Portmore Park & District Residents Association (PPDRA) is a voluntary association of residents in north Weybridge, Surrey, UK.
PPDRA was founded circa 1965 to share information and help give a voice to the views of local residents in the area bounded by Weybridge High Street, the River Wey and the area around Thames Street/Walton Lane.
We welcome new members. If you support the aims of PPDRA, why not join us?
PPDRA is not party-political. Our members are drawn together by caring about our locality — its heritage, quality of life and community.
Local Heritage
Help safeguard the long term character of our locality
Our part of Weybridge is graced with attractive homes, tree-lined roads, and the Wey and Thames riversides. We want to hand it on unspoilt to future generations.
Quality of Life
Keep day-to-day life safe and pleasant for residents
We help share residents’ views on local matters including major planning applications, amenities and services, traffic and parking, green spaces and riversides, Weybridge town centre, community facilities, flood prevention and other issues that affect local residents.
Community
Support neighbourliness
Participating in PPDRA is a way to get to know other people in the area, and help build the sense of local community.
Any useful actions and results?
We cover an area brought together by proximity to the high street and the rivers, and the fact that traffic uses our residential roads as through routes. PPDRA has a very positive record of making a difference on major issues affecting our part of Webridge:
- Campaigning against dangerous rat run traffic in our residential roads — helped get traffic calming measures and a 20 MPH zone (which many residents want extended east of Thames Street)
- Helped prevent a huge twin loop junction at Walton Bridge — which would have put roads on irreplaceable public riverside land at Cowey Sale, sending more traffic along Walton Lane and Thames Street and through Portmore Park
- Worked to overcome obstacles to the creation of Broadwater Path — which now gives public access to Broadwater, and opens the way for public funding to save the lake from silting up
- Years of liaising with the Environment Agency on riverside amenities and flood planning — raised EA awareness of the value of the Thames Path on the riverside at Desborough Channel, and why the path should not be moved closer to Walton Lane traffic as a casualty of the Thames flood relief scheme
- Providing informed comment on major local planning applications — helping residents influence the long term character of our local built environment
- Conducting traffic surveys to monitor local flows — and using the findings in lobbying Surrey County Council to make the Portmore Park area less of a rat run rather than more
- Working with St George’s Junior School on community relations, school traffic and parking — work in continuing progress, meeting with the school 3 times a year since 2003, and contacting as needed
- Helping residents communicate with Surrey and Elmbridge Councils — to get residents’ voices heard on local issues & community facilities
- Producing local newsletters (distributed to 1200 households) informing about significant local issues, holding community meetings, running this website, and more
All new members are welcome — there’s no commitment to give any of your time, simply joining is a help in itself. But if you are interested in actively joining in, or helping out in our activities in any way, then even better. Let us know at contactus @ portmore.org.uk