View this in your browserJoin us at our LYP Fun DayOur first ever LYP Fun Day is taking place tomorrow from 11:30am – 3pm, we hope you can join us!
This event is entirely the idea of our young people, who want to help raise money for LYP and open up the building to their wider community. They have so many exciting activities planned including lots of games, soak the youth worker, a raffle, tombola and complimentary tea and coffee.
If you are planning on popping along tomorrow, here are a few useful things to know:
The Fun Day is free to enter and certain items and activities will be available for purchase for a small amount. We recommend bringing cash with you as we will not have access to card machines on the day.
We will have tickets available to purchase on the day which can be exchanged to play a selection of games: 5 tickets for £3 10 tickets for £5 20 tickets for £10
Please park at Trinity School and we’ve included a map below.
The Fun Day stalls will include: Nerf Gun Shoot Out Lucky Mugs Airplane Toss Bottle Tombola Guess the Number of Balloons Wet Sponge Wipe Out Bean Bag Toss Don’t Buzz the Wire Temporary Tattoos Nail Bar Raffle Popcorn Cake Stall Tea, Coffee and Soft Drinks
We hope that you and your family can join us tomorrow for this exciting event. It promises to be a fantastic day out and we can’t wait to see you there.
All stations serving the Epsom Downs racecourse will be closed on Derby Day Saturday 3 June 2023 as the industrial action in the dispute between rail employees/unions and train companies/Government continues.
Leatherhead and Ashtead will have a limited service earlier in the week with some SW Railway Waterloo services on Wednesday 31 May but no Southern/Victoria services. But Friday and particularly Saturday look like difficult days to get a local train. Southern operate and open the stations around Epsom Downs Racecourse including Leatherhead.
Hi Jareth, there will be a reduced service operating on services between Leatherhead and London Waterloo. We are advising to check before you travel as services are subject to short notice delays and cancellations. ^TW
⚠️ Friday 2 June: A significantly reduced service will operate 0700 to 1900 only. There will be no services outside of these hours. Large parts of our network will be closed.
Please only travel if absolutely necessary. Journey planners will be up to date on 27 May.
A long established restaurant in Bridge Street Leatherhead has had its premises licence revoked ( 3 May 2023) by the local authority following a referral from the Home Office who detained a person there in February. Councillors found the owner’s explanation of the situation “so implausible”. The licence wasn’t displayed in the public area of the restaurant either.
Note – we would expect all the matters reported may be subject to an appeal to the Magistrates Court. As at 28 May the takeaway menu for the restaurant includes beer and wine but it was not open at the time we passed to take the below pictures of the rear of the premises. The premises licence does not relate to food hygiene but to crime and disorder issues including alcohol sales.
“Having considered the Council’s own Licensing Policy and the written and oral representations made by the Applicant, ICE, the Licensing Authority as Responsible Authority, the Home Office Alcohol Team, and the Premises Licence Holder, Mr Dhaliwal, the Sub-Committee has decided to revoke the licence for the following reasons. The evidence from the Home Office officer today is that an inspecting officer witnessed the person in question exit from the kitchen. The Sub-Committee have taken this evidence at face value in the absence of the attending officer at today’s hearing. However, Mr Dhaliwal’s explanation for what happened is so implausible that the Sub-Committee do not believe his version of events to be true on the balance of probabilities. The chance of having a visitor which Mr Dhaliwal has said is extremely rare who happens to be an absconder on the day of an inspection is too remote to be plausible.”
The sub committee 28 April was chaired by Cllr Margaret Cooksey with Cllr Elizabeth Daly and former Cllr David Harper (who was not re-elected in May)
Leatherhead Schools Presented with Giant Cheque from The Swan Centre
Earlier this year, The Swan Centre gave local schools the chance to win a share of £1,000 with their Quids for Kids competition.
The exciting new initiative encouraged Leatherhead shoppers to convert their pounds to points before nominating a school of their choice.
Upon completion of the competition, the top three winning schools were announced as:
1st) Leatherhead Trinity School and Nursery
2nd) Oakfield Junior School
3rd) St Peter’s Catholic Primary School
The Swan Centre’s Administrator, Miranda Virgo, has been busy presenting the three schools with their winning cheques, with 1st place receiving £500, 2ndplace £350 and 3rd place £150.
Miranda was joined by Leatherhead FC’s much-loved mascot, Swannell, who was more than happy to help with the cheque presentations and of course, pose for a photo or two.
Councillor Keira Vyvyan-Robinson, Mole Valley District Council Cabinet Member for Projects, commented, “I am so pleased with the success of this scheme, which shows how local residents and businesses can work together to support their local schools. Hearing how delighted the schools and students have been with their prizes shows the great community spirit we have in the Swan Centre.”
A collapsed sewer in Fetcham has resulted in Lower Road being closed until 8 June 2023 with Thames Water making repairs under permit from Surrey County Council :
Cause:RoadworksClosure in force:All the timeName:Thames Water – Lower RoadDescription:Urgent repairs to a collapsed sewer.Date:25 May 12:00 – 8 Jun 23:59
As there's a risk of property flooding, this work falls under the urgent category, Andrew. We're focusing on getting the work completed as soon as we can
Also on ULEZ the courts will be considering a Judicial Review part funded by Surrey County Council in July although the zone expansion by TfL is still planned for late August
Statement from Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, Infrastructure and Growth, Matt Furniss, on Court’s decision to allow additional grounds for challenge in ULEZ Judicial Review – https://t.co/voahMQbQAq
— Surrey County Council News (@SurreyNews) May 26, 2023
The High Court has today (26 May 2023) announced it will allow further grounds for challenge as part of a Judicial Review by a coalition of councils into the proposed expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
At today’s hearing, the coalition comprising the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Hillingdon and Harrow, along with Surrey County Council was successful in its appeal, getting two additional grounds for challenge – out of three previously refused in April – added to the Judicial Review.
Those were:
unfair and unlawful consultation in relation to expected compliance rates in outer London
scrappage scheme – irrationality due to uncertainty and inadequate consultation.
On 12 April 2023 the High Court granted permission for the coalition to challenge the legality of Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor of London’s plans to expand the ULEZ to outer London from August 2023.
The permission then was granted on the following grounds:
failure to comply with relevant statutory requirements
whether the Mayor properly considered the previous “buffer zone” approach as a material consideration in relation to the scrappage scheme.
Matt Furniss, Cabinet Member for Transport, Infrastructure and Growthat Surrey County Council said: “Today’s decision is another step forward in our legal challenge to the Mayor of London, as we continue to highlight the significant financial and social impacts expansion of the ULEZ scheme would have on many of our residents and businesses.
“Our consultation response back in July 2022 clearly highlighted that the Mayor’s decision not to include Surrey residents in any scrappage scheme was unacceptable, and proposed a number of other recommendations to help mitigate the impacts of the expansion. Our concerns have still not been addressed by The Mayor, forcing these legal proceedings to have the voice of our residents heard.
“We remain committed to delivering a greener future, but it must be done in a practical and sustainable way. We will now await the findings of the Judicial Review in July.”
Surrey residents can sign up for email alerts about the proposed ULEZ expansion on our website.
As part of the Affordable Housing redevelopment for Clarion in Leatherhead, 3,550m3 has been excavated to Block A & 887 loads of muck away already removed. Alongside the existing piled wall being retained, new retaining walls are being constructed to maximise the site’s potential pic.twitter.com/H6sgGrTXOH
— Sunninghill Construction Co. Limited (@SunninghillCCL) May 24, 2023
887 loads removed at Kingston Mews Upper Fairfield
Local business and town updates 26 May :
Pharmacy updates
Buckley Pharmacy will have a fourth branch with their acquisition of Lloyds Pharmacy on Craddocks Parade. #Ashtead
Boots Epsom and Leatherhead open Bank holiday Monday:
a unique, friendly, well-being community centre with a dance school upstairs and a large space downstairs to house local projects and hire out to companies with the Jam ethos*
The Jam Place, upstairs, caters to both neurotypical and neurodiverse children. It’s a place to dance, connect, learn important life skills such as teamwork, confidence, self-expression and to have fun. Founded 16 years ago with a strong focus on mental health and connection, we offer a safe and inclusive space for young people to express themselves through dance and movement.
The Jam Space, downstairs, houses many community projects and is available for hire
Swan Centre Free Half Term Fun: This Half Term, the Swan Centre invites you to ‘Wildlife Wednesday’ on Wednesday 31 May, from 11am to 3pm, around the theme of butterflies. There will be spectacular entertainment from a stilt walking butterfly, free face painting and the opportunity to make butterfly wands and caterpillar leaves. Read More…
Public Spaces Protection Order Renewals:There will be a five-week consultation (5 June to 10 July 2023) to gather views on what the existing PSPOs in place at Meadowbank Park, Dorking and Leatherhead town centres could look like in the future. All three existing PSPOs will reach the end of their three-year terms in October. Read More…
Neighbourhood Fund Upcoming Deadline: Our Neighbourhood Fund, formerly known as the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy, is available for Mole Valley communities to bid for money to help deliver new infrastructure or maintain what is already there. The deadline for the summer round of bids can be made until 5 June 2023. The next (winter) deadline will be 2 October 2023. Read More…
Have your Say on Banking Hubs: Banking Hubs allow everyone to access everyday banking services, such as withdrawing and depositing cash. We’re inviting views from residents and businesses about the effect of bank closures in Mole Valley. We are looking to gather evidence in order to submit a community request to LINK for Banking Hubs to be established in the district. Read More…
✨Congratulations to our #winners of the M&S #Kingscoronation bundle worth £180 in our coronation celebration #prize draw!
Activities for the summer half term at Leatherhead Library, drop in through the week to make a snake and design a lego bridge to cross the River Mole! pic.twitter.com/vPKWN0CvAb
— Leatherhead Library (@LeatherheadLib) May 25, 2023
Here's a BIG thank you to The Leatherhead Lions for their generous donation of £1000 towards our weekly Monday coffee morning at The Leatherhead Institute (10-11.30am if you fancy coming along! Make sure you are registered with MFT via our website beforehand). pic.twitter.com/T3PLW0a6V5
— Mary Frances Trust (@MaryFrancesTrst) May 24, 2023
Update from Epsom St Helier NHS Trust on what yesterday’s Government announcement on Hospital building means for them . Jam tomorrow but edging closer to actually building? 2027 now 2030 ….so another 7 years to wait on something in the 2019 election manifesto ….
Another Surrey NHS Trust Frimley Park was added to the programme because its 1970s buildings are wearing out even faster than the 1940s and 50s structures at St Helier and Epsom….
But a further milestone and good news for patients in Leatherhead and the north of Mole Valley as well as Sutton and Epsom…
An update on our Building Your Future Hospitals programme
Good morning,
The Government has today ( 25 May) announced that a new hospital in Sutton will be built by 2030. The new emergency hospital to be built in Sutton will care for the sickest patients with life-threatening illnesses, injuries and those requiring complex surgery. Whilst Epsom and St Helier hospitals will receive significant improvements and will continue to see and treat 85% of local patients. Speaking in Parliament yesterday, The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay promised our Building Your Future Hospitals programme will “now proceed and be fully funded”. This is fantastic news for patients, our local community, nurses, doctors and everyone who works in our hospitals. Our buildings are not fit for purpose and our patients deserve better and today’s announcement means they will soon be treated in modern facilities fit for 21st century healthcare.
The announcement will mean our residents get the care they need. Works have already started, with services being relocated from the Sutton site to ensure the land is clear and ready for building works to commence. This announcement is part of the Government’s commitment to the New Hospital Programme which will see 40 new hospitals built by 2030. We would like to thank everyone who has campaigned for better healthcare for local people and we look forward to hearing more details in the coming weeks.
Please do not hesitate to contact our Communications and Engagement Team at esth.communications@nhs.net if you have any questions.
Your sincerely, James Marsh, Acting Group Chief ExecutiveJames Blythe, Managing Director for Epsom and St Helier hospitals
Former chief executive at the Trust and current head of London Ambulance Trust commented
This is fantastic news for patients, our community, and staff
Our buildings are not fit for purpose and our patients deserve better. This announcement means they will be treated in facilities fit for 21st century healthcare – in a new hospital and our current, improved hospitals https://t.co/5SkODQkMdA
— Epsom and St Helier NHS (@epsom_sthelier) May 25, 2023
Health Secretary statement included:
“Turning to the Cohort 3 Schemes, which include major hospital new builds in:
Sutton
Whipps Cross
Hillingdon
Watford
Harlow
Leeds
And Leicester
Today’s announcement confirms these schemes will now proceed and be fully funded. They will be constructed using the Hospital 2.0 standardised approach.
