Blackheath Village Society Minutes 20th January 2026

Minutes of the BVS Meeting: Held at Theobolds on Tuesday, 20th January 2026 at
7:30pm
Present: Paul, David, Anne, Ralph, Simon, Max, Andy and Ranald. Apologies: Laura &
Paul had to leave after the Pub Update.

1. The minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 11th November 2025, were read and
approved.

2. Village Pub update
Despite the re-listing of the cafe/community hub as an Asset of Community Value and a
successful Judicial Review (JR), the planning officer is recommending the latest
application for approval. This will be heard by Waverley's Planning Committee and
decided by the members on Wednesday, 21st January 2026. A representative from the
BVS, Parish Council & the applicant will be allowed to speak for 4 minutes each and
members of the public can attend the proceedings. The meeting is also available on the
Council’s YouTube channel to view live.

The officers report seems to be structured differently to before, but the evidential base
which underpins the officer assessment is not markedly different. There are powerful
reasons to believe that the previous JR would have succeeded on several other grounds.
The updated ACV status is relevant, and in our view the ICS policy test “no longer
required” is not the strict equivalent of “non-viable”

We believe the Council is still falling into the same trap of misinterpreting its own policy
(and which would equally help to distill possible grounds of challenge on any future JR
case), or simply that members are being asked by the officer to make a bad decision on
the facts when the weight of policy and other material considerations points in the
opposite direction. The real issue here is that refusal of permission is important, as it
may well ultimately lead to a sale being offered at a realistic price for community uses,
and certainly, there is one final opportunity to persuade members that refusal is entirely
justified without you needing to resort to JR again.

3. Christmas Party
The party was divided into the children’s party held in the afternoon and an adults party
in the evening.
The children’s party was a big success with many messages of thanks confirming their
children had a wonderful time. We used a children’s entertainer who was a big success.
Thanks were given to Andy who organised the party and to Ralph who dressed as Father
Christmas and gave out presents.
We all agreed we should do this again next year.
The evening adults party was enjoyed by all who attended and we received many
messages of thanks, but the party was poorly supported by the villagers.
We questioned the reasons for lack of support for the evening event. Next year we
should consider door to door or phone call communication. Slightly related is that we
should also make more of an effort with the Village Christmas Tree – size and
decoration.

4. Village Fair
The main point of discussion was whether we should hold a Fair this year or whether we
run the Fair alternate years so not this year. Opinion was that by running a Fair every
other year we may lose momentum so it would be much more difficult to run. To counter
this we have the operations fairly well documented. We all agreed that the running of the
Fair needs to be more widely distributed rather than with the responsibility falling to the
same people on the BVS committee. Ranald stated that our Fair is unique and should be
continued – he also mentioned the main reason he has stayed on the BVS committee
(even though he has moved out of the village) is because of the Fair.
We were unable to make a decision but agreed to sound out villagers to gauge whether
we can attract the help and commitment required to share the load. We agreed to hold a
further meeting on Thursday 29th January to make the decision.

We met on the 29th and agreed not to hold the FAIR this year. We also agreed that for
the Fair to continue we need to attract more support within the village. Later this year we
intend to hold wider meetings with the Village to promote The BVS and particularly the
running of the Village Fair.

5. Wonersh Parish Council update
Max advised that Wonersh Parish Council met with The Waverley Ranger for Blackheath
and the lead Waverley Ranger for Fires. They discussed the process following the fire
and that they were working with the fire service on its review, any lessons learned and
any changes on management for fires at Blackheath, which would be published by the
fire service. Waverley Ranger provided maps of Fire Breaks around Blackheath Village
and general policies homeowners should adopt to minimise risk. These maps are to be
posted on the BVS website – Max is preparing the update.

Max also advised that Peter Walshaw has needed to attend a First Aid course to meet
Waverley’s requirements for the assistance he provides in maintaining the Heathlands.
The course cost £200 which Peter had paid for. The committee agreed that the BVS
should recompense Peter.

6. Blackheath Cricket Club
Simon Jones advised that the Cricket Club will be bringing in 3 overseas player for this
season including two women.
On February the Cricket Club will hold their annual quiz night
On 12th March the BVS will work with the Cricket Club to promote a Jazz night being
coordinated by Ralph.

7. NEXT BVS meeting is planned for February 24th at Theobalds 7:30pm