Goldsworth Park

About the neighbourhood

The Goldsworth Park neighbourhood includes Goldsworth Park Recreation Ground, the lake, community centre, sports pitches, Lakeview and Sythwood Play Area.

About the Neighbourhood Officer

The Council's Neighbourhood Officer for Goldsworth Park is Nick Roach.

Telephone Number: 01483 743469

Email: nick.roach@woking.gov.uk

Fax: 01483 776335

Address: Woking Borough Council, Civic Offices, Gloucester Square, Woking GU21 6YL

Nick can be contacted about the following:

  • waste and recycling
  • litter
  • graffiti
  • abandoned vehicles
  • untaxed vehicles (on highway land)
  • grounds maintenance (trees, grass cutting and vegetation)
  • street furniture (street name plates, litter bins, dog waste bins and benches).

Latest news from the neighbourhood

Please find below my November update for the Goldsworth Park area:

  • Litter issues can vary according to the time of year and the activities which are ongoing in the area at that time. At the weekends the lake and recreation ground are well used, by both local residents and people coming in from outside to use the facilities. This can result in an increase in the amount of litter that gets left and blown around. Serco undertake litter-picking weekly. If you become aware of any significant problems at other times, contact details for Serco are shown below.
  • Anti-Social Behaviour problems occur intermittently and unfortunately the Community Centre at the lake has had windows smashed during the last 12 months, costing the charity organisation precious funds. The council and police, as well as other local groups, are looking at what can be done to tackle this problem.
  • Untaxed and Abandoned Cars on Goldsworth Park are not a major problem. Residents can help to keep things this way by reporting any untaxed vehicles that you see direct to the council offices on 01483 755855.
  • Graffiti in the form of `tags´ and messages appear frequently on and around play equipment. Serco, on behalf of the council, continue to remove graffiti; and again, please don´t hesitate to inform the council offices on the number above if you see any graffiti in the area.
  • Grass cutting is not a major issue this time of year, but there are still a few areas where bushes are encroaching on the highway. Some of these are dealt with as Serco are made aware of them, but others are actually private hedges and need to be reported to Surrey County Council Highways who contact the owner. The link to the online form to report such issues is here :

http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/env/hews/hews.nsf/FIIRTF?OpenForm&CCode=VGPR~1&Subject=Vegetation%20overgrown&City=WOKING&faultID=75823806844

  • Work around the lake by The Community Payback Scheme (The probation Service) continues with the thinning and tidying of vegetation. Progress in this area has slowed for the winter period, but arrangements are being planned to engage their services again in the New Year to build some steps for use by the model Yacht Club, who have elderly members who currently have to navigate down the slippery bank to put their boats in the water. The steps will be made from railway style sleepers (untreated so as not to harm the wildlife in the water), and handrails will be installed for added safety. It is also planned to rebuild some of the bank along the same stretch where it has eroded.
  • If members of the public would like to report any issues, such as litter, fly-tips, overgrown vegetation and grass too long, WBC´s partners Serco can be contacted direct on 01483 775422; or email: helpdesk@woking.serco.com.

Tune In meeting update 21 March 2007

On Wednesday 21 March 2007, the first of Woking´s Neighbourhood `Tune-In´ meetings was held at The Generation Centre in Goldsworth Park.

The purpose of the meeting was to give residents of Goldsworth Park the opportunity to meet and discuss local issues, and consider areas for improvement and development in the area. All attendees were invited to explain their concerns on arrival and they were then given the opportunity to discuss the top three issues in small groups with trained facilitators. As well as talking about the issues, local people were asked to think about the possible solutions and what they could do to improve the area in which so many live and work.

A major topic of discussion was anti-social behaviour in the area. Goldsworth Park residents discussed some of the incidents that have taken place and what could be done to try and engage with the people who are causing the problems.

A number of actions came out of the meeting which the local Council, the police and the community in general need to address. As far as the Neighbourhood Officer tasks go, there were a few areas for me to look at.

  • There was a report of vegetables taken from large wheeled bins behind Waitrose being thrown around. To date, we have not been able to confirm which bins these came from, as the bins are generally locked; but we are monitoring the situation.
  • There was a report of vandalism in Ainsdale Way. So far, we have been unable to ascertain further details about this and would urge people to get in touch if they have further information.
  • There was a report of litter on Claydon Road. We have visited the area and, on the day of our visit, the road looked very clean. However, we will continue to monitor the situation.
  • Sythwood Streetlights are an ongoing issue. They are maintained by Surrey County Council Highways Department, and we have informed them of some of the lights being out. Residents who are concerned may contact them direct, either by phone (0845 600 9009) or via their website.
  • Bishopswood was another area mentioned as having litter and I am looking into this.
  • Litter on the path between Waitrose and lake is an issue, and we are looking at whether we need to increase the frequency of litter-picks along this path.
  • The issue of litter and overgrown hedges around the Community Centre was also raised. The Probation Service is helping enormously by thinning out vegetation around the lake, and will also collect litter at times.
  • Serco are also increasing their level of litter-picking so conditions should improve.

Litter

In the summer and holiday periods where more people are out and about, larger amounts of litter can appear on our streets and areas can become very untidy shortly after being cleaned. Please 'do your bit' to keep Goldsworth Park a pleasure for all who use it by taking your rubbish home with you or putting it in a bin.

If there are problems with litter, residents are welcome to contact the Council's environmental services contractor, Serco direct on 01483 775422; or email: helpdesk@woking.serco.com. If there are regular problem areas, we can look at increasing the standard cycle at which some areas are cleaned.

Goldsworth Park Lake - environmental improvements

At the end of January, work began on thinning and tidying overgrown vegetation around the lake with the help of the Community Payback Scheme run by the Probation Service. The team will work on Mondays each week, for the foreseeable future.

Untaxed cars

Since DVLA powers were adopted by Woking Borough Council during the course of last year, the numbers of untaxed vehicles left on the public highway have dramatically reduced. Untaxed vehicles can be reported directly to Nick Roach on the 01483 743469.

Serco - grounds maintenance

Improvements in the standard of grounds maintenance have been reported since the latter part of 2006. We would like to maintain these improvements and should anyone be interested in helping us and joining our grounds maintenance panel, please contact Nick Roach for further details.

Overgrown paths

A lot of work has been completed recently to improve access along a number of paths within Goldsworth Park. In extreme cases, paths were reduced to a third of their original width, due to overgrown hedges.

Waste and recycling

It has proved possible to work with many residents groups and individuals to improve waste and recycling arrangements. Should you have any queries on this topic please do not hesitate to contact Nick directly.

More information

For more information about this neighbourhood, including other key contacts, please visit the community website, Window on Woking.