It is worth reminding the House of the merits of using that methodology.
First, while longer is taken on the initial overall design rather than each scheme beginning to construct its own bespoke design the current approach has meant the average time from design to completion of a major hospital has been around 11 and a half years.
By embracing Modern Methods of Construction we will speed up the construction phase and in addition, accelerate Treasury and other government assurance processes.
So while there has been much debate to date on when hospitals start the more important issue is when schemes are completed.
And a standardised modular design has been shown to work in other sectors, for example when building schools, prisons and is widespread across the private sector.
Today’s announcement confirms that all Cohort 3 schemes can now proceed.”
Mole Valley’s under new management soft play in Dorking looks to be a real improvement for the whole community and they are also recruiting:
Leader of MVDC Cllr Stephen Cooksey: “I am pleased to be able to confirm that the soft play and café at Meadowbank will be re-opening in June under Silvermere Softplay’s management. More details will follow concerning the full offer and exact opening date I should be able to provide an update in my next address but please do keep an eye on our Twitter or Facebook and their Facebook or Instagram in the meantime.
Recruitment info
‼️Silvermere Softplay and Cafe are hiring‼️
Are you looking for weekend shifts 8:30-5:30? We are currently looking to hire:
Weekend Softplay and Cafe assistants
If you are interested, and would like to be considered, please send your CV and supporting statement to inclusion@silvermere-gymnastics.co.uk, where we can send you our JDs and person specifications.
Weekday availability too. Shifts are 8.30-5.30 and contracted, with a friendly and professional team. Salary: £7.50-10.50 per hour. Get in touch asap with your CV if you are keen to apply!
Our Roots:
Silvermere Gymnastics Academy is a not for profit organisation born out of a family run gymnastics club, originally founded in and run out of a local village hall in Byfleet. After a lot of dreaming (and very hard work), we gained our very own home in Cobham, which was established in 2017. Since then, the club has further grown and evolved with continuous hard work from its directors Katie and Connor, and from support from its amazing gymnasts and their families. Silvermere Gymnastics Academy provides a special blend of superb coaching, high class equipment and a great atmosphere in a state of the art facility– focussed exclusively on the love of gymnastics, passion for learning and an opportunity for kids to move, play and connect from infancy right up until they develop into young people. The club prides itself in supporting and encouraging its young gymnasts to achieve their individual potential as they grow, and often eventually go on to becoming coaches themselves! We aim to provide an accessible and inclusive space for all of the children, young people and adults that come through our doors to be able to channel their natural energy and lay the foundations of a healthy, active lifestyle. Movement, play and connection, alongside growth, development and expression are at the very centre of our ethos as a business. We are constantly in awe of, but never surprised at the level of skill, enthusiasm, kindness, confidence and friendships that each child/young person displays when their potential is nurtured at our club.
Introduction:
Hello everyone! Welcome to Silvermere Softplay- an Inclusive Softplay Centre in the Surrey Hills, where the joy and benefits of play, movement and connection are exceeded.
The softplay centre is set to open in June 2023 and will be overseen by directors Katie, Michael, Connor and Erin (as well as our mascots baby Nova and doggos Skipper, Toby and Elsie). We share a passion for movement, play, inclusion, good coffee, locally sourced delicious food and a connection to the local community….and we cannot wait to get to know you all!
Our council owned Softplay Centre aims to provide an accessible and inclusive space for children and young people to be able to channel their natural energy and lay the foundations of a healthy, active lifestyle through movement, play and connection to others. Alongside this, we aim to offer a space for members of the public and community groups to connect in our warm and welcoming café. Adults (young, old and in between) are not forgotten either, as we hope to offer a space for them to also connect and enhance their co-ordination, physicality, self-expression, confidence and relaxation in our quieter periods through structured movement sessions. Our underlying message: we want all members of our community to feel welcome in the space in some shape or form!
We have been doing a lot of work behind the scenes and can’t wait to share more updates with you!
Key decisions on Leatherhead town centre property development and regeneration, on a new provider for the district’s sports centres, and on the multi use games area in Ashtead are all on the Council agenda at Mole Valley from June to September.
A special meeting of the Mole Valley Cabinet will be held on July 12 to consider next steps on the joint venture with Kier Property to redevelop key sites in Leatherhead.
“Mole Valley District Council has been working with Kier Property to secure financial and legal agreements required to establish the joint venture. Originally, it was anticipated that this would be concluded by the summer of 2022. However, the invasion of Ukraine, very high inflation rates, market uncertainty in Autumn 2022, increasing Bank of England interest rates and consequential volatility in the commercial property market have meant that finalising the agreement has taken much longer than originally planned. We are targeting a final approval from Mole Valley District Council Cabinet in July 2023, after which the agreements can be concluded.”
A further meeting in July will consider the new combined Leisure Centre contract for Leatherhead and Dorking.
And the proposed Multi Use Games Area at Ashtead Recreation Ground is due for Cabinet decision September- despite noises to the contrary from certain quarters in Ashtead it is still very much in play. But further consultation is planned ahead of any recommendations. See https://www.molevalley.gov.uk/home/council/council-land-property/ashtead-muga-consultation Meeting growing demand for youth soccer facilities across the district is a key consideration to balance against particular locality sensitivities in Ashtead about a type of facility that is widely available across the country and for which funding is available. Notably the former Conservative councillor, Therfield head boy and Ashtead resident Howard Jones has joined the lobby in favour of the new facilities. In Cobham a similar all weather facility is currently being installed with full support from Elmbridge and Surrey councils and sports funders. Epsom and Ewell FC will share the ground at Cobham 2023/24 season as the Leatherhead FC grass pitch could no longer accommodate three teams using it.
Each of these decisions will first be subject to an all party Scrutiny meeting chaired by an opposition councillorfrom the Ashtead Independents. The chair will act as rapporteur to feed back the views of the scrutiny councillors to the Cabinet. Some decisions can be called in to the full Council if enough councillors ask for this. One complication may be that several Ashtead councillors appear to be predetermined on the issue and may not be able to approach the issue with an open mind, but ultimately it is a Cabinet decision for Liberal Democrats from across the district (other than Ashtead).
The first Leader’s update of the municipal year has been issued 25 May :
Statement from Councillor Stephen Cooksey, Leader of Mole Valley District Council
Councillor Stephen Cooksey, Leader of Mole Valley District Council (MVDC), said: “Following a break in these statements during the pre-election period, I am pleased to be able to resume them once again. I wanted to wait until after Annual Council (23 May) so that, following the 4 May District Council Elections, I’d be in a position to confirm the Cabinet and the Chairman for the year ahead. Following the elections I am pleased to welcome 13 new councillors who bring a wide range of experience, knowledge and enthusiasm to the council, and welcome back the 26 councillors who are returning. This year’s all-out elections were unique for Mole Valley and a new electoral arrangement that sees three councillors representing 13 wards has now been established. Theelection results are on our website, as is what thismeans overall, in addition to an overview of councillors and the new wards.
“I was not able to cover the King’s Coronation in the lead up to what was a quite magnificent and significant moment in our country’s recent history. We had small pot of money for Coronation-related activities and memorabilia made available to a number of local community groups, organisations, parish councils and residents’ associations that helped pay for everything from commemorative badges to a coronation bench. I do hope that you were able to mark this special occasion in your own way and enjoyed the rest of the long bank holiday weekend too. Ahead of the upcoming and last bank holiday (Monday 29 May) this month, I can confirm there will be no changes to the normal bin collection schedule.
“I am pleased to be able to confirm that the soft play and café at Meadowbank will be re-opening in June under Silvermere Softplay’s management. More details will follow concerning the full offer and exact opening date I should be able to provide an update in my next address but please do keep an eye on our Twitter or Facebook and their Facebook or Instagram in the meantime.
“There are two imminent deadlines for government financial support to help eligible residents with the cost of living crisis. Households that do not have a direct relationship with a domestic energy supplier, for example a park home or care home resident, or use alternatives to main gas for heating such as bottled gas or coal, need to apply for Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding or Alternative Fuels Payment before Wednesday 31 May 2023. In addition, if your home is not heated by gas, you may be eligible for separate government funding through Action Surrey to pay for improvements to your house that would not only reduce your carbon footprint, but reduce your energy bills too.
“I hope this upturn in weather is set to continue as we leave spring behind and enter summer very soon. To encourage people of all ages and abilities to experience the beautiful surroundings our district has to offer, explore our fun, free and accessible volunteer-led Ramblers Wellbeing Walk scheme.
“Whilst the registration period has now closed for the annual Specsavers Surrey Youth Games, the 144 young people who signed up to take part this year from Mole Valley have been taking part in free activity sessions such as dance, girls’ rugby, judo and street basketball. The event itself (on Saturday 17 June) is all about boosting participation in fun activities and enable 7-16 year olds to try something new.
“Dorking Halls has deservedly been nominated for the Best Theatre/Arts Venue as part of the 2023 Muddy Stiletto Awards and they are in the Finals. Our brilliant venue has won this prestigious award in the past and the Halls is asking for your support and vote once again to get them across the line.”
Note : Leatherhead Theatre are also competing for the awardonce again.
The district council is trying to convince the banking sector to open hub/s in Mole Valley possibly Leatherhead to assist residents and businesses impacted by the closure of almost all the banks in the towns and larger villages.
Mole Valley Banking Hub Survey
Mole Valley District Council wants to hear from local residents and businesses about the effect of bank closures in Mole Valley.
The purpose of this survey is to gather evidence to submit a community request to LINK for Banking Hubs in Mole Valley. Banking Hubs allow everyone to access everyday banking services, such as withdrawing and depositing cash easily.
An online survey has been issued today 24 May 2023 by the MV for Business team –
Currently Nationwide (Mon- Thursday) in Leatherhead and its branch in Dorking are still due to stay open but HSBC Leatherhead and NatWest Dorking are closing soon. The ongoing presence of Nationwide means the larger towns are less likely to be deemed eligible for a hub ….
Sainsburys in the Swan Centre are reported to be installing an ATM later in the year. NatWest have an ATM at the WHSmith branch in the centre. Other ATMs in Leatherhead are at petrol stations on Kingston Road and Tesco Oxshott Road.
More information on the topic including banking hubs is available from local resident and consultant Ron Delnevo via LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/rondelnevo
A day of Council business with the annual County and District meetings held in Reigate and Dorking.
Leatherhead and Fetcham East long serving county councillor Tim Hall was appointed vice chairman of Surrey County Council with the prospect of becoming the ceremonial chairman in two years. He steps down as chair of the SCC Planning committee.
Saj Hussain was elected as Chair of Surrey County Council at today's Full Council meeting. Saj takes over from Helyn Clack with Tim Hall elected as Vice-Chair. pic.twitter.com/97YTibGG17
— Surrey County Council News (@SurreyNews) May 23, 2023
At Mole Valley the annual ceremonial chairman 2023/24 is Cllr Professor Patricia Wiltshire of Ashteadwho was vice chairman for 2020/21. The vice chairman this municipal year is Cllr Elizabeth Daly of Bookham.
Cllr Stephen Cooksey continuing as MVDC Leader appointed two new Cabinet members, Cllr Rosemary Hobbs Community Services and Cllr Nick Wright Leisure with some limited adjustments to other portfolios notably Paul Kennedy adding security and antisocial behaviour issues to his role. And separately he will be chair of Licensing. Leatherhead South Cllr Bridget Kendrick remains Deputy Leader and Finance portfolio holder.
The Leader’s statement gave some encouragement of movement towards Transform Leatherhead property joint venture contractsand delivery as well as completion of the Local Plan process. Cllr Cooksey also hoped that the previous opposition approach of “unnecessary and destructive confrontation” would be replaced with a more cooperative engagement across the council. There are only three Conservatives (two in Leatherhead South ward) and six Ashtead Independents led now by Cllr Chris Hunt. Overall 13 new members out of 39 so a lot of new and younger members on the authority.
The Council also agreed newly elected Fetcham councillor Phil Hammond to be chairman of the Development Management committee- he has a professional background in local authority building regulations management. The previous DMC chairman David Preedy retired from the Council but remains on Headley Parish Council. Cllr Hammond will also chair the Community Infrastructure Levy group for the north of the district.
