopher Reeve); two films, 1 and 2. The Dark Crystal and Dune are among many others Brian has worked on which may strike a chord in our memory banks.
Monday 25th November 2024
Curfew House and Sir William Perkins
Curfew House may currently be shrouded in scaffolding, but it is still one of Chertsey's most important buildings. Malcolm Loveday has been researching both the building and its builder, Sir William Perkins, a local man who founded the original school there. This will be a chance to hear his latest discoveries.
All the meetings, except February, are in St. Peter's Church Hall at 7.45pm.
Members suggested donation £1; guests welcome: suggested donation £2. Do come and join us.
Runnymede Borough Council has a service that allows you to receive weekly email notifications about new planning applications within a specified area of a chosen postcode. You simply click on the entry to see the application on your screen.
You can register at:
https://maps.runnymede.gov.uk/website/planning_alerts/index.html
Most simple applications can be decided by Council Officers. If an application is complex or there are objections from at least 10 households then the application will be referred to the Planning Committee
Planning Applications : Office - Residential Conversions & New Dwelling in Chertsey 2017 -2021
The Committee of The Chertsey Societyhave examined well over 100 planning applications during the last two years and have submitted views on the majority of the major developments as well as some of the smaller developments. The Societyhave advocated the conversion of disused offices for many years, however for many of the recent applications the design of the flats are very small to maximise the number of units in a building ( and profits) with disregard to the inclusion of community space. Some might say that slums for the future are being constructed. In addition, for most applications the provision for parking of cars is minimal or non-existent thus we have been Objecting to many of the more recent applications. Over the last 3 to 4 years there have been applications for approximately 1600 new dwellings in the Chertsey area including nearly 600 flats in offices in the town. See the Chertsey Society website for a compiled list of the applications or https://planning.runnymede.gov.uk/Northgate/PlanningExplorer/GeneralSearch.aspx for more details.
Like many Borough residents we are concerned that such an increase in residential development without the commensurate investment in community infrastructure will be detrimental to the quality of life of existing residents. Residents are concerned about the lack of a) school places, b) Doctors and Health Centre provision, c) water and sewage treatment facilities. In addition there will be significant increase in traffic congestion and insufficient off-road parking associated with the developmentsm.
