Q1 DRAFT ANSWER: Yateley has no commercial theatre or cinema, and no art gallery or museum. There is a good library built as a 'joint provision' for the Yateley Schools and the general public in 1974. The library was completely refurbished in 2005. A Drama Hall was also provided as part of the joint provision, and has bben used by amateur groups.

Q2 DRAFT ANSWER: The only major annual event which draws in the whole community is the May Fayre held each year on May Bank Holiday. This is now organised by Yateley Lions. The Lions used to organise a Carnival with a street parade in early summer but when they took over the May Fayre from the Round Table, they made this their only major event. The May Fayre is attended by large crowds which are drawn from the surrounding rural hinterland, and surrounding larger towns.

Q3 DRAFT ANSWER: A list of community venues is being developed on the Halls & Rooms for Hire page on this website. The village halls and other venues are widely spread throughout the Civil Parish. 25 years ago the number and type of hall available was considered inadequate. This has been highlighted in previous community plans and now the provision is considered adequate, although provision for large halls for up to 300 is considered inadequate or too expensive for local groups such as U3A or Yateley Garden Society's main annual show.

Q4 DRAFT ANSWER:

Yateley Choral Society has an active membership of approx 40 of whom (probably) 10 live outside Yateley. They rehearse on Monday evenings in the Drama Studio at Yateley Manor School and perform on average 3 concerts a year in the Fyson Blum Hall at Yateley Manor or in St. Peter`s church. Occasionally they join forces with neighbouring choirs (e.g. Surrey Heath Choral Society) for one-off concerts one of which, in aid of the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice, was held at Yateley`s Catholic Church. Click the Choral Society's website for more information

Theatre 64 is an Amateur Drama Group formed in 1964 producing 3 or 4 full-length productions each year. They have had a great deal of success in local festivalsover the years. Theatre 64 meets in the 6th Form Centre at Yateley School, on Mondays and Fridays from 8pm until 10.30pm throughout the year except for a summer break in August. Their current show has a cast of 14 and direction and production staff of 6. Click Theatre 64's website for more information.

 

There may be other arts groups operating in Yateley. We ask them to get in touch with us via the email link.

Q6 DRAFT ANSWER: People from Yateley's past appear in significant numbers in the Dictionary of National Biography, but they are unlikely to catch the imagination of Grade 4 children studying local history. The 2004 Library Lecture by the Yateley Society about the WW2 war-dead honoured on Yateley's war memorial revealed the heroism which had gained many gallantry medals. The daring and bravery of the airman of many nationalitites who flew from RAF Hartfordbridge was one of the subjects of the accompanying exhibition. This exhibition also revealed that in 1939 a total of 23 residents had entries in Who's Who.

 

Yateley has a very strong link with the East India Company, and most of the mansion houses, existing or demolished, have links with men who served in key postions in the HEIC from the 17th century right through to the Raj. People and events connected with Empire tend not to be associations which are promoted in today's world.

Q6 DRAFT ANSWER:

Religious Establishments:

 

St. Barnabas	Binns Lane, Darby Green	Anglican	01252 873839
St. Mary’s	Church Road, Eversley	Anglican	01189 793 6595
St. Peter’s	Oaklands, Yateley	Anglican	01252 873647
St. Swithun’s	Firgrove Road, Yateley	Roman Catholic	01252 872732
Sandhurst & Yateley Methodist Church	Scotland Hill, Sandhurst	Methodist	01252 860020
Yateley Baptist Church	Cricket Hill Lane, Yateley	Baptist	0870 765 2066

 

Information about the churches can be found on their websites.

 

Sunday attendance varies from around 60 in the smaller churches to over 300 in the larger ones.

The religious establishment groups work closely togther, with other social organisations, and with the local authorities on an wide spectrum of social issues.

 

Members of various churches are town councillors and the Churches Together group represents all denominations on the Yateley Parish Plan Steering Group, and also the Town Council Youth Planning committee. The Citizens Advice Bureau refers clients as necessary to church organisations. The churches have close links with Hart Voluntary Action. The churches were involved in the setting up of Yateley Care and members of the churches have been involved in the running of this organisation. Cornerstone Counselling was set up by the church, and members of various churches are qualified counsellors.

A number of churches offer facilities for mother and toddler groups and pre-school groups.

The churches are involved with the young people’s uniformed brigades in the organisation of, and participation in, the Remembrance Day Service. In the schools church members of all ages are involved in Youth ministry. For the elderly, the churches provide facilities for the Primrose Club. A church bus provides transport to church and special excursions for the elderly. A monthly service is provided at Hedgecroft for the residents there. Church members provide a club for those in the area who are elderly and live alone. Many of the links are informal and are maintained by members of various local churches who are part of the backbone of local volunteer organisations such as the Brunch Club, Sandhurst Day Care Centre, meals on wheels and many, many more.

 

From St. Swithun’s, Father Peter writes;

St. Swithun’s Church and Parish Centre is the spiritual home and focus of worship for the Catholic community within and around Yateley. Each Sunday we welcome approximately 300 worshippers to our three Sunday masses, whilst also offering weekday Masses, morning and evening, providing an opportunity for us to uphold the parish, the world and its needs in prayer.

The lively community at St. Swithun’s meet regularly for prayer groups led by members of the community both in their own homes and in churches. All are welcome to our Alpha courses and CaFE groups. We have a warm family feel and encourage the whole family to join with us. We encourage young people to express their love of Jesus through the First Holy Communion and Confirmation programmes as well as ‘children’s church’ and the opportunity to serve through the ministry of Altar Servers.

As a family we also like to meet together for social events and there are dances, parties and quiz nights to which we warmly welcome the whole community.

At St. Swithun’s we seek not only to spread the good news of Jesus Christ but meet the needs of the community and work with the vulnerable and disadvantaged to promote equality and justice. We seek to be the hands and heart of Christ to the Yateley Community.

 

All the churches in the Yateley area are committed to serve the community, and to be a part of the community in which they are located.

Q7 DRAFT ANSWER: For over a century The Aldershot News Group has delivered newspapers to Yateley households, mainly under the banner of the 'Camberley News'. For several decades two separate editions have been published on Tuesdays and Fridays. The front page Friday edition, under the banner Yateley News is almost exclusively Yateley News mostly contributed by a reporter resident in Yateley. There are two or three free newspapers delivered in Yateley: the Star and the Courier have been circulating for some years. Recently a Bracknell based newspaper has also been delivered free. The Yateley Courier (from the Surrey Advertiser stable) claims a distribution of about 75% of Yateley households.

 

Other means of reporting on local events and issues are via the parish magazines of Yateley and Eversley. Yateley's parish magazine 'Your Yateley' has a circulation between 600-800 copies per month. Eversley's magazine is also widely read in Yateley. The Town Council issues a free newsletter on a quarterly basis which is delivered to a minimum of 75% of households, and probably reaches many more from static distribution points.

 

Local radio stations claim to cover Yateley from Guildford and Reading, with traffic news even available from BBC South Coast Radio. These stations come into their own for schools in emergencies covered by adverse weather conditions but do not cover much community news such as the next meeting of the Yateley Gardening Society. BBC South and Meridian cover local newsworthy events and local people have appeared on news programmes from time to time.