Ashtead Independent councillors will run the Scrutiny Committee and Conservative Cllr Jo Slater will chair the Audit Committee.
We are pleased to announce we have arranged a pre season friendly against a @BrentfordFC XI on 29th July. Ticket details will follow shortly and will be available to purchase in advance on line. pic.twitter.com/HckjeIkjlE
The way we travel is about so much more than just getting from A to B. Choosing to use active travel such as walking and cycling for everyday trips is good for your health, wellbeing and planet too. https://t.co/yBlbQcUs3hpic.twitter.com/NmoZkbCKeS
— Surrey County Council News (@SurreyNews) May 19, 2023
Fit for a King – latest repair to Leatherhead’s famous zig zag ramp or waterless feature outside what is now Pizza Loca. SCC are the responsible authority for this and their contractors Bill Kear and Ringway did the work on this occasion
Thanks to everyone @Ringway_UK and @Billkearplant involved in an urgent project to repair the waterless feature in Leatherhead Town Centre in time for the Coronation celebrations. The project repaired damage from vandalism that left unsightly and dangerous edges. pic.twitter.com/5PhFexiEh7
Vegetation clearance by SCC on spur section of Kingston Road below the bridge in north Leatherhead is understood to be preparatory to work in the summer on the wall which will involve full road closures https://one.network/?GB133638420
5G mast now installed outside B&Q
Surrey County Council took over responsibility for on-street parking and enforcing penalty fines across the county from 1 April 2023. “Find out more about how we can help you with parking services at orlo.uk/D8Q7h
Cobham Cllr David Lewis SCC cabinet member for Finance writes : .. “There should be a visible enforcement presence across the county from this date although new and existing staff will be familiarising themselves with patrol areas and new methods of working. Information provided by the [previous] team about enforcement “hotspots” is being used to guide the deployment. This change does not affect the car parking enforcement in off street car parks..”
If you have any questions regarding the SCC service, you should either visit the website highways@surreycc.gov.ukor phone 0300 200 1003 (9am to 5pm Monday – Friday exc bank holidays).”
See Q&A below 23 May
A307 Cobham
Cllr Lewis “Work at the junction of Fairmile Lane and Portsmouth Road was required as a condition of the planning permission, granted by Elmbridge, for the Cobham Free School to move into Munro House. The project is designed to improve road safety for pedestrians & cyclists and to replace the traffic lights which are at the end of their life. It is being funded and delivered by the Department for Education (DfE) who have appointed their own contractor. It is not a Surrey Highways project. I am frustrated by the delays and I have been working with the contractors to improve the phasing of the traffic lights to improve the traffic flow.”
Please visit one.network for the most up to date information. It may not always be possible for some of the works listed below to go ahead. If you have any queries about these works please visit our roadworks map.
Tim Hall – Working for Leatherhead & Fetcham East We already have two sets of Electric Vehicle Charging Points in Leatherhead at Copthorne Road and Church Street. This new announcement allows a major new investment. Surrey County Council and Connected Kerb have agreed a contract to support the rollout of thousands of electric vehicle chargepoints across the county in the coming years. The contract releases £60million of investment to provide public EV chargepoints across Surrey. Find out how this will support more residents in switching to an electric vehicle: https://orlo.uk/sSQhS
“An update on Pothole Repairs! Explaining some of the challenges.”
“When dealing with potholes, sometimes we need to put a temporary repair in place.”
EV charging Church Street
“This might be because we can’t shut a road at that time or because it is flooded, but we will always return to do a full repair.”
We're resurfacing roads in villages, towns & cities across #Surrey. Works including bridge repairs, country lanes, town roads & busy footpaths are some of the 520 major projects completed since May. 350 schemes will be completed in 2023. For more see https://t.co/zLCCzlQ0nH . pic.twitter.com/ntvrOMsFNS
Questions to SCC Cabinet member on Parking and Highways by Residents and Green county councillors:
Reply suggesting SCC prefer residents to avoid using the FixMyStreet App and prefer reports direct via the SCC website:
Question to KEVIN DEANUS, CABINET MEMBER FOR HIGHWAYS AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE 17.STEVEN MCCORMICK (EPSOM TOWN & DOWNS) TO ASK: (3rd Question) During the recent borough elections, a key item on the doorstep was on potholes which we know is a large problem for the county. An easy-to-use logging app called FixMyStreet which allows easy fast, accurate logging of many issues related to both county and borough councils is available. My question is on the integration of this app with Surrey systems. How well integrated is the app and can this integration be improved and leveraged and promoted to our residents as an easier faster way to communicate with us and notify us of problems and issues? The app exists already, is already very well used by other authorities and I believe this council can reap significant benefits from improved integration and promotion. A recent item came to the Resources and Performance Select Committee on Digital Inclusion, and I would see this integration work as further expanding the goals of digital inclusion with our residents and ensuring no one gets left behind. If the above is not an option at this point could we consider adapting the current SCC system to allow other reports within a 15m2 area of an existing report to be added to the existing report? Rather than creating a new file/report as the new process introduced should mean that the inspection team look at a 15m2 area around each report anyway? RESPONSE: The Council’s online reporting tool has been developed over the past ten years with several major upgrades allowing residents and other road users to report a variety of defects and issues along with accurate map locations, descriptions and where taken, photos to help describe defects and aid the teams in locating and carrying out the repairs. It also has the functionality to show any outstanding defect reports to save residents having to re-report the same defect. The reporting tool allows users to report defects from different devices including mobile phones, tablets, laptops and PCs negating the need for a series of dedicated operating system (i.e. Android, iOS) Apps which individually need support and maintenance. The Council currently has a low level of integration with FixMyStreet such that reports made by residents are sent to the Council’s system and transferred into the Council’s Customer Management and Work Management System. The information is provided by FixMyStreet via email in an agreed format which is transferred via automation separating out the various elements into the correct fields in the Council’s system to be able to progress the report through to investigation and rectification. Anyone who reports a defect via FixMyStreet and provides a contact email address will also receive updates as they would if they had reported directly through the Council’s website. Further integration with FixMyStreet has been considered previously, however, to date the consideration has been that the additional cost to integrate further has not provided sufficient additional benefit to the online reporting process. This will remain under review though as we continue to develop and embed our new Work Management System. Notwithstanding the above, the Council reviews its approach to reporting on a regular basis and is currently exploring whether there are any opportunities for further enhancement of our existing systems, including the potential for someone to “subscribe” to updates for an existing report rather than creating a new report if they are believed to be the same one. In terms of the inspection process for potholes, the team do currently assess the immediate vicinity of reported issues and so should be capturing all the defects that are considered to be a safety risk at the same visit. Operationally we are also developing a find and fix approach as part of our response to defects with the aim to repair more defects at the first visit, some of which may not have been reported by residents or the inspection team. This should provide further benefit in so much as it will hopefully minimise the need for residents to have to report defects in the future.
Question to KEVIN DEANUS, CABINET MEMBER FOR HIGHWAYS AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
JONATHAN ESSEX (REDHILL EAST) TO ASK: (3rd Question) a) Please could comparative data on the level of parking enforcement personnel deployed (such as in full time equivalent employees) and level of ticketing for the first month of the new parking enforcement contract and how this compares to the previous regime be provided? b) Please could the details of the performance targets which are now being used to track the effectiveness of the new arrangements in terms of outcomes – such as deterring parking in inappropriate locations, such in appropriate locations outside schools at the start and end of the school day be provided? RESPONSE: a) Twelve Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) transferred from the district and borough teams to NSL under TUPE regulations on 1 April. This was a smaller number than hoped, however NSL provided staff from their surrounding teams and continued with a recruitment drive, and as of the second week of May, there are now approximately 40 NSL CEOs working on our Surrey contract. Appointments at NSL have also included 3 base managers, supervisors and a contract analyst who will concentrate on reporting enforcement data and identifying/targeting enforcement activity where needed as well as other improvements to the service. During April there were 4,154 hours of enforcement activity with 10,965 vehicle observations resulting in 3,423 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) being issued across the county. We will be able to compare the performance of the new service with the previous arrangements after about twelve months of operation. b) There are Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) associated with the contract and we will be to monitor NSL’s performance and help ensure that a high-quality service is provided under the contract. The main KPIs will become active during month 4 of the contract and relate to:
Providing sufficient enforcement staff to achieve the enforcement plan
Meeting response times against enforcement requests
Completing activities in agreed timescales (e.g. permit requests/renewals and PCN processing)
Minimising complaints and errors (particularly associated with issuing PCNs)
Minimising downtime of software/back office systems and camera equipment.
The new Parking Enforcement Team will monitor these KPIs as well as contract expenditure/income at regular meetings with the new supplier, providing reports as needed.
In terms of tracking performance we will produce a report at least annually about the performance of the service including data on PCNs, financial returns and enforcement activity in general, including schools.
Once the new service has bedded in and new staff are in place (from August) we will be able to engage more with members and local communities about local parking issues in the form of parking task groups. These will help monitor parking performance locally.
Question to KEVIN DEANUS, CABINET MEMBER FOR HIGHWAYS AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
JOANNE SEXTON (ASHFORD): Any change is always going to have challenges but how we plan for the change, implement the change and react to the change is what impacts the residents of Surrey: a) Is there a Service Charter in place for the new contract that sets out items such as:
Frequency of visits from NSL (SCC’s new parking enforcement contractor) to each borough/district council
Service Level Agreements
Key Performance Indicators
Working hours
Communication channels
b) Was a list of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers prepared prior to the change?
If so, how was the shared with residents and councillors and how is this being updated?
If not, can one be prepared urgently, shared and updated?
c) Who is responsible for managing this contract? d) Who is gathering lessons learned and when will they be shared with councillors? e) There has already been a noticeable increase in illegal parking since the change in approach was implemented.
How is Surrey County Council monitoring this?
What can be done to address this before it becomes an entrenched behaviour? f) There are different issues and challenges across the county, how is the contract set up to ensure that there is a local solution to the local issues and the Officers working in the area know the area? g) Has the Council defined what “good” and “excellent” service looks like in each of the borough and district councils or is it a generic view across the whole of Surrey? Canthevisionof“good”beshared? h) Does NSL have sufficient resources in place to manage this contract? RESPONSE: a) Within the terms of the contract there are KPIs and targets relating to numbers of deployed hours, response times, performance level maintenance, performance reporting, service improvement and achievement of the enforcement plan. Inevitably the service has changed with the new arrangements. The enforcement plan will include targets for how often enforcement takes place in different locations, but the patrols will no longer necessarily be borough centric. Although civil enforcement officers will tend to carry out patrols of the same locations so that they can build up local knowledge, those patrols may cross borough/district boundaries.
b) Information about the changes and its implications were published on our website prior to the change taking place and there was a wide-reaching communications plan put in place to publicise the change and direct people to the information on the website. The communications plan included a press release, posts on social media, a post on NextDoor, an article in Surrey Matters, as well as a communications toolkit for our colleagues in the district and borough councils and one for specifically for councillors. A separate frequently asked questions document was not produced as it was considered that the information provided by other means was sufficient. All resident permit holders were also sent a letter advising them of the changes and what that would mean for them in terms of their permits. In addition, councillors were sent regular updates which included answers to questions that had arisen leading up to and during the transition.
c) A new Parking Enforcement Team has been established within Highways with responsibility for the day-to-day management of the contract.
d) The Parking Enforcement Team is monitoring the implementation and mobilisation of the contract and issues arising, which are reviewed in regular meetings with the contractor. As the contract develops and we will be engaging with councillors via parking task groups and reporting to the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee and Cabinet Member.
e) There have been mixed reports about the new enforcement operation since its inception. In some areas comments have been received which suggest an increased enforcement presence, the popularity of which has varied, while in others an apparent, or perceived, lack of enforcement has been identified. The Parking Enforcement Team keeps track of reports where more enforcement is needed and reviews these with the contractor. In addition to this, there is a dedicated email address for people to report illegal parking and enforcement requests. We can confirm that where problems are identified, additional targeted enforcement is arranged.
f) The contract is set up to ensure a fair and consistent approach to enforcement across the county. In the lead up to the start of the new contract, information was requested from the borough and district council parking enforcement teams about local problem areas and enforcement hot spots, which was passed to the new contractor, along with information about where penalty charge notices had been issued in the previous twelve months or more. As a result, the contractor has been able to develop a parking enforcement plan that is based on localised knowledge and information. Where civil enforcement officers that had previously worked for the borough and district councils transferred to the new provider, they have been assigned to work in the same areas, where they can also pass on local knowledge to newer colleagues. In other cases, new civil enforcement officers will soon get to know their areas, aided by information received and passed on from the previous enforcement teams.
g) There are KPIs and performance targets associated with the contract against which the performance of the service provider will be measured. Meeting these KPIs and targets will result in a service that provides consistent and fair enforcement and good compliance with parking restrictions across the county.
h) Some civil enforcement officers transferred over from borough and district parking teams and NSL started a recruitment drive as soon as they were awarded the contract. As an interim measure, NSL also brought in officers from other nearby contracts in order to provide cover while the recruitment is taking place. This meant there was an enforcement presence from the first day, which is increasing, as recruitment to NSL’s enforcement team is ongoing, with a steady number of new civil enforcement officers being recruited and trained each week. NSL are part of a large organisation with considerable resources and a great deal of experience at managing contracts of this sort.
