Heavenly beauty spot turns to hell in the heat
‘IT GETS ABSOLUTELY GRIDLOCKED, YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT’
HAMPSHIRE Police have confirmed a 27-year-old man died from his injuries suffered during a crash on the A32.
The incident, involving a Suzuki motorcycle, a Ford Mondeo and a Honda Jazz, occurred at around 6.30pm Tuesday, June 15 in East Tisted near Alton.
Emergency services attended
IN HOT weather, like the mini-heatwave we are currently enjoying, one of the main spots in Surrey to which visitors are attracted is the beautiful sandy beach at Frensham Great Pond.
In recent years people have flocked there in their thousands to sunbathe and paddle in the water when the sun is shining, but for those living in the area, its popularity comes at a cost.
The volume of people visiting the area in hot weather has regularly been more than the local infrastructure can handle. Several times during recent years, including during the lockdowns of 2020 and the summer of 2021, residents have found that the designated parking area has filled up and cars have therefore parked at the sides of the narrow country lanes in the area. This has made it hard for other vehicles to pass through, and on some occasions the police have had to close surrounding roads to traffic.
Paul Bridger, 52, lives locally and his mother resides in a house on Peakfield, one of the closest roads to the pond. He told SurreyLive that the traffic can be completely unmanageable at peak times.
“At the moment it’s not too bad but the summer holidays are a nightmare,” he said. “It gets absolutely gridlocked, you’ve never seen anything like it. There’s no consideration - you couldn’t get fire engines through if there was an emergency.
“There is lots of litter and problems with barbecues too. They put signs up [to deter people] but nobody’s ever going to read those. It can get shockingly bad up there.” the scene, with the A32 closed off in both directions.
The motorcyclist, a 27-year-old man from Aldershot, was sadly pronounced deceased at the scene as a result of his injuries.
His family has been informed and are being supported by officers at this time.
Hampshire Police are appealing
Indeed, litter has also been a significant issue on several occasions, with drinks cans and food packaging left scattered along the waterfront. On Wednesday June 15, we spoke to Linda, a Badshot Lea resident whose family have been visiting the area for decades. She felt that the amount of rubbish had become a real problem for the beauty spot.
“It does get very busy at weekends and there can be lots of litter,” she said. “I just think British people are untidy. You don’t see this in Portugal, do you?”
The pond, beach and common area are owned by the National Trust and managed by Waverley Borough for anyone with any information to come forward.
Sergeant Chris Thompson, said: “We are currently carrying out our initial enquires to ascertain the exact circumstances which led to the tragic loss of a young man’s life.
“We are particularly keen to speak to anyone who was in the
Council. It has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), a Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI), a Special Protection Area (SPA) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
To try and deal with the problems caused by overcrowding, the pond’s car park has been significantly expanded in recent years, and the facilities have been upgraded. A new cafe was introduced on the site in 2019, and there are litter bins available for people to dispose of their rubbish.
Most of the roads surrounding the pond have now been painted with double yellow lines, making it illegal for anyone to park there even if they cannot find a space in the car park. Unfortunately, not everyone seems to obey the restrictions, which is what has caused road closures in the area at the time and who witnessed the incident.
“Likewise, we would also like to hear from anyone who may have dash-cam footage of the moments leading up to or just prior to the collision.
“If you have any information regarding this incident, no matter how small or insignificant you past. One of the roads that has been badly affected is Pond
Lane, which provides access to several houses, a sailing club and the popular Frensham Pond Hotel. Roberto Ross is the general manager at the hotel, and he told SurreyLive that when the road is closed it inevitably has an impact.
“The road here gets closed off because the number of visitors far outweighs the areas for parking,” he confirmed. “We’re still extremely busy over those periods, but if you shut off the road then obviously it has a knock-on effect on the business.”
Most local people with whom we spoke could understand why the Great Pond and nearby Frensham Little Pond are so popular – after all, believe it to be, please contact us as soon as possible as it could help aid our investigation.”
The A32 re-opened just after 8.30am the following day. Anyone with information about the incident can make contact with police online or by calling 101 quoting 44220237970 or Operation Cab. they are extraordinarily beautiful places to visit and a much closer alternative for Surrey sunseekers than going to the seaside.
However, there remains a real sense of frustration that some who visit are inconsiderate towards the habitat and to the people who have made the area their home