The Chipstead Residents Association
The Chipstead Residents Association (CRA) is a non-political voluntary organisation whose aim is to represent the residents of Chipstead by having healthy relationships with policymakers and ensuring we protect our village and its residents.
Acting as a resource for residents to discover the latest news, traffic, village events, major planning applications, local groups, and societies through a monthly newsletter.
Join the CRA
A widening membership of Chipstead residents on the CRA enables us to work together with one voice, and have greater impact on county and borough councils as well as the police and transport authorities for the benefit of the entire village.
We encourage Chipstead residents to join the CRA to support the work we do and contribute to future endeavours. If you would like to become a member, simply add your details using the following link. The membership subscription is a minimum of £10.00 p.a. which is paid via our payment partner, Go Cardless. When you sign up you will receive an email confirming the amount and frequency of the payments by direct debit.
If you need assistance with membership, please contact our General Secretary at secretarychipsteadra@gmail.com
CRA Mailing list
If you do not already, you may wish to receive CRA newsletters; please sign up to the mailing list using the link below. It is our policy to maintain strict confidentiality of email addresses. You do not have to be a paying member of the CRA to receive newsletters.
CRA AGM
The 2024 AGM is held on Tuesday 30th April 2024. The minutes will become available soon. The 2023 Chair's report can be read below.
You can read the full minutes of the 2023 AGM by following this link - 2023 CRA AGM Minutes
CHAIR’S REVIEW 2023/24
In terms of the committee we have, again had some changes. I am thrilled to report that James & Lauren Tarbit as our new secretariat who are “job sharing the role” have risen to the challenge and are continuing to do an excellent job. . They are new to the village but bring a wealth of skills, experience and new ideas to the CRA. Also joining us in the committee this year is Graham Garbis who has taken on the role of Police Liaison. We welcome his return to Chipstead as a resident and to the committee.
We have two notable losses from the committee which are going to be sorely missed. Firstly Chris Santer - who was responsible for the Environment portfolio. His proactive nature and desire to get trees in the ground has resulted in many roads now having benefited from autumn and winter planting and his devotion to watering the trees on Outwood Lane last summer is worthy of public recognition.
And lastly and certainly not least our amazing Angela who after telling me she for the 8 years I have known her that she wants to resign from Planning – has finally done it. She has been tirelessly rigorous and downright instrumental in retaining the very nature of Chipstead. Her passion and determination to ensure the developers, builders and planning regulators stick to the framework and details of the planning rules is more than many associations could have hoped for- we have been very fortunate to the benefit of Angela’s knowledge for so long.
I would like to thank them both for all their hard work and efforts over their time with the CRA.
That does leave a few gaps within the CRA committee - we are keen to welcome people to join the committee. The main “roles'' or portfolios that are vacant are Funding Applications, & Environment, and Planning. Please get in touch with me (chairchipsteadra@gmail.com or James/Lauren Secretarycra@gmail.com if you have any questions about any of these roles and how you can help your village.
We are all volunteers and whilst we are doing so willingly, there are fewer hours in the week than initially promised to complete all tasks we would like to. We would welcome active hands-on village residents who are keen to do their bit for Chipstead and the families that are proud to call this home.
Portfolio updates
MEMBERSHIP
Nearly 50 new resident households have received a Chipstead CRA postcard welcoming them to the Village with an invitation to join the CRA over the last 2 years postcards to new residents. Sent out 20 (2022) and 26 (2023). In 2022, CRA had 169 paid members, 192 in 2023 (15 signed up via GoCardless) postcards to new residents. If you haven’t already, we would welcome any members moving their membership to GoCardless. It is quick for you, and reduces membership administration for the Association. Speak to our Deborah, who manages Membership for more details.
WEBSITE & NEWSLETTER
The unsung hero of Comms is Robin Kennedy who publishes the newsletter to the village - please email chipsteadnews@gmail.com with any news items that you like to publish. Continued building of the Chipstead Village Facebook page. 1.8K followers and the residents group has 2.1K members, up from 1200 last year. This continues to be a useful and active group - for both small local businesses and also as an electronic community notice board for lost dogs, events and requests for help. If anyone would like to volunteer to help with this I would be very grateful.