Question to KEVIN DEANUS, CABINET MEMBER FOR HIGHWAYS AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
STEVEN MCCORMICK (EPSOMTOWN&DOWNS) : Given the extreme challenges this county council faces over the pure volume of potholes on our highways what alternative innovative methods, processes and repair options are being considered for example: Spray Injection Patching. What are other councils in other areas doing to address the problem we might consider adopting? Example video: Repairing potholes in minutes | Watch how potholes are repaired in just a few minutes Velocity UK LTD | By Interesting Engineering | Facebook RESPONSE: There are numerous solutions for fixing potholes and Surrey County Council currently uses several different methods, some of which are only suitable in certain locations and situations. We regularly interact with colleagues in other councils and our Highway contractors to identify and determine what new products are available for us to trial. We are also very fortunate to have a Highways Laboratory which enables us to robustly test new materials and processes in this regard. In terms of some of the different methods we employ, we can confirm that we have been using Spray Injection Patching alongside other forms of pothole repairs for a number of years in Surrey. While this type of treatment is not suitable in all locations and for all types of defects, it is a key part of our pothole repair operation. We also use Thermal Patching where the road surface is heated up and recycled which provides a low carbon solution for pothole repairs. We have recently trialled the JCB Pothole Pro, which enables larger patch repairs to be carried out and we are currently assessing the results of that trial to determine if this is a tool that will add value to our future operational response. In the next few weeks, we will also be trialling a repair material called mastic asphalt. This material is a more flexible material than traditional tarmac and is made using powdered rubber from tyres so will hopefully provide another useful option for defect repairs going forward.
Mr Raab is the third Surrey MP to announce his retirement from the Commons after Reigate MP Crispin Blunt and Mole Valley MP Sir Paul Beresford.
Local Democracy reporter article on Sir Paul Beresford stepping down
This opens the door to the selection of three new candidates from the various hopefuls who have joined local campaigns in recent weeks- including a number of London Borough councillors who’ve turned up in parts of the Mole Valley and Reigate for weekend canvassing.
The anticipated boundary changes also impact local communities and mean several areas will get a new MP already in Parliament if re-elected. Leatherhead Nortb and South wards of Mole Valley are expected to join the Epsom and Ewell constituency represented by Chris Grayling. Ashtead is already in that seat.
Cobham and Oxshott are slated to move to the Weybridge constituency joining most of the current seat of Dr Ben Spencer, leaving the core parts of Esher and Walton to elect a successor to Mr Raab.
The new Dorking and Horley seat will include Fetcham Bookham and most of the Mole Valley district.
As yet the Conservative party has not invited applicants for any of the Surrey seats with vacancies. It has picked Jeremy Hunt for the redrawn Godalming and Ash constituency.
As a group we wanted to do something for the community. It has been two years in the planning and we are pleased to announce the first phase is complete, with the installation of the eighth Public Defibrillator in Ashtead, located on Craddock’s Parade.
Attached is a short film of the dedication ceremony.
I would like to thank “Johannafryfilms” for filming the event at very short notice which truly captures the event.
Phase two is even more important in our opinion, and was a crucial part in planning the fund raising.
As Councillor Chris Townsend mentions in his speech, it is great to have units installed but normally training is not included.
The training will cover understanding the patients symptoms, when and what to do, how to dial 999 and being prepared about what you will be told.
We will be offering two types of training. The first will be “face to face” sessions for approximately 80 people. The duration will be between 1.5 to 2 hours.
The second session will be open to all, via Zoom.
We have also purchased the rights to the zoom session and will be able to pass it on to other organisations such as the Scouts, Schools and anyone else who is interested.
We ask everyone is patient whilst this is organised. Dates will be published soon.
19 May Surrey Police posted “We’re continuing to appeal for help to find 20-year-old John Stevens. If you’ve seen him, please contact us via Messenger or webchat on our website”
Surrey Police are appealing for help to find 20-year-old John Stevens from Woking who is wanted in connection with an assault in Great Bookham.
Stevens is described as a White man, 6ft 1in tall and of large build. He has short brown hair and blue eyes. Stevens has connections with Great Bookham and Woking.
If you have seen Stevens, or have any information that could help us find him, please contact the Police quoting PR/45230050056 by sending a private message or via Surrey Police website using Live Chat or the online reporting tool https://www.surrey.police.uk/…/tell-us-about-existing…/ .
If you do not wish to leave your name, please call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Introducing the suspicious activity portal – how you can help us catch burglars
Dear all
Surrey Police are introducing a new website portal which enables members of the public to upload home CCTV, smart doorbell, or dash cam footage to us, which shows someone acting suspiciously.
We are asking you to be the eyes and ears of our community by submitting this footage as they could be connected to thefts and burglaries in the area.
The portal is for circumstances where no crime has been reported, but the suspicious behaviour could potentially be related to a burglary, theft of a vehicle, or catalytic converter, for example. We have a different unique link we provide to victims and witnesses when a burglary has occurred.
Examples of suspicious behaviour could be someone lurking around on your driveway, looking in your car and trying the handles, or conducting occupancy checks prior to a burglary.
We understand that sometimes this type of footage might get uploaded to community groups on social media, but sending the footage to us will help us to identify offenders operating in the area and will potentially link individuals to offences which have occurred.
Although realistically we may not be able to identify every person in a piece of footage, especially if they have a face covering, every clip feeds into our understanding of the bigger burglary picture in your area. In the long-term we hope that this initiative will help us reduce the number of burglary offences and provide reassurance to residents.
How to share your footage with us:
To share your footage, you will need to select which borough the footage was captured in from a list on our website link below. Once you have selected the relevant borough you will be redirected to a ‘NICE Investigate page’. There are some boxes you are required to complete, including your name, what you think the footage shows, the location of the incident, and at the bottom you can then upload your files. The website works from a desktop or mobile.
You can also pass information via the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
If you believe you have been a victim of crime, please report it to us using the online reporting tool via the Surrey Police website. In an emergency always call 999.
MO/2023/0641/PLA Location: 148 & land to the r/o, Cobham Road, Fetcham, Leatherhead. Proposal: five three-bedroom detached bungalows each with two parking spaces accessed from new private access drive leading offCobham Road, following demolition of existing bungalow at No148.
MO/2023/0679/PNCE Location: 4, North Street, Leatherhead. Proposal: Prior notification for conversion of part first floor from Commercial/Business/Service (Use Class E) into 2 No. residential flats (Use Class C3).
A period terrace in Leatherhead used as offices for the past 50 years going back to residential Link MO/2023/0625/PLA Location: Stonebridge House, 28-32, Bridge Street, Leatherhead Proposal: Change of use from Commercial Use to 3 No. houses for Residential use.
A further phase of major redevelopment of the Pixham End site in Dorking. This proposal is for a section of the site for a retirement living complex MO/2023/0622/PLA MAJOR LinkLocation: Pixham End, Pixham Lane, Dorking Proposal: Demolition of existing buildings and structures to allow for the redevelopment of the site to deliver a new retirement community (Use Class C2) comprising 153 No. apartments arranged over five buildings, with ancillary facilities, associated landscaping, car and cycle parking and ancillary development
Leatherhead RA still comment on applications and can be contacted via website. At its AGM meeting October 2022 the Chairman repeated that she still intends to retire sometime next summer. There are definitely three, possibly four, people prepared to carry on. But the following tasks need some fresh eyes and brains: Looking at the Planning Applications each week (they are emailed out), a secretary to receive and send letters. A meeting was held 6 February 2023.
Development Management Committee – applications decided by councillors with recommendations from officers:
The next Development Management committee is 7 June. Some new councillors will receive training ahead of this on the procedures. A new chairman of the committee will be agreed at the annual council meeting 23 May.
The recommended way to keep informed of any applications that may affect you is to sign up to e-alerts
Only a relatively narrow group of very immediate neighbours are otherwise notified.
For some major applications the applicant will hold pre-application engagement with the community, often on a virtual basis under recent restrictions.
Comments on applications can be made by either attaching a file on the MVDC website or by an email to planning@molevalley.gov.uk giving your name, address/postcode and the application reference eg MO/2023/xxxx
Comments on social media, facebook etc are not valid and unlikely to be read by the Council or applicant, and hold no value in the process at all.
It is best to comment on issues that are ‘planning considerations’ eg. design, layout, height, density, scale of development, loss of amenity, privacy, trees etc. For larger scale applications issues around drainage, parking, EV charging, proportion of ‘affordable’ housing, cycle facilities, infrastructure contributions are the kind of comments likely to be given some weight in the decision.
Many applications are now ‘permitted development’ eg office and shop conversions to residential and will not normally be refused unless there are flaws or restrictions. The Government is increasingly deregulating aspects of the system to make it easier for housing to be created to meet its targets. Extra floors on buildings are increasingly easy to add. There are no rules on the number of types of business in a town centre, the street can be full of cafes or hairdressers if the landlords and business operators agree.
Currently MVDC is assessing new applications against its Local Plan 2000 and Core Strategy a few years later. But it is required to update this plan http://www.futuremolevalley.org and this may be adopted with Government approval during 2023. The draft Local Plan includes major brownfield redevelopment sites in Leatherhead town centre in MVDC ownership eg. Swan Centre, Bull Hill, Claire & James House which are subject to commercial arrangements between MVDC and development partners currently being concluded. MVDC is also required by Government to have a 5 year supply of approved applications for new housing. So applications can be difficult to refuse if they otherwise tick the boxes the Government has set.
Local councillors are available to be contacted if you have concerns about a planning application. Two of the Leatherhead councillors sit on the Development Management Committee which considers some of the more significant applications, and those that have significant objections. They can also consider bringing an application to the committee which would otherwise be decided by the expert planning officers.
The councillors on the committee have to keep an open mind on an application until the committee has considered it. They must avoid being predetermined. But they can listen to views to help them make a decision.
Those councillors who are not on the committee can ask to speak at it and generally can take a more active view against or for an application at an earlier stage.
Councillors work on planning tends to be less political than other activities and they do not vote on party lines in the same way as other business, usually. It is not the case that the party forming the administration (currently Lib Dem) or the professional planning officers support the applications being listed, or promote them. They have to consider what landowners and developers put forward. In much the same way it is not straightforward for the council to make landowners use their land for new development if they don’t want to.
Just under £1M from Government has been allocated to Surrey for walking and cycling measures – and no, it can’t be spent on fixing potholes.
Although it’s relatively low amount compared to some other councils, neighbouring West Sussex received nothing, as it was apparently advised not to bidhaving removed some cycle lanes altogether.
Overall Government has made a huge reduction in the funds available to Councils, but the programme to encourage more cycling and walking continues, and Councils are able to match fund via developer contributions and other sources(eg. the Cobham/Fairmile improvements on A307 are funded via Education as they are part of the Free School senior campus decision).
A Local Cycling and Walking Improvement Plan (LCWIP) prepared by SCC for each district and borough area is part of Surrey’s approach, and schemes will be consulted on as and when funding becomes available. Local district and county councillors are starting to become involved in deciding priorities – we understand improvements on the approach from Fetcham to Leatherhead – linking to the existing path to Therfield are realistic options.The position in Ashtead / Barnett Wood Lane is less clear and may have less local enthusiasm judging by the tone from the Ashtead Independentsduring the local election.
Surrey are at least talking the talk on active travel and “liveable neighborhoods” but as ever funding is an issue.
Surrey County Council has been awarded £997,843 to deliver improved facilities for walking and cycling throughout the county.
