Our team in Ash is here to help with free impartial advice
“I’m a single parent and lost my job during the pandemic. My local Citizens Advice helped me apply for Universal Credit which has been really helpful to cover some of the income I’ve lost. But I’m very worried about the upcoming £20-a-week cut to Universal Credit – I don’t know how I’ll be able to pay for the school uniforms and shoes, especially as they grow so fast! Is there any other support out there to help plug the gap?“
If you’re on a low income or unemployed, you might be able to get help with some of the costs of sending your child to school, including school meals, transport, and uniform. It’s always worth talking to your local education authority to see what support is available as some of their resources and offerings can differ. The following information is for England:
Free school meals: Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 automatically get free school meals. If you have older children, you can apply for free school meals if you get certain benefits. In your case as you’re on Universal Credit and you applied after 1 April 2018 you would be eligible if you earn less than £7,400 a year without benefits. You can see the full list of eligibility requirements on the https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/education/help-with-school-costs/#h-getting-free-school-meals To apply for free school meals, you need to contact your local authority, you can check the details at https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals by typing your postcode in.
Transport: If your children are aged between five to 16, your local education authority might offer free or lower cost transport if you don’t live near school or your child’s unable to walk there. You need to apply to your local education authority for help.
Uniforms and other costs: Your local education authority might also be able to help with some other costs, like uniforms, music lessons or trips and activities. There may also be local charitable schemes to help with these costs, it’s worth checking with the school to see if it knows of any. Schools can also sometimes also advise on finding second-hand uniforms.
What’s next: If your child is staying in education after year 11, you must tell HMRC’s Child Benefit Office if you want to continue receiving child benefit and any extra support for children within means-tested benefits. When your child turns 16, HMRC will send you a letter asking whether your child will stay in education or training. You must reply to this letter to keep getting Child Benefit.
If you need help applying for Universal Credit or any other benefit help, please contact Ash Citizens Advice Bureau. 01252 315569 ashcab@cabnet.org.uk
Ash Green Residents Association (AGRA) was successful in the fight to overturn the officer’s recommendation for 69 more homes in Ash Green this week (8th September).
It has been a long fight for the residents and the AGRA committee, and it is far from over yet.
Ash Manor itself is a 750-year-old Manor House. It was divided into two homes in 1948 but still retains many of the original features, the most impressive being the moat, which surrounds the house on 3 sides.
The house was upgraded to Grade II* in 2017 putting it the top 6% of the country’s historic assets, and the only one of its kind in Guildford Borough.
The two other buildings on the site are the Oast House, now divided into two homes, and Oak Barn. Both of these are Grade II buildings and deserve protection in their own right.
The value of the group is enhanced by their setting. The manor is currently surrounded by fields, with the veteran oak tree which is at least 250 years old and the pond which features on all the old maps of the area and is a haven to wildlife.
Over the last 7 years, AGRA initially fought off a development of 44 houses on the site in 2014. This was then followed by an application by Bewley Homes for 95 houses in 2017 which the officers did not put before the committee in time, so it went to appeal due to non-determination. AGRA were granted permission to become a “Rule 6” party at the appeal. This gives the same legal standing to the Residents’ Association as the council and the developer.
Surprisingly, the developer withdrew the appeal because they had been in negotiation with the council to produce an alternative scheme. We were awarded our costs (only due to the specific circumstances) so we could pay back the residents for the barrister and experts. It was this alternative scheme that was decided this week.
The planning committee approved the application, for 73 houses in December 2019 but AGRA were unhappy with the way information had been presented, through the officer report, to the councillors and applied for a judicial review.
Judicial reviews require a good understanding of the quite complex laws around planning applications, and we were fortunate to be granted pro bono help from the Environmental Law Foundation and Cornerstone Barristers. We were also provided with loan/grants from both Tongham and Ash Parish Councils, which we could afford to pay back when we received the successful judgment, and our costs, of £6,400 in December 2020.
The application had to be re-decided and appeared on the agenda again in both May, and June, when AGRA organised the protest during the councillors’ site visit which you may have seen in the local press and on the BBC. AGRA then submitted written objections on Heritage, Ecology and Drainage Grounds resulting in the application being removed from the agenda, the tree being granted its now protected veteran status, and the number of houses reduced to 69.
When it was included on the agenda this time, with the support of our local ward councillors and some from further afield, we successfully overturned the officers’ recommendation, and the application was refused.
In the meantime, Bewley Homes submitted an identical application, which the officers did not put before the committee, and so that one has not been decided. This gave Bewley Homes the opportunity to apply for an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. The fight goes on and the appeal will be heard in January and last about 3 weeks.
This has been an amazing community effort. The latest appeal has already cost us in the region of £8,000 which has been raised through donations but is not enough to pay for legal assistance this time, so we will have to do it ourselves. If you would like more information, or to get involved in the campaign please e-mail AGRA@AshGreen.Org or you can help with the funding through https://www.gofundme.com/ and searching for Ash Manor.
Roots down – into the Gospel, Walls down – into the community
Sunday Morning 10:30am Services: In the Vicarage Garden when the weather permits, else in church, and on Zoom. 10:30am every Sunday. (Note the new start time from October 2021) You are welcome to Zoom in to the Sunday Morning service; simply email the Parish Administrator to receive the link, or find it on Facebook @StMarysAshVale. At church, please maintain social distance for safety. (Please stay at home and use Zoom if you have COVID-19 symptoms). In church masks are recommended to protect one another, but are no longer legally required.