ROAD STEWARDS
There is now an active Chipstead eRoad Stewards WhatsApp group that is used as another portal for communication to and from the residents and the CRA. This has representatives from many roads across the village including High Road, Lackford Road, How Lane, Stagbury Avenue Starrock Lane, Hazelwood Road ( Lower End) Stagbury Close, Bridge Way, Old Oak Avenue, Bouverie, Coulsdon Lane, Court Hill and Water Mead. We will continue to use this way of dissemination of messages. Growing this to encompass all roads will be a priority for 2024. If you know of a Road Group not on this list please email cramembershipsecretary2022@gmail.com
POLICING
Our new Police Liason, Graham Garbis, has been active with the local constabulary - sharing the latest news on crime statistics and prevention to the committee and Association, and working hard to ensure that the village continues to get the attention it needs in the face of changing patterns of both urban and rural crime. I’m delighted that we are once again joined by the police lead for North Reigate and Banstead, PC Geordie Logan, to address our AGM.ENVIRONMENT
We have planted six more trees recently on SCC land:
Stagbury Triangle; Mountain Ash
Meads, opposite White Hart; Cherry
Junction How Land, High Rd and Coulsdon Lane; Mountain Ash
Junction Hazelwood and Outwood Lane; Lime
Vincent Close; Cherry.
Work has already been completed on the removal of a dead tree in front of Holly Lodge. More new benches were installed around the village, replacing old and decrepit ones.
ROADS AND ROAD SAFETY
Hopefully most of you know or have heard of Luke Bennett, our SCC local Councillor representing Banstead, Woodmansterne and Chipstead division. Luke was elected as Councillor in May 2021. He grew up in Chipstead. He understands and knows that speed and high volumes of traffic passing through Chipstead have been a huge concern for local residents for many many years.
Over these years there have been many dedicated individuals in our village who have tried very hard to drive change who will tell you the struggle they faced. The Highways team have been unable to approve many of the ideas forwarded as with narrow lanes, few pavements and no street lighting have meant that these proposals would not pass road safety criteria.
Here are some of the improvements that Luke has achieved over the last year (apologies if I have missed a few here ) ....
Anti flood work, pavement improvements, resurfaced roads, road safety interventions/surveys outside schools.
Instrumental in helping the CRA with the petition, securing enough names for the petition to be presented to the Cabinet Member for Highways
Installation of VAS's (vehicle activated signs) on Chipstead Valley Road/Outwood Lane
New 30mph signs opposite Ramblers Rest/ Outwood Lane.
New Yellow lines at the bottom of How Lane next to the Railway bridge.
Bollards outside CV school to stop people parking up on the curb by school.
'Please drive carefully through village' signs replaced for reflective versions
Pedestrians walking in road signs put in Coulsdon lane/High Road.
Damaged signs throughout village replaced
Met with police and agreed that monthly speed checks would be conducted by police (resources permitted)
Walk throughs in the village with Highways officers to make them even more aware of the situation in Chipstead
Luke and our road safety lead Amanda Davies have been TIRELESS in their efforts to get speed limit reductions, signs and infrastructure into Chipstead. The main priority of their work has been to bring back more of the tranquility and peace that the village enjoyed for generations, prior to traffic levels being what they are now.
Amanda secured funding to produce 30 mph speed Kills Stickers for Wheelie Bins - these have been made available at the post office and have been offered to many households personally by Amanda and various other members of the CRA.
I would like to note for the record the massive amount of work that Luke has put into ensuring Chipstead's voice is heard at SCC and Surrey Highways. His endless enthusiasm, his drive to get it DONE, his emails and communications to SCC & Highways and the relentless pursuit of answers have been the main reasons that things have actually started happening here.
I’m delighted to welcome not only Luke to our AGM, but also the Cabinet Member for Highways, Matt Furniss, who will talk to us about forthcoming improvements to road safety in Chipstead in 2024/2025.
EVENTS
The CRA held a wonderful Residents BBQ last September in glorious Sunshine which was a change from the year before. It was attended by over 130 people from around the village and great fun was had by all. We hosted many of the village associations including the Women's Institute,, St Margarets, the CVPS and others. The many children in the village enjoyed the bouncy castle and the grown ups enjoyed the opportunity to meet the CRA and their neighbours. Worked with the CVPS to help them publicize their annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Grove and to automate the ticket selling process.PLANNING
Angela has been pivotal in ensuring everything that can be done has been done in terms of ensuring Chipstead’s planning applications were reviewed, commented on and communicated via the planning page on the Chipstead Village website. In her absence we are keen to recruit someone who can take on elements of the role. There is an easy handover document that Angela has produced giving all necessary links and policies that are applicable to Chipstead.LITTER PICKING IN CHIPSTEAD
It would be great to see some regular litter picking back in the village so if anyone would like to volunteer to manage this I would be very grateful. There have been a few Duke of Edinburgh volunteers who have been litter picking, however a group session would be a good opportunity to get together.Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard over the last 12 months - I look forward to working with you in the future.