The investment will see more cycle and walking routes being created across the county and the development of ‘Liveable neighbourhoods’. Liveable neighbourhoods are areas that are improved to be more people-centred with infrastructure and schemes such as 20mph zones that make it easier and safer to walk and cycle.
Matt Furniss, Cabinet Member for Transport, Infrastructure and Growth said: “We’re delighted that the government is continuing to support Surrey’s plans for walking and cycling improvements by awarding us more funding so we can continue to transform how residents and visitors travel around our county and give them the confidence to walk and cycle safely.
“With 41% of Surrey’s carbon emissions coming from transport, choosing to travel more sustainably will also mean we can all play our part to become a net zero county by 2050.
“This funding will complement a range of other schemes we’ve already implemented to improve walking and cycling facilities across Surrey. These include active travel schemes on the A23 in Redhill and Park Road in Stanwell, local cycling and walking plans in Woking, Reigate and Banstead, Spelthorne, Runnymede, Elmbridge, Mole Valley and Waverley, as well as a £50m investmentto improve bus services and help grow user numbers.”
Surrey County Council was awarded the funding from the Department of Transport’s Active Travel Fund (ATF4) which helps councils to develop better designed walking and cycling schemes.
Almost £1million is to be invested in creating more cycling and walking routes in Surrey – as well as the development of "liveable neighbourhoods".https://t.co/dwyV071GFF
Transport Sec @Mark_J_Harper: "We want to make sure everyone across the country can choose cheaper, greener & healthier travel." Here we show Wolverhampton, Stockport, Gloucester and Newton Abbot, some of the fantastic schemes being delivered #activetravelhttps://t.co/hrwjxSIdYrpic.twitter.com/JPeYhQEn54
— Active Travel England (@activetraveleng) May 19, 2023
🚨 Don't be fooled 🚨
The Government is giving with one hand and taking away with the other.
This announcement fails to reveal:
⬇️This cash is for the last financial year! ⬇️ Funding for these schemes is about to fall off a cliff ⬇️Deep cuts were quietly announced in March https://t.co/LnobIRkPtB
Leatherhead Community Hub : On the first and third Sunday of each month, LCH now hosts The Games Group at the Cafe! Meeting between 2:30 – 7:30, this friendly local tabletop Games Group play Magic the Gathering, wargames such as Warhammer etc., D&D and board games. If you would like to come along and play, please contact Luca on 07533 430494. Please book your place ahead so the group can get a good idea of who is coming down. Wargamers can set up games via the Whatsapp chat which you can be added to. For those wishing to play board games, storage is limited at the moment so games can be bought down if you request in advance. Cost is £6 per person, and age is 15+ (under 18’s should be accompanied by an adult) The group will also be selling coffee and a limited selection of food (card only) from the cafe during the session for those playing.
Of interest to our Oxshott and Cobham readers but also a useful comparison of the priorities of the Council administration in Elmbridge- notably a programme of Business Improvement Districts in town centres including Cobham. So far in Mole Valley only Dorking https://linktr.ee/HelloDorking has joined the BID movement which is promoting the town, subsidising car parking and organising events. Something for Leatherhead to reconsider?
Cobham now has a Business Improvement District as does Dorking. would this help for Leatherhead ? http://www.Cobhambid.co.uk
Another difference in Elmbridge is the Residents Independent councillors work closely with the Lib Dem group whereas in Mole Valley the independents in Ashtead are strong critics of the Lib Dem leadership. And Ashtead councillors therefore do not get Cabinet seats. Unlike the Esher and Thames Ditton Residents on Elmbridge…
But on getting an up to date Local Plan adopted, Mole Valley are ahead of Elmbridge.
On Wednesday 17 May 2023, Elmbridge Borough Council met for its annual meeting.
At the meeting, Councillor Richard Williams was elected Mayor of Elmbridge for the year ahead, with Councillor Charu Sood as Deputy Mayor for the incoming year.
The meeting also elected Councillor Bruce McDonald as Leader of Elmbridge Borough Council and Councillor Simon Waugh as Deputy Leader of Elmbridge Borough Council.
Following their appointment Cllr McDonald and Cllr Waugh commented:
“We and our colleagues are committed to continuing our partnership in Administration. We have a shared vision for Elmbridge, are proud of what we have achieved so far and are conscious that we have much more still to do.
We have set a balanced budget and put in place a £500,000 Cost of Living Crisis Fund to support those most in need in our borough.
We have established an ambitious Transformation Programme so that we can meet Elmbridge’s needs into the future, and achieve our goals for Sustainable Elmbridge, including our net zero targets.
We are working with businesses to help our local economy thrive in challenging times and supporting our High Streets – including through our Business Improvement District Programme.
We will be taking our groundbreaking Draft Local Plan forward to the Planning Inspectors in the summer.
As an Administration we are focused on what matters most for the future of our borough. Our plans are ambitious, stretching beyond the year ahead, and we are committed to working together with our community, businesses and the Voluntary Sector to achieve the future our borough needs and deserves.”
The Elmbridge Cabinet appointments have been confirmed as follows:
Leader / Policy & Transformation: Cllr Bruce McDonald
Deputy Leader / Leisure, Culture and Commercial Strategy: Cllr Simon Waugh
Climate Change & Sustainability: Cllr David Young
Community Care: Cllr Gill Coates
Environmental Services: Cllr Ashley Tilling
Finance and Resources: Cllr Mike Rollings
Housing: Cllr Alex Batchelor
Planning, Enterprise and Local Economy: Cllr Robin Stephens
Garlands Road close to St Johns School Message Dominique on Facebook or catch her at her market stall usually Saturdays Relocation from Cobham Church Street to Bookham High Street https://www.facebook.com/pipandgraygiftshttps://leatherheadfc.com/car-boot-sale-this-sundayBookham- After over 50 wonderful years in the village, it is time for us to hang up our boots! We are sorry to announce that Casselden’s Shoes in Church Road will be closing its doors at the end of June! Pop in and see if you can find yourself a bargain We are pleased to confirm our shoe repair workshop, NEETANDKWIK in Crabtree Lane will continue as usual.
End of lease at North Street Leatherhead for HamseysLift replacement at Lidl Leatherhead now completed and car park access via lift restored Bus stop seating and full length shelter now restored too after July 2022 crash damage
With local elections and commercial arrangements signed off, a new operator for the soft play and cafe at Meadowbank in Dorking has been confirmed – Silvermere.
They have taken over the social media from the previous operator and target June reopening.
MVDC statement :
Meadowbank soft play and café: update 18 May 2023 We are delighted to confirm that Silvermere Softplay will be operating the soft play and café at Meadowbank Park in #Dorking.
They’re working towards reopening the facilities later in JuneThank you for your ongoing patience.
Meadowbank soft play and café: update 18 May 2023
We are delighted to confirm that Silvermere Softplay will be operating the soft play and café at Meadowbank Park in #Dorking.
They’re working towards reopening the facilities later in June
Update from Epsom St Helier NHS Trust as the promised new hospital- one of 40 – seems no closer as parts of the current buildings crumble. The Trust serves Leatherhead Ashtead and the north of Mole Valley and well as many parts of south west London.
“I’m frustrated on behalf of our patients, their families, and staff”
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ruth Charlton, shares why Epsom St Helier must urgently build our new hospital and upgrade our existing sites
An update on our Building Your Future Hospital plans
You may have seen us hitting the news headlines this week – specifically around our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a new hospital and improve our current facilities.
Ensuring our patients receive the best possible care is our number-one priority. But right now, our hospitals are not fit for purpose for 21st century healthcare – which is why we must urgently progress these plans.
Some of our buildings pre-date the NHS itself. Wards are shut down because the foundations are sinking, lifts break down regularly, and areas of the hospital are flooded every winter.
Staff at Epsom and St Helier hospitals work tirelessly to ensure our patients receive safe and effective care, but it’s challenging in the current circumstances. We continue to invest significant capital funding on maintaining and updating the buildings, and continually adapt how we provide services to make best use of the estate we have now.
Our patients and our staff deserve better.
What are our plans?
We want to build a brand new specialist emergency care hospital in Sutton, and also significantly improve Epsom and St Helier hospitals, where 85% of people will still be seen and treated.
Epsom and St Helier will remain as busy hospitals at the heart of their local communities – with significant and much-needed upgrades planned for both sites to allow them to focus on providing excellent outpatients, rehabilitation and diagnostic services, with 24/7 urgent treatment centres.
Meanwhile, the new hospital in Sutton will care for our sickest patients – whether that’s because they have a life-threatening illness or injury, or are having complex surgery – and bring together six major services.
We are waiting to hear of news from the national programme – and have made a strong case for more upfront investment so we can start to progress our plans and start building more quickly.
Currently, our new hospital won’t be ready until 2027 at the absolute earliest.
Every day we wait costs money, and each year we have to spend more and more on updating our old, dilapidated buildings – diverting scarce resources from the front line.
Epsom and St Helier in the media
Dr Ruth Charlton, our outgoing Chief Medical Officer, joined our Trust as a Consultant 25 years ago. She remembers our hospitals looking dilapidated even at the time she joined – and recalls the pledges for a new hospital, even back then.
Today, Dr Charlton is featured across BBC News’ channels, sharing her frustrations about the delays on BBC Breakfast and other BBC News bulletins, the Today programme, and on the BBC News website.
The BBC highlights some of the scenes it encountered when it joined us for filming earlier this month, from the closure of one of our intensive care units due to issues with ventilation, to a condemned ward where the foundations are sinking.
Meanwhile, over the weekend the Observerpublished an opinion piece by Dr Charlton. In this article, Dr Charlton talks about some of the common challenges we face – from flooding every winter, to lifts breaking down.
We’ve also seen local coverage on BBC Radio Surrey and MyLondon.
We also talk about the plans in our new five-year Group strategy with St George’s, which you can read here.
Our People’s Panel gives members of the public the chance to have their say on local health services. You’ll also receive regular news and updates, and ways to get involved. If you would like to find out more, please visit our People’s Panel page on our website.
We're back on your screens at 6 pm tonight on @BBCNews
"I'm frustrated on behalf of our patients, their families, and staff”
£2 bus fares from Leatherhead to Epsom, Guildford among many other routes will continue through the summer and autumn following today’s Government announcement. Routes including 479 408 21 and the MV Connect on demand service are expected to continue to offer the discount fares. £2.50 fares are also announced through late 2023 into 2024.
The £2 fare cap for some bus routes will be extended until the end of October – before rising to £2.50 until November 2024.
Millions of passengers across England will continue to ‘Get Around for £2’ and access vital bus services thanks to £500 million in government funding, supporting people with the cost of living and ensuring long-term stability in the sector.
The Transport Secretary Mark Harper today (17 May 2023) confirmed £300 million to protect vital routes and improve services until 2025 that people rely on for work, education, medical appointments and shopping.
To help people with cost of living pressures and save on everyday travel costs, the government will also provide up to £200 million to continue capping single bus fares at £2 outside London until the end of October 2023 and then at £2.50 until 30 November 2024 – when the government will review their effectiveness and future bus fares.
Roads & roadsides are designed to reduce the risk of crashes and minimise their severity but it's still everyone's responsibility to use our roads safely.
“I wanted to give the community notice that JLM Plumbing & Heating are carrying out essential gas works at 22-30 North Street Leatherhead tomorrow.Due to the materials and works needed Surrey county council have issued us a parking suspension in the bays just down from the Bed shop on north street. Unfortunately the suspension is for three days, today, tomorrow and Thursday. Although it’s only needed for tomorrow and potentially Thursday, the minimum suspension with councils is three days. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. I have only just been informed by email that we are to go ahead”
Fit for a King – latest repair to Leatherhead’s famous zig zag ramp or waterless feature outside what is now Pizza Loca. SCC are the responsible authority for this and their contractors Bill Kear and Ringway did the work on this occasion
Thanks to everyone @Ringway_UK and @Billkearplant involved in an urgent project to repair the waterless feature in Leatherhead Town Centre in time for the Coronation celebrations. The project repaired damage from vandalism that left unsightly and dangerous edges. pic.twitter.com/5PhFexiEh7
Vegetation clearance by SCC on spur section of Kingston Road below the bridge in north Leatherhead is understood to be preparatory to work in the summer on the wall which will involve full road closures https://one.network/?GB133638420
5G mast now installed outside B&Q
Surrey County Council took over responsibility for on-street parking and enforcing penalty fines across the county from 1 April 2023. “Find out more about how we can help you with parking services at orlo.uk/D8Q7h
Cobham Cllr David Lewis SCC cabinet member for Finance writes : .. “There should be a visible enforcement presence across the county from this date although new and existing staff will be familiarising themselves with patrol areas and new methods of working. Information provided by the [previous] team about enforcement “hotspots” is being used to guide the deployment. This change does not affect the car parking enforcement in off street car parks..”