We look forward to welcoming you.
Evensong Wednesdays 8pm
You can Zoom in to Evensong on Wednesday nights or join us in the car park. Email the Parish Administrator to join our mailing list and receive the link. Keep in touch as arrangements are always evolving!
Editors: Alex Sanderson & Neil Lambert (Alex: 07730 609446)
Advertising: Eileen Monds
Collation: Alison Shewell
Distribution: Caroline Johnson
Contact the Parishioner team:parishioner@ash-vale.org.uk
We are printing limited copies of this edition, please pick up your copy at St Mary’s if you would like one.
We are hugely grateful to a small army of willing volunteers who contribute, collate, publish, email, print, bundle and deliver The Parishioner to all our readers!
The British have a long relationship with the Nepali people. Over 200 years ago, the British East India Company was at war with Nepal, fighting battles in the Himalayas that eventually led to a mutual respect. Both sides decided they would be better as friends than enemies and subsequently Gurkha regiments began to be established within the army—we’ve been friends ever since.
And now—praise God—we are not just friends but neighbours!
It’s that time again! We are collecting news, letters, poems, funnies, nominations for ‘meet the local’, recipes, and articles of local interest for the April/May Parishioner. Email us with yours by 10th March, so we can include you. parishioner@ash-vale.org.uk
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who took part in the Sheep Trail! We had a lovely time and we hope you did too. 💕🐑 The trail is now closed, but let us know which was your favourite sheep, we have a little prize for them! 🙂 text 07730609446
Can you find all these sheep? Why not see if you can find them all this half term? We have also hidden 17 sheep in the Parishioner Magazine, you can pick up a paper copy of it at St Mary’s.
Boaz & Ruth – You will find us in Alder Close, Avondale
Lamby – looking out from a window upstairs, Vale Croft, Lysons Avenue, by Ash Vale train station roundabout.
Shawn Minerva gilderoy – 362 Vale Road
Joshua (blue) Alex (red) Lulu (cuddly sheep) – Coverack, Horseshoe Lane GU12 5LL
Shaun – White Lodge, Wentworth crescent. (Private road part. The big old White House as you turn in)
Woody – You’ll find me if you walk along the canal towpath between The Swan and The Admiral, and look across the canal!
Cedric, Cecil & Cyril – 203 Vale Road (Cyril said it was too cold outside so he’s peering out the window). They told us an amazing story, apparently their distant relatives were there with the Shepherds and saw the Angels on THE Christmas Day! Wow!
St Mary’s Flock – St Mary’s Church
Fluff – 14 Wood Street
Herbie (the herbivore! 😁) – 24 Wood Street
Flower and Petal, And one printed picture quoting Psalm 29 – 56 Waverley Drive
Cuddle and Trouble – 52 Firacre Road, Ash Vale
Cedric – 155 Vale Road
Daisy, Minty, Minnie, Herdy 1,2&3 – 91 Vale Road (2 sheep on flower border right of drive. Daisy and Minty. One on Gate post. Minnie.3 in windows. Herdy1, 2 and 3)
Baaaaaa-bara – Ash Hill Road (Near the Phyllis Tuckwell Shop)
Stump House Sheep rocks in the covid snake: Rocky, Stella, Fluff and Lammy
Baaaa-tholowmew – Ash Hill Road (near the Kia garage)
Mike’s Flock – Cobo, Beetons Avenue
Bob the sheep – Murrell Road
2 sheep – Longacre
Shaun & Dawn (beautifully made by the Chapel Craft group) – 1 Grove Villas, Grove Road, GU12 5BD #ChapelCraft (Wednesdays 8pm)
Timmy – Wharf Rd (look up, I’m above Bet Fred!)
Chapel Flock – The Chapel, Wharf Road
Bah – 11 Foxhurst Rd (aptly named by L aged 2 😍)
Valentine – Collins Gardens, Ash
Ramsey, Eugenie and Lambert!- 14 College Road, Ash
Shadow – 2 Potters Crescent GU12 6AY
Zara & Sam Sheep, South Lane, Ash
lots of sheep – 35 Wyke Avenue (2 crafted ones and some cuddly ones!)
Upcycled Sheep – 16 Lincoln close Ash Vale
Mr and Mrs Ramsbottom, Woodland and Yardley- White Lane, Ash Green (go past Hazel Road to find the Ramsbottom flock)
Susie and Geoffrey – Yankari, Hazel Road, Ash Green
Keep them coming – If you’ve got a sheep on display, send us it’s name and location and we will add them to the trail. 07730 609446. The more the merrier, we have all half term to enjoy the hunt for the lost sheep!
Share your photos online with the hashtag #AshValeSheepTrail and tell us who’s your favourite, or why not comment here?
You will probably have seen details of the Love & Light Trail in the latest Parishioner Magazine. The map has now been published – and here it is! The trail is open on Saturday 31st Oct 2020 10am – 8pm for you to enjoy with your household or bubble. Have fun!
Love & Light Trail 2020 – map and instructions Love & Light Trail 2020 – map and instructions
We have a few copies available in the church foyer if you don’t have a printer and would like to pick one up.
