By John Moffatt, councillor, Whyteleafe Village Council
Admittedly it has taken a long time, but last month we successfully installed new benches at two bus stops on Whyteleafe Hill. We had been approached by residents about broken or missing benches at some stops on the hill and so set about getting them replaced. The one near Badgers Walk had been vandalised, whereas the one higher up had been damaged and removed some years ago.
Working out who is responsible for repairs and replacement has not been straightforward. To give you an insight, I started by asking the local bus company but was told that they only run the buses, so referred me to Surrey County Council Highways. They said that they were only responsible for the road and not these items of ‘street furniture’ and suggested I try Tandridge District Council (TDC) instead. TDC replied that they did not think they were responsible and, in any case, there was no council funding currently available for items of this kind. So, this being the case, the village council decided to act and use some of its Community Infrastructure Levy fund to plug the gap.
We have installed benches before and so knew what we wanted – ones that are robust, need little or no maintenance and use recycled materials. We think the result is a more sustainable bench that also looks attractive.
We also took the opportunity to install new bins next to each bench, to help keep the hill tidy and reduce any potential impact for nearby residents. TDC have also added these locations to their rota of litter collection stops.
These might seem like small improvements, but this kind of thing helps build local amenities and supports local services, which makes the village more attractive in the longer run. Oh, and it’s somewhere comfortable to stop if you need a breather walking up the hill.