If you have any questions regarding the SCC service, you should either visit the website highways@surreycc.gov.ukor phone 0300 200 1003 (9am to 5pm Monday – Friday exc bank holidays).”
Cllr Lewis “Work at the junction of Fairmile Lane and Portsmouth Road was required as a condition of the planning permission, granted by Elmbridge, for the Cobham Free School to move into Munro House. The project is designed to improve road safety for pedestrians & cyclists and to replace the traffic lights which are at the end of their life. It is being funded and delivered by the Department for Education (DfE) who have appointed their own contractor. It is not a Surrey Highways project. I am frustrated by the delays and I have been working with the contractors to improve the phasing of the traffic lights to improve the traffic flow.”
Please visit one.network for the most up to date information. It may not always be possible for some of the works listed below to go ahead. If you have any queries about these works please visit our roadworks map.
Tim Hall – Working for Leatherhead & Fetcham East We already have two sets of Electric Vehicle Charging Points in Leatherhead at Copthorne Road and Church Street. This new announcement allows a major new investment. Surrey County Council and Connected Kerb have agreed a contract to support the rollout of thousands of electric vehicle chargepoints across the county in the coming years. The contract releases £60million of investment to provide public EV chargepoints across Surrey. Find out how this will support more residents in switching to an electric vehicle: https://orlo.uk/sSQhS
“An update on Pothole Repairs! Explaining some of the challenges.”
“When dealing with potholes, sometimes we need to put a temporary repair in place.”
EV charging Church Street
“This might be because we can’t shut a road at that time or because it is flooded, but we will always return to do a full repair.”
We're resurfacing roads in villages, towns & cities across #Surrey. Works including bridge repairs, country lanes, town roads & busy footpaths are some of the 520 major projects completed since May. 350 schemes will be completed in 2023. For more see https://t.co/zLCCzlQ0nH . pic.twitter.com/ntvrOMsFNS
Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) is running a series of summer walks as part of its Ramblers Wellbeing Walks Scheme.
The Ramblers Wellbeing Walks scheme is a programme of fun, free and accessible weekly walks ideal for anyone looking to become more active and make new local friends. We have new, exciting walks added for this spring and summer. There is no need to book in advance, just come along – everyone is welcome to join in.
The monthly, one-hour Bookham Common walk will take place the first Friday of the month between May – August. Please join us at the National Trust Tunnel car park for a 10.30am start. This walk is graded two, meaning it will run mostly on flat woodland trails, enabling the walk to be at a slower pace and more sociable.
The historic ‘Discover Brockham’s Past’ walk includes a 90-minute guided walk discovering places and buildings of interest in and around the village of Brockham. It will take place on Thursday 22 June, meeting at Dorking Rugby Club for 10.30am. This walk is graded three, which means the pace is quite brisk, and the ground can be uneven.
The ‘Langley Vale WW1 Centenary Wood’ provides a 90-minute opportunity to learn about the rich history of our World War 1 Centenary and Woodland Conservation site. It will take place on the evening of Tuesday 11 July, meeting at Headley Road Car Park for 6pm. This walk is graded two.
Cabinet Member for Leisure, Councillor David Draper, said: “I really hope we can attract some newcomers to these summer walks. Joining our friendly, popular walks can be a wonderful way to make local friends and enjoy the weather at the same time! Exercise is great for your mental and physical health, and Mole Valley’s beautiful countryside is there to be explored.”
To find out more about becoming a volunteer walk leader, please contact Estelle Holmes on estelle.holmes@molevalley.gov.uk or call 01306 885001.
Various updates from the Ashlea medical practice serving Ashtead and Leatherhead and its Patients Group:
Monday 15 May:
All Gilbert House Surgery systems are currently down including telephones. Engineers are on site and working to resolve the problems. If you have a health care emergency please dial 999. If you need urgent medical advice please call 111.
This follows a wider message last week from the Ashlea practice about its website portal:
“Please see the message that was sent out by Linden House at the end of last week via text message re the continued issues with the online access portal (Footfall) This is good news that a new system will be introduced and obviously the Practice is very aware of the inconvenience many patients have been caused whilst this has been ongoing. If you are a patient at Linden House and did not receive this message, please contact the Practice directly to sign up to this sort of very useful communication.”
Clog Morris dancing, ballet, buses and local artists:
Leatherhead Community Hub ( Kingston Road ) are delighted that Centre Stage Dance and Drama Ltd are starting Ballet Classes from the Main Hall from Monday 15th May, running weekly during term time. Class times are as follows: 5:15pm – Grade 2 Ballet 6pm – Grade 4 Ballet + Pointe 7pm – Grade 5 + Grade 7 Ballet 7:55pm – Grade 8 + Advanced 1 Ballet Booking is essential and bursaries are available. To find out more information please email Sharon Payne on contact@centrestagedanceanddrama.com or call on 07422 668957
Surrey Police are appealing for witnesses after a two-vehicle collision on the M25 this afternoon (13 May).
Officers were called to the anticlockwise carriageway of the M25 between junctions 9 and 8 at around 3pm today following reports of a collision involving a blue Tesla and a motorcycle.
The rider of the motorcycle has been taken to hospital with serious injuries. His next of kin has been informed and are being supported by officers.
Both carriageways were closed while emergency services responded, but have now reopened.
If you saw this incident or have dashcam or helmet cam footage that might have captured it, please contact quoting 0516 of today’s date (Saturday, 13 May) via:
Webchat on the right hand side of Surrey.police.Uk website
A period terrace in Leatherhead used as offices for the past 50 years going back to residential Link MO/2023/0625/PLA Location: Stonebridge House, 28-32, Bridge Street, Leatherhead Proposal: Change of use from Commercial Use to 3 No. houses for Residential use.
A further phase of major redevelopment of the Pixham End site in Dorking. This proposal is for a section of the site for a retirement living complex MO/2023/0622/PLA MAJOR LinkLocation: Pixham End, Pixham Lane, Dorking Proposal: Demolition of existing buildings and structures to allow for the redevelopment of the site to deliver a new retirement community (Use Class C2) comprising 153 No. apartments arranged over five buildings, with ancillary facilities, associated landscaping, car and cycle parking and ancillary development
Leatherhead RA still comment on applications and can be contacted via website. At its AGM meeting October 2022 the Chairman repeated that she still intends to retire sometime next summer. There are definitely three, possibly four, people prepared to carry on. But the following tasks need some fresh eyes and brains: Looking at the Planning Applications each week (they are emailed out), a secretary to receive and send letters. A meeting was held 6 February 2023.
Development Management Committee – applications decided by councillors with recommendations from officers:
The next Development Management committee is 7 June. Some new councillors will receive training ahead of this on the procedures.
The recommended way to keep informed of any applications that may affect you is to sign up to e-alerts
Only a relatively narrow group of very immediate neighbours are otherwise notified.
For some major applications the applicant will hold pre-application engagement with the community, often on a virtual basis under recent restrictions.
Comments on applications can be made by either attaching a file on the MVDC website or by an email to planning@molevalley.gov.uk giving your name, address/postcode and the application reference eg MO/2023/xxxx
Comments on social media, facebook etc are not valid and unlikely to be read by the Council or applicant, and hold no value in the process at all.
It is best to comment on issues that are ‘planning considerations’ eg. design, layout, height, density, scale of development, loss of amenity, privacy, trees etc. For larger scale applications issues around drainage, parking, EV charging, proportion of ‘affordable’ housing, cycle facilities, infrastructure contributions are the kind of comments likely to be given some weight in the decision.
Many applications are now ‘permitted development’ eg office and shop conversions to residential and will not normally be refused unless there are flaws or restrictions. The Government is increasingly deregulating aspects of the system to make it easier for housing to be created to meet its targets. Extra floors on buildings are increasingly easy to add. There are no rules on the number of types of business in a town centre, the street can be full of cafes or hairdressers if the landlords and business operators agree.
Currently MVDC is assessing new applications against its Local Plan 2000 and Core Strategy a few years later. But it is required to update this plan http://www.futuremolevalley.org and this may be adopted with Government approval during 2023. The draft Local Plan includes major brownfield redevelopment sites in Leatherhead town centre in MVDC ownership eg. Swan Centre, Bull Hill, Claire & James House which are subject to commercial arrangements between MVDC and development partners currently being concluded. MVDC is also required by Government to have a 5 year supply of approved applications for new housing. So applications can be difficult to refuse if they otherwise tick the boxes the Government has set.
Local councillors are available to be contacted if you have concerns about a planning application. Two of the Leatherhead councillors sit on the Development Management Committee which considers some of the more significant applications, and those that have significant objections. They can also consider bringing an application to the committee which would otherwise be decided by the expert planning officers.
The councillors on the committee have to keep an open mind on an application until the committee has considered it. They must avoid being predetermined. But they can listen to views to help them make a decision.
Those councillors who are not on the committee can ask to speak at it and generally can take a more active view against or for an application at an earlier stage.
Councillors work on planning tends to be less political than other activities and they do not vote on party lines in the same way as other business, usually. It is not the case that the party forming the administration (currently Lib Dem) or the professional planning officers support the applications being listed, or promote them. They have to consider what landowners and developers put forward. In much the same way it is not straightforward for the council to make landowners use their land for new development if they don’t want to.
In the constantly evolving world of social media apparently the ability to auto-share WordPress blog articles to Twitter is ending And we already need to manually share via Instagram/ Facebook
The InYourArea.co.uk news site does often pick up our posts too.
An unofficial round up of this month’s local election results which saw Mole Valley District Council elect 39 councillors in 13 revised wards. The party groups are now Lib Dem 30, Ashtead Independents 6, Conservative 3, Green 0 and Labour 0. Which mean the Leadership and Cabinet will as since 2019 be Lib Dem.
Of the 30 Lib Dem councillors elected, 11 of them were elected for four years – including Bridget Kendrick in Leatherhead South and Paul Potter in the “4Bs” ward – the two wards that returned a mix of Lib Dems and Conservatives, and 9 other LDs were elected for three years.
This means that there can be at least 20 Lib Dem councillors in Mole Valley for at least three years. This also means no change from Lib Dem administration until at least 2026 now, as they only need these 20 to keep an overall majority, no matter what else happens in the annual elections in 2024.
In 2024 the councillors up for re-election will include one Conservative, two Independent and 10 Lib Dems – even if every LD lost, they would still have 20 seats out of 39.
Three existing councillors did not obtain re-election – Sarah Chambers (Conservative) , David Harper (Independent) and the only Green councillor Lisa Scott who served only 9 months after a by-election win last summer.
None of the former MVDC councillors seeking to make a comeback (mainly Conservatives) were successful, and nor was Nick O’Shea of the Lib Dems.
Altogether 13 new councillors were returned, one third of the Council, 12 Lib Dems and one Independent (Gerry Sevenoaks in Ashtead Park). The 12 are Ben Wall and Benjamin Wear in Leatherhead North, Caroline Joseph and Phil Hammond in Fetcham, Andrew Matthews and Chris Miller in Bookham wards, Paula Keay in the 4Bs, Alcia Loach and Jo Farrar-Astrop in Capel Leigh Newdigate and Charlwood and all three in the new Mickleham Westcott and Okewood ward, Chris Budleigh, Abrahim Magesh and Leah Mursaleen-Plank.
As the 2022/23 Vice Chairman of the Council James Friend did not seek re-election, it is unclear who the 2023/24 Chairman will be. There will also need to be a new Leader of the Opposition as Lynne Brooks also stood down. Presumably as they have 6 councillors it may be one of the Ashtead Independents.
Paul Potter (LD) current MVDC chairman at Brockham with Simon Budd re-elected for Conservatives
The Cabinet portfolio for Community services will need to be filled by the Leader, as Caroline Salmon stood down. All the other Cabinet councillors were re-elected.
The chairman of the Development Management Committee will also change as David Preedy stood down.
4Bs – abbreviation for Brockham Betchworth Buckland Box Hill & Headley ward.
The annual meeting of the Council to formally elect its ceremonial Chairman, Leader and other positions takes place Tuesday 23 May.
