An eclectic and perchance idiosyncratic list
| Links away from this site will open in a new window. A link does not signify any particular endorsement by the Residents' Association | |
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There was an old man of Thames Ditton, Who called out for something to sit on; But they brought him a hat, and said, "Sit upon that, You abruptious old man of Thames Ditton! Edward Lear, More Nonsense, 1872 |
| Local Business | Visit our business index to search for, and learn of, local businesses. |
| Community |
Neighbourhood statistics for Thames Ditton and Weston Green The Thames Ditton Island web site: highly readable! (What really goes on over there, we wonder?!) Doings in neighbouring Surbiton, Kingston, and Claygate. Surrey Alert - a site for useful emergency and other information Thames Ditton Virtual Village. Some local information on this site, now inactive. |
| Residents Associations | Some of our partner associations in Elmbridge that have web sites (Some associations do not yet have them)). Hinchley Wood Residents' Association Esher Residents' Association The Walton Society The Molesey Residents' Association The Long Ditton Residents' Association Federation of Oxshott Residents and Associations (FEDORA) And some more distant Residents' Associations that have contacted us: Ash Residents Association - Newly formed in Surrey (as of November 2011) stimulated by predatory development plans, so often the genesis of strong residents' associations. Ballasalla and District RA, Isle of Man. |
| Politics |
Political Parties:
The Residents' Association is a non party-political organisation, and in fairness we offer you links to the party-political political parties. You might like to compare their record of interest in and activities to benefit Thames Ditton and Weston Green....
National Petitions: since November 2006 you may raise a petition to the Prime Minister online. It's up to you to let people know about it so that they may sign it online if they wish. Your elected representatives nationally ... You may keep independent track of what your MP says and does, his registered interests and donations etc, by means of the useful They Work For You web site. You can communicate online with your elected representatives via Write To Them. Or you may visit the personal website of Dominic Raab MP (Con). Get your money's worth! You can view your MP's list of registered interests. If you can't get your MP's attention, you may like to try this web site. Oneplace is a site promoted by the Audit Commission, established by Mrs Thatcher but now to be abolished by Mr. Cameron's Conservatives, where you can/could see how, for example, Surrey County Council is/was doing... Where does my money go? is a site that attempt to correlate your taxes with how they are spent. Submit an e-petition to Government |
| Councils |
Elmbridge Council has a very good and useful web site - a fund of resources. Note: you can view planning applications and lodge objections or other comments online with Elmbridge BC here. The direct link to planning enforcement on EBC's website is here: you may file your views conveniently via the 'online investigation complaint form' at the foot of Elmbridge's web page. You can sign up for automatic email alerts of planning applications within up to 2km of your postcode here. Elmbridge Borough Council's emergency 'out of hours' number: for when there is something out of hours that needs immediate attention (flytipping, sewage overflow, for example..) or a nuisance (24 hour rock concert ...) call 01372 466114. The operator takes down the details of the complaint and PROVIDED THEY GET THREE CALLS ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM they contact the appropriate officer, e.g. Environmental Health Officer, who is on call. Note that the Conservtives voted to withdraw the out of hours noise and nuisance service from April 2011. There is an 'online toolkit' about dealing with noise. Other useful things to know: to report badly weeded areas, contact EBC's helpline on 01372 474 775 or email envcare@elmbridge.gov.uk. Street cleaning: You can see when your street is due for a clean or report parts that need cleaning here Community Payback: Offenders undertake reparation work in the community. This can be picking up litter, cleaning graffiti off and repainting surfaces as necessary, cutting back vegetation or repainting or repairing a community building. If you wish to propose a location or specific project, contact Elmbridge Community Safety Partnership (manager Peter Kipps), telephone 01372 47 4399 / 4398. Official web sites: Community Cashback: you can propose local projects to be funded by assets confiscated from criminals. See Surrey Community Cashback All homes are assigned to a council tax valuation band by the Valuation Office Agency. The band is based on the value of your home on April 1, 1991, not what the property is worth today. Check your banding with similar properties in the neighbourhood on voa.gov.uk or call 03000 501 501 in England. If you believe you are paying too much, contact your local VOA office and explain why. You will learn the outcome within a month. The service is free, your council will update your tax bill and refund you any previous overpayments refunded. After doing your research beforehand as described, it is possible that you will conclude you are paying too little. If you decide to alert the VOA nevertheless, your banding may be revised upwards but you will not have to pay for any backdated charges. Council voting - why it is not easy to discover which councillors vote for what... Elmbridge B.C.'s list of leisure events within the wider Elmbridge area, and EBC leisure and cultural services Surrey County Council Surrey CC have very useful mapping of local rights-of-way. Trading Standards and a county-council website listing approved small traders: Buy With Confidence or phone 01372 371666 and an advisor will tell you some trader names over the phone Surrey County Council website has a section for of real-time travel information and another for data on Surrey: " Surrey-i. new page of FAQs regarding the county-wide streetlights replacement programme on the SCC Highways website. The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames |
| Planning | Government guidance on Planning at the Planning Portal. Government pdf file of 256kb detailing what householders can do without planning permission is here (note that special rules apply in Conservation Areas - consult EBC). |
| Doctors and clinics | Giggs Hill Surgery. Local prevalence of medical conditions Cancer Research UK- contains many useful and reliable links to other organisations that can help you handle cancer. |
| Police and Crime |
Surrey Police home page
Metropolitan Police Sports Club at Imber Court (frequent events open to public) |
| Library | Our excellent Library in Thames Ditton Address:Dittons Library, Mercer Close, Thames Ditton, KT7 0BS |
| Difficult Neighbours | Surely not in Thames Ditton or Weston Green! But just in case, trained volunteer mediators are available to help secure non-adversarial agreement in neighbourly disputes. Mediation North Surrey has the backing of Elmbridge Council, the Police and the Citizens Advice bureau. Fully confidential - and you can ask for a mediator who doesn't live in the village if you prefer. Contact co-ordinator Marion Bore on 0870 7514311 or visit the website. |
| Citizens Advice | Esher and District Citizens Advice Bureau: Harry Fletcher House, High Street, Esher KT10 9RN. They are based in a small building in the car park next to the Civic Centre. Telephone number: 01372 464770. |
| Pubs | If your pub is not reviewed here, you can add it to the 'Beer in the Evening' web site! Pubs in Thames Ditton Pubs in Weston Green. |
| Weather | BBC weather forecast for Thames Ditton And Flood warnings, if any current, from the Environmental Agency (search by your postcode). River level right now at Thames Ditton: the measuring post is next to the Swan slipway and data is sent electronically to the EA by one of the residents on the Island. |
| Charities, Voluntary Service, Community Rôles, care homes |
Walsingham Care - formerly the Home of Compassion charity provides support for the long-term or termminally ill or disabled of local parishes.
CARE buses For the infirm or elderly who may have transport difficulties Street Child Africa Voluntary Action Elmbridge, Residents House, Community Walk, ESHER, Surrey KT10 9RA: lists current volunteer jobs in the community. FamilyLine Surrey is a local telephone helpline service for families experiencing difficulties, freephone 0808 800 5678, weekdays from 10am – 7pm. FamilyLine listen to callers with problems on parenting, children’s behaviour, teenagers, adult relationships, grandchildren, isolation etc. local homes with links to their reports here. The Care Quality Commission site contains details of all local care homes, inspection reports and quality ratings. Local providers also advertise on this site; and you can order a directory from Surrey County Council if you go to their wbsite and search for 'choosing a residential or nursing home' |
| Vera Fletcher Hall | The Hall's web site, with a current schedule of events and classes. |
| Schools | Thames Ditton Infants School. Thames Ditton Junior School. Esher College Hinchley Wood School and Sixth-Form Centre Basic details and performance of the schools can be found via the Surrey CC education link. |
| The Station & other transport | Well done, Ron. Current trains. buses & journey planner, SE England. Thames Ditton Miniature Railway |
| Churches | All Saints Weston Saint Nicholas Church web site The Symbolism of the Goat on the Norman Font at Thames Ditton:Article here (note: large pdf file of 560kb). Our Lady of Lourdes RC Church, Hampton Court Way United Reformed Church |
| Local Radio | Brooklands radio - local internet-only community radio station covering Elmbridge, Runnymede, Spelthorne and Woking from its studios above Weybridge Library. Contact info@brooklandsradio.co.uk |
| Local History |
Excellent material by Rowland Baker (1919-1987), including a book on Boyle Farm (now the Home of Compassion), hosted on a new website here. Material, to which you may contribute, at Wikipedia. Celestion loudspeakers - for a time based in Thames Ditton, where they produced the famous 'Ditton' series of speakers. Claygate local history papers (Claygate formed part of the parish of Thames Ditton until 1841) In 2008 Surrey County Council set up a web site for Surrey's local history that gives reference details of documents available in their Library. Burton's Foundry cast sculptures to the world. AC Cars on wikipedia and AC Owners' Club history page Surrey CC History Centre Old Pathe News film clips featuring Thames Ditton and also Imber Court/Met Police events. Priceless! |
| Regular sporting events running, rowing etc. |
Harry Hawkes 8 is an 8 mile run round the Thames from Giggs Hill Green. Fast, properly timed course open to all, participants ranging from Olympic medallists to fun runners. Kids' race. Organised by TD Cricket Club usually in early September each year. Thames Ditton Regatta held in May each year - a substantial event since 1948 |
| Family History | West Surrey Family History Society East Surrey Family History Society |
| Waterworks miscellany | History of Seething Wells .. more here. |
| Family History | West Surrey Family History Society East Surrey Family History Society |
| Recycling links | Elmbridge freecycle group for free exchange of items people don't want to keep, but others might find useful. Elmbridge waste recycling services - if you are confused about what goes in which bin, the answers are here Rainbow Trust recycles mobile phones and turns them into funds to help support families who have a child with a life threatening or terminal illness. No matter what the condition the mobile phone is in they receive £3.50 for it from Greener Solutions. Rainbow provide FREEPOST envelopes for you to send your phones. website Tel: 01372 220023 Fax: 01372 363101 |
| Museums | Elmbridge Museum - more aimed at the school ages, perhaps. |
| Walks | A walk round Weston Green by Rowland Baker. |