Lasty, I would like to thank Robert Collier for auditing the accounts.
Catherine Tulley – Chair
You can additionally view the minutes from the 2022 AGM here, and the 2021 AGM, here.
More about the CRA
The CRA is managed by a Committee of up to 15 members who attend monthly meetings. Three ward councillors from the Borough of Reigate and Banstead, and one councillor from the Surrey County Council regularly attend these meetings. The Committee includes a number of professionals from disciplines such as town and country planning, highway planning, financial services, architecture and engineering, who are able to offer expert opinion. The committee is thus well structured to provide an effective voice on behalf of Chipstead when making representations to local authorities, utilities, transport operators, service providers, property developers and other organisations which operate locally.
In order to keep abreast of local developments and opinion, the CRA regularly invites representatives from local organisations such as the Police, local businesses, sports clubs and churches to the monthly meetings. This provides an excellent opportunity for these organisations to present their opinions, hear the views of the committee and agree appropriate action. The CRA also works closely with the Chipstead Village Preservation Society (CVPS), a registered charity, whose distinct yet complementary objectives are:
To protect, preserve and enhance for the benefit of the public generally, and especially for the inhabitants of Chipstead, land and buildings of beauty or historic interest and amenities (including the Peter Aubertin Hall) in, or in the vicinity of, Chipstead, and to promote such protection, preservation and enhancement.
The village is fortunate to have the CVPS which does have substantial funds available for providing vital financial support to many village organisations and valuable funding to preserve village infrastructure, so long as the purposes to which they are put are consistent with the CVPS's charitable status and purposes.
Law and Order
The CRA maintains a close relationship with the Surrey Police force. The Surrey Police regularly exchange security information with the CRA about crime in the neighbourhood, and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) attend some of the monthly CRA meetings. Security information received is disseminated to members via the confidential Emailing system.
The CRA also support the national Neighbourhood Watch scheme, and Neighbourhood Watch officers receive security information from the Surrey Police via Email and bulletins. The Surrey Police also organise regular 'beat panel' meetings in the PA Hall where residents are invited to meet the police and discuss security issues.
Communications
Good communication with Chipstead residents is an important part of village life. To achieve this aim, the CRA and CVPS have jointly developed this website to disseminate topical information and collect local opinion. The CRA has also set up a confidential Emailing system which is used to distribute monthly Newsletters to Chipstead residents. These Newsletters provide current news and information on village events, planning issues, security information, etc. Join the email distribution list for the newsletter here.
St Margaret's Church publishes a monthly magazine which includes many excellent articles of local interest. The 'Voice of Chipstead' is a quarterly magazine with topical articles and information on local businesses. The CVPS has erected notice boards at strategic points around the parish for use by village organisations.
A history of the CRA
The CRA was formed in 1945 as a non-political and non-sectarian organisation, with the following objectives stated in the published Rule Book:
- To secure the good and economical government of the district
- To support the policy of the Green Belt, and in particular to promote the preservation and development of local rural beauty, including roads and footpaths, open spaces, trees, buildings, etc.
- To watch all questions coming before the local authorities and other bodies affecting the district or the residents.
- To consider the public services affecting the district or the residents, such as railways, police, education, power, etc, and take such action as may be thought necessary.
- To consider the road safety in the district.
- To meet from time to time as necessary to consider matters of concern to the Association.
- To act generally in the interests of the inhabitants of the district.
The above rules provide the CRA with a unique mandate to represent villagers' views, made possible by virtue of the fact that the overwhelming majority of residents are members of the Association. The CRA is funded entirely by residents' annual subscriptions.
Major developments on adjacent land can have a significant and permanent impact on the quality of life in the village, and one of the most important CRA activities has been a vigorous involvement in all major public enquires directly affecting the village. In this regard, it is essential that the CRA be truly representative of the aspirations of all Chipstead residents, and is in a position to submit evidence to enquiries that cannot be easily dismissed as minority interest. The CRA therefore strongly encourages all Chipstead residents to become members, and perhaps offer time and skills towards the committee's valuable work.