The three Conservatives elected included two in the expanded Leatherhead South ward, Jo Slater continuing after first being elected 2022, and James Chambers switching wards from Bookham South after first election there 2021.
Several of the Leatherhead councillors have Facebook pages :
Cllrs Wall, Vyvyan-Robinson, Wear, Kendrick and Chambers
Ashtead Independents refer residents to their website https://www.ashteadindependents.org which is separate from the Ashtead Residents Association
The Ashtead Park ward saw over 700 votes for one of the other independents Raj Patel and over 500 for expelled independent David Harper, but the replacement official Ashtead independent Gerry Sevenoaks secured a one year term on 970. All the other 5 Ashtead official Independents were re-elected more comfortably.
Parts of Leatherhead found themselves voting in the South ward for the first time and at the Fairfield polling station due to the boundary changes. Overall the town has an extra sixth councillor and an additional polling stations was used. Key issues for June cycle of meetings (subject to change including new Cabinet membership replacing Caroline Salmon)
Due to nationwide industrial action by the RMT and ASLEF unions, we will have to make changes to our services on three sets of dates in May, meaning that the number of trains we’ll be able to run and our hours of operation will be affected.
We’ve listed the dates below so you know when and how our services are impacted.
Friday 12 May No services on the Island Line all day. We expect to run a reduced service between Exeter and Waterloo, in the Romsey area and on our suburban network. Services across other parts of our network may be subject to short notice delay and cancellation.
Saturday 13 May – only travel if necessary A reduced service will operate between 0700 and 1900 only and large parts of our network will be closed. Click here to download the map of which routes are affected.
To support spectators travelling to the rugby match at Twickenham there will be additional services. Full details here.
Monday 15 to Saturday 20 May We expect to be able to run close to a full timetable on the mainland, but services may be subject to short notice cancellations and delays. A reduced service will operate on the Island Line.
Latest from Surrey Police after last Sunday’s assault in Bookham
“Do you know these men? We are appealing for help to identify the two men in these images following an assault in Great Bookham on Sunday, 7 May.
Police were called to the High Street at around 9.30pm after reports that a group of men had assaulted the victim in a black Suzuki. The victim suffered serious injuries to his head and hands.
Inspector James Green, Borough Commander for Mole Valley, said: “I know this assault will have been shocking for many people in our community and I’d like to reassure residents that we’re doing everything we can to identify those responsible. We would like to speak to these men as we believe they may be able to help our investigation and I would urge you to please get in touch if you recognise them.”
If you have any information, please contact us quoting PR/45230050056 by sending us a direct message or contacting us on our website via LiveChat or our online reporting tool https://www.surrey.police.uk/…/tell-us-about-existing…/
If you would rather not speak to police you can also call independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Do you recognise these men? We believe they may be appeal to help our investigation into an assault in Great Bookham on Sunday, 7 May.
Surrey Police are appealing for help to find 20-year-old John Stevens from Woking who is wanted in connection with an assault in Great Bookham.
Stevens is described as a White man, 6ft 1in tall and of large build. He has short brown hair and blue eyes. Stevens has connections with Great Bookham and Woking.
If you have seen Stevens, or have any information that could help us find him, please contact the Police quoting PR/45230050056 by sending a private message or via Surrey Police website using Live Chat or the online reporting tool https://www.surrey.police.uk/…/tell-us-about-existing…/ .
If you do not wish to leave your name, please call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Surrey’s first on-demand, shared bus service – Mole Valley Connect – is now available throughout the whole of the district to improve bus provision for residents.
Since the service launched in June 2022 in the north of Mole Valley, over 11,600 trips have been taken.
The four electric mini-buses can be booked on the Surrey connect APP, online at www.molevalleyconnect.org.uk or by telephone on 0300 123 7751, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. Buses run Monday to Friday from 7am to 7pm and on Saturdays from 8am to 6pm. Journeys can be booked with 30 minutes notice or up to seven days in advance.
Matt Furniss, Cabinet Member for Transport, Infrastructure and Growthat Surrey County Council said: “Mole Valley Connect has proved very popular with residents in the north of the district so I am delighted that we are now able to offer this convenient, doorstep service to everyone in the area. This will help people who may be isolated due to their rural location or have had to traditionally be heavily car dependent.
“The service is open to everyone and could enable people of all ages to reach GP surgeries, attend hospital appointments, access further education and training or go shopping.
“We’ll also be bringing on-demand bus services to other rural parts of Surrey later this year as part of our £50m investment to improve bus services and encourage more people to take the bus. This includes more zero emission buses, more real time passenger information and a half fare scheme for young people aged 20 and under.”
A big thank you to Ann Clark Bridget Kendrick Jo Slater, the Leatherhead Parish team, Mole Valley District Council ( grant funding), sponsors and many others for organising and stewardship of the town’s Coronation events.
Ann Clark at the waterless feature Ben Wall, Keira Vyvyan-Robinson, Benjamin Wear the newly elected/ re-elected North Leatherhead councillors And with Bridget Kendrick and James Chambers re-elected to the Council having switched wards to Leatherhead South – the town now has six councillors out of 39 on MVDCCllr Jo Slater with Cllr Bridget Kendrick The bus shelter outside Lidl now extended and lots more seating again after the 2022 accident
We are appealing for witnesses after a man was seriously assaulted in Bookham yesterday evening (7 May).
Police were called at around 8.30pm after reports that the victim, a man in his 20s, had been assaulted in a car on Bookham High Street, next to Tesco Express.
A number of men approached the victim’s vehicle, a black Suzuki, and assaulted the victim causing serious injuries to his head and hands.
The suspects are all described as White men in their 20s between 5ft 9” and 6ft. Three of the men were reported to be wearing tracksuit bottoms.
If you witnessed the assault or have any other information which could help our investigation, please contact us quoting PR/45230050056 via:
If you do not wish to leave your name, please call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
We are appealing for witnesses after a man was seriously assaulted by a group of men on Bookham High Street at around 9.30pm yesterday evening (7 May).
If you witnessed the assault, please DM us quoting PR/45230050056.
Last call for the Coronation Dog Show, on Monday 8th May, at Leatherhead Parish Church and Park Gardens 12pm – 4pm.
We have an indoor arena if rain stops play and plenty of stalls and refreshments in the church. We also have the heritage bus service to help keep you dry during the afternoon!
We welcome registrations on the day too, so please do join us, there’s plenty for everyone to enjoy even if you don’t have a dog.
A vintage bus will run through Leatherhead on Bank Holiday Monday 8th May.
there will be a free vintage bus service running a circular route between Leatherhead Parish Church and B&Q, at the far end of Kingston Road.
The Chutch organisers are indebted to Mole Valley District Council, who have funded the hire of the bus with a coronation grant, helping to make this special event as accessible to as many people in the area as possible. All Aboard for a day to remember!
To find out more info on the bus or how to enter your dog please email lpcdogshow@gmail.com
You can travel in style to the Coronation Dog Show, on this 1953 vintage bus, on Monday 8th May! 🇬🇧🏆🐾The award winning catering team ’Phil You Up’ will be supplying the hot food at their trailer outside the Parish Church Hall.
There is the option to buy a burger on its own or to add chips or buy a kids meal. Inside the church will be cream teas, celebratory drinks to toast our new king, ice creams, popcorn and candy floss.
Fit for a King – latest repair to Leatherhead’s famous zig zag ramp or waterless feature outside what is now Pizza Loca. SCC are the responsible authority for this and their contractors Bill Kear and Ringway did the work on this occasion
Thanks to everyone @Ringway_UK and @Billkearplant involved in an urgent project to repair the waterless feature in Leatherhead Town Centre in time for the Coronation celebrations. The project repaired damage from vandalism that left unsightly and dangerous edges. pic.twitter.com/5PhFexiEh7
Vegetation clearance by SCC on spur section of Kingston Road below the bridge in north Leatherhead is understood to be preparatory to work in the summer on the wall which will involve full road closures https://one.network/?GB133638420
5G mast now installed outside B&Q
Surrey County Council took over responsibility for on-street parking and enforcing penalty fines across the county from 1 April 2023. “Find out more about how we can help you with parking services at orlo.uk/D8Q7h
Cobham Cllr David Lewis SCC cabinet member for Finance writes : .. “There should be a visible enforcement presence across the county from this date although new and existing staff will be familiarising themselves with patrol areas and new methods of working. Information provided by the [previous] team about enforcement “hotspots” is being used to guide the deployment. This change does not affect the car parking enforcement in off street car parks..”
If you have any questions regarding the SCC service, you should either visit the website highways@surreycc.gov.ukor phone 0300 200 1003 (9am to 5pm Monday – Friday exc bank holidays).”
30 continuous weeks of roadworks in Cobham has started on Portsmouth Road and Fairmile Lane to bring the area up to standard for school safety and promote active travel A307 Cobham
Cllr Lewis “Work at the junction of Fairmile Lane and Portsmouth Road was required as a condition of the planning permission, granted by Elmbridge, for the Cobham Free School to move into Munro House. The project is designed to improve road safety for pedestrians & cyclists and to replace the traffic lights which are at the end of their life. It is being funded and delivered by the Department for Education (DfE) who have appointed their own contractor. It is not a Surrey Highways project. I am frustrated by the delays and I have been working with the contractors to improve the phasing of the traffic lights to improve the traffic flow.”
Please visit one.network for the most up to date information. It may not always be possible for some of the works listed below to go ahead. If you have any queries about these works please visit our roadworks map.
Tim Hall – Working for Leatherhead & Fetcham East We already have two sets of Electric Vehicle Charging Points in Leatherhead at Copthorne Road and Church Street. This new announcement allows a major new investment. Surrey County Council and Connected Kerb have agreed a contract to support the rollout of thousands of electric vehicle chargepoints across the county in the coming years. The contract releases £60million of investment to provide public EV chargepoints across Surrey. Find out how this will support more residents in switching to an electric vehicle: https://orlo.uk/sSQhS
“An update on Pothole Repairs! Explaining some of the challenges.”
“When dealing with potholes, sometimes we need to put a temporary repair in place.”
EV charging Church Street
“This might be because we can’t shut a road at that time or because it is flooded, but we will always return to do a full repair.”
We're resurfacing roads in villages, towns & cities across #Surrey. Works including bridge repairs, country lanes, town roads & busy footpaths are some of the 520 major projects completed since May. 350 schemes will be completed in 2023. For more see https://t.co/zLCCzlQ0nH . pic.twitter.com/ntvrOMsFNS
On Sunday, May 14, Fusion Lifestyle, the charity that manages Leatherhead Leisure Centre is opening its doors to local residents for a free day of fun packed activities, designed to give a big thank you to the community for their continued support of the centre. The open day, running from 7.30am – 6pm, will offer residents the chance to enjoy the facilities and a range of free taster sessions, including: –
Free family swim sessions and free Fun and Floats sessions – Free swim school taster sessions – Visit the gym free of charge – Free soft play – Outdoor tennis trials – Ballroom dancing displays – Special guest Olly the Octopus!
We are really excited to announce the launch of Leatherhead’s new car boot sale, based in our car park at Fetcham Grove, home of Leatherhead FC.
Entry for sellers is strictly on a first come first served basis from 6.30am. (Sorry no hot food/drink sellers). Pricing as follows:
£10 Cars £20 Vans
Entry for buyers is from 7am and is totally free.
We realise that many of you may not have visited Fetcham Grove before so it’s important to know there is ample free parking in the two Leisure Centre car parks next door. For those using public transport, we are only a 5 minute walk from Leatherhead train station and 1 minute from the 465 bus stop.
The Tanners Tea Bar will be in full swing from 6.30am offering hot breakfast rolls as well as hot drinks, soft drinks and snacks. So get the date in your diary and you can spend your bank holiday getting your stuff ready to sell!
Contrast central Leatherhead before and after the crossroads..(illustrative images)
Latest applications made to Mole Valley District Council and decisions on earlier ones.
April committee agenda and reports further below including item on 4 new homes on land at Barnett Close Leatherhead North. Which was approved. Stonegate has also obtained a second approval for 41 homes at Pixham End Dorking.
The next Development Management committee is 7 June. Some new councillors will receive training ahead of this on the procedures.
MO/2023/0530/ADV CHRIST CHURCH UNITED REFORMED CHURCH, Epsom Road, Leatherhead, https://planning.agileapplications.co.uk/mole/application-details/123466 Display of advertisements for a temporary period over three separate phases ending in June 2026, comprising the display of panel advertisements on an existing site hoarding: The erection of four 6 metre flag poles to display banner signs, display of one marketing board panel on an existing structure within the site, the erection of one marketing panel advertisement and erection of one wooden entrance sign. Birchgrove (Leatherhead) LLP
Leatherhead RA still comment on applications and can be contacted via website. At its AGM meeting October 2022 the Chairman repeated that she still intends to retire sometime next summer. There are definitely three, possibly four, people prepared to carry on. But the following tasks need some fresh eyes and brains: Looking at the Planning Applications each week (they are emailed out), a secretary to receive and send letters. A meeting was held 6 February 2023.
Development Management Committee – applications decided by councillors with recommendations from officers:
This approval is the next step in our wider long-term vision for this iconic local site. We are thrilled to yet again see the development committee come forward in support of our plans following a unanimous decision for the first phase back in January. pic.twitter.com/otvHNsTLzr
We are pleased to have secured planning permission for four houses in Leatherhead. We were pleased to have had a positive dialogue with the Council during the application leading to an officer recommendation for approval and subsequently a unanimous decision for approval by the pic.twitter.com/n27sOr4Tsa
— Jones Town Planning Ltd (@JTP_Planning) April 30, 2023
The recommended way to keep informed of any applications that may affect you is to sign up to e-alerts
Only a relatively narrow group of very immediate neighbours are otherwise notified.
For some major applications the applicant will hold pre-application engagement with the community, often on a virtual basis under recent restrictions.
Comments on applications can be made by either attaching a file on the MVDC website or by an email to planning@molevalley.gov.uk giving your name, address/postcode and the application reference eg MO/2023/xxxx
Comments on social media, facebook etc are not valid and unlikely to be read by the Council or applicant, and hold no value in the process at all.
It is best to comment on issues that are ‘planning considerations’ eg. design, layout, height, density, scale of development, loss of amenity, privacy, trees etc. For larger scale applications issues around drainage, parking, EV charging, proportion of ‘affordable’ housing, cycle facilities, infrastructure contributions are the kind of comments likely to be given some weight in the decision.
Many applications are now ‘permitted development’ eg office and shop conversions to residential and will not normally be refused unless there are flaws or restrictions. The Government is increasingly deregulating aspects of the system to make it easier for housing to be created to meet its targets. Extra floors on buildings are increasingly easy to add. There are no rules on the number of types of business in a town centre, the street can be full of cafes or hairdressers if the landlords and business operators agree.
Currently MVDC is assessing new applications against its Local Plan 2000 and Core Strategy a few years later. But it is required to update this plan http://www.futuremolevalley.org and this may be adopted with Government approval during 2023. The draft Local Plan includes major brownfield redevelopment sites in Leatherhead town centre in MVDC ownership eg. Swan Centre, Bull Hill, Claire & James House which are subject to commercial arrangements between MVDC and development partners currently being concluded. MVDC is also required by Government to have a 5 year supply of approved applications for new housing. So applications can be difficult to refuse if they otherwise tick the boxes the Government has set.
Local councillors are available to be contacted if you have concerns about a planning application. Two of the Leatherhead councillors sit on the Development Management Committee which considers some of the more significant applications, and those that have significant objections. They can also consider bringing an application to the committee which would otherwise be decided by the expert planning officers.
The councillors on the committee have to keep an open mind on an application until the committee has considered it. They must avoid being predetermined. But they can listen to views to help them make a decision.
Those councillors who are not on the committee can ask to speak at it and generally can take a more active view against or for an application at an earlier stage.
Councillors work on planning tends to be less political than other activities and they do not vote on party lines in the same way as other business, usually. It is not the case that the party forming the administration (currently Lib Dem) or the professional planning officers support the applications being listed, or promote them. They have to consider what landowners and developers put forward. In much the same way it is not straightforward for the council to make landowners use their land for new development if they don’t want to.
updated with further results as now declared – the Ashtead Independent Party held all the 6 Ashtead seats – clean sweep for Lib Dems In Bookham and Fetcham – Simon Budd the butcher in Brockham re-elected as the third Conservative- Leatherhead South elects 2 conservatives with Bridget Kendrick LD deputy leader making a successful transfer into South ward with some of the old North ward roads in and around the town centre.
New Council: Lib Dem 30 Ashtead Independent Party 6 Conservatives 3 which means the Cabinet administration will be Lib Dems as since 2019
Keira Vyvyan-Robinson (LD) for 4 years (689 votes) Ben Wall (LD) for 3 years (661 votes) Benjamin Wear for 1 year (624 votes) pic.twitter.com/IQ50tvW3Fh
— Mole Valley District Council (@MoleValleyDC) May 5, 2023
The new more compact ward of Leatherhead North as a number of roads in and just above the town centre around Fairfield moved to the enlarged Leatherhead South. Overall there will be an extra 6th councillor for the town from today reflecting growth of population.
Bridget Kendrick (LD) for 4 years (960 votes) Joanna Slater (CON) for 3 years (852 votes) James Chambers (CON) for 1 year (831 votes) pic.twitter.com/gYsCyvkGXA
— Mole Valley District Council (@MoleValleyDC) May 5, 2023
LD Bridget Kendrick gets a 4 year term in South ward and Conservatives Jo Slater 3 years. James Chambers a year after moving in from Bookham.
Mary Cooper (ASH IND) for 4 years (1242 votes) Garry Stansfield (ASH IND) for 3 years (1140 votes) Gerry Sevenoaks (ASH IND) for 1 year (970 votes) pic.twitter.com/UJPQjVNfZq
— Mole Valley District Council (@MoleValleyDC) May 5, 2023
Raj Patel polled quite well as a first time Independent and better than David Harper but official Independent Gerry Sevenoaks got the third seat for the next year
Chris Hunt (ASH IND) for 4 years (1636 votes) Patricia Wiltshire (ASH IND) for 3 years (1553 votes) David Hawksworth (ASH IND) for 1 year (1534 votes) pic.twitter.com/LNLWd3YY1N
— Mole Valley District Council (@MoleValleyDC) May 5, 2023
There were only official independents in the other Ashtead ward- AI Leader Prof David Hawksworth will need to stand again next year
Raj Haque (LD) for 4 years (1426 votes) Phil Hammond (LD) for 3 years (1402 votes) Caroline Joseph (LD) for 1 year (1311 votes) pic.twitter.com/JoDhQfbHlo
— Mole Valley District Council (@MoleValleyDC) May 5, 2023
A significant win with the whole of the previous safe Conservative Fetcham East ward now represented in the new Fetcham ward by 3 Lib Dems. None of the Conservatives standing live in Fetcham…
Elizabeth Daly (LD) for 4 years (1577 votes) Paul Kennedy (LD) for 3 years (1568 votes) Andrew Matthews (LD) for 1 year (1467 votes pic.twitter.com/WL6uYjeQZt
— Mole Valley District Council (@MoleValleyDC) May 5, 2023
Monica Weller (LD) for 4 years (1408 votes) Roger Adams (LD) for 3 years (1390 votes) Christine Miller (LD) for 1 year (1256 votes) pic.twitter.com/j9sEar5qcz
— Mole Valley District Council (@MoleValleyDC) May 5, 2023
Rosemary Hobbs (LD) for 4 years (979 votes) Claire Malcomson (LD) for 3 years (879 votes) Clayton Wellman for 1 year (782 votes) pic.twitter.com/69E4ZNn0Xs
— Mole Valley District Council (@MoleValleyDC) May 5, 2023
Margaret Cooksey (LD) for 4 years (1301 votes) Stephen Cooksey (LD) for 3 years (1219 votes) Nick Wright (LD) for 1 year (1185 votes) pic.twitter.com/u3Cc9Q3RJI
— Mole Valley District Council (@MoleValleyDC) May 5, 2023
Lesley Bushnell (LD) for 4 years (894 votes) Jo Farrar-Astrop (LD) for 3 years (810 votes) Alcia Loach (LD) for 1 year (720 votes) pic.twitter.com/exFqnr65ng
— Mole Valley District Council (@MoleValleyDC) May 5, 2023
Awaiting news on re-election or defeat in new enlarged Leatherhead South ward which elected 3 councillors 1 LD and two Conservatives all existing MVDC members
Also in the part of Guildford Borough nearest to our area, the Effingham ward has a new councillor:
Effingham ward result – one member elected Lulu Boder (Con) – 240 Shek Shahanoor Rahman (Lab) – 43 Merel Astrid Rehorst-Smith (LD) – 521 ELECTED
Update – the current planters are being moved into original position hopefully planted out for the Coronation and the brand new ones ordered for July delivery. The street is being jet washed ahead of Saturday’s events.
A vintage bus will run through Leatherhead on Bank Holiday Monday 8th May.
Saturday 6 May – organised by local councillors and friends across the parties – help with stewarding welcome contact Bridget Kendrick b.kendrick2@gmail.com or Ann Clark ann2cottage@gmail.com
Fetcham:
Monday 8 May
The Coronation Dog Show is just days away, on Monday 8th May, at Leatherhead Parish Church and Park Gardens! 🇬🇧🏆🐕🦺
We are excited to announce, on the day there will be a free vintage bus service running a circular route between Leatherhead Parish Church and B&Q, at the far end of Kingston Road.
We are indebted to Mole Valley District Council, who have funded the hire of the bus with a coronation grant, helping to make this special event as accessible to as many people in the area as possible. All Aboard for a day to remember!
To find out more info on the bus or how to enter your dog please email lpcdogshow@gmail.com
You can travel in style to the Coronation Dog Show, on this 1953 vintage bus, on Monday 8th May! 🇬🇧🏆🐾
And whether the events are a triumph or not, there will be a lot of Triumph classic cars in Leatherhead Sunday with some arriving tonight and Saturday
This Sunday 7th May is the South Of England Meet (SEM) at Leatherhead😎 Camping from Friday night, but the big show day is the Sunda🙃 Always a lovely day, auto jumble, TSSC Shop, Valuations, Awards & we hope Sunshine (we have it on order!) Hope to see you there. #TSSC#Triumphpic.twitter.com/FvUhUhoQe2
Ashtead : at least one local sports club has been able to get on and install new facilities using a new surface. The cricket club are also hosting Phil You Up catering some evenings after training and colts matches.
Some of the funding is from the https://www.valenciacommunitiesfund.co.uk/viridor-credits which administers Valencia Waste Management’s contributions to the Landfill Communities Fund. This is a way of improving community facilities for those living in the vicinity of a landfill site. It allows landfill operators to donate a percentage of their tax liability to an environmental body.
— Valencia Communities Fund (@ValenciaComFund) May 3, 2023
Last night we celebrated the opening of the new nets at our Parsons Mead ground. Thank you @ViridorUK for installing them and we hope all who use them enjoy themselves. pic.twitter.com/hT44DPajgl
Voting day for all 39 new Mole Valley councillors until 10pm
A couple of advisories:
(New) Polling Station at the Fairfield Centre
For the attention of Electors who will be voting at the Fairfield Centre today, please be aware that the complete address for this Polling Station is: 34 Swan Court, High Street, Leatherhead, KT22 8AH,
Fairfield Centre is accessible from the Swan Centre and Leret Way. You can park when voting, but don’t stay there to shop!
Ashtead
The Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall is a polling station today. Mr Gordon of Ashtead has posted “I have just confirmed with MVDC that the car park remains chargeable during the usual times.”
You can hand in postal votes at polling stations 🪪Don’t forget to bring photo-ID to vote!
Dogs are welcome. …
Perhaps a better representation of her attitude at me dragging her to the polling station (it's like you can hear her sighing in disdain through the picture), she perked up when she was greeted enthusiastically by the staff inside, however! @VotingDogs#dogsatpollingstationspic.twitter.com/ICne92fY9K
We expect more communications after the pre election period, but existing registered users of the Mole Valley Connect Demand Responsive electric bus service havebeen updated as below – the service is now District wide plus as before three handy locations just beyond:
Any Dorking location is available as within Mole Valley. Including Deepdene Station with connections to Gatwick and Reading.
Tesco Hookwood very close to Gatwick is within Mole Valley but the airport itself is not.
Goodwyns including Mole Valley Family Centre also within scope now.
It is a safe and reliable bus sharing service that will connect you to your local community. The service expanded to the south of Mole Valley in May 2023.
Join us at our LYP Fun DayOur first ever LYP Fun Day is taking place tomorrow from 11:30am – 3pm, we hope you can join us! 
Leatherhead Living 