23rd March 2023

NEWS TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT

Andrew Storey conducts the Ashtead Choral Society with enthusiasm and vigour, presenting them at theirbest in this delightful programme, showing off a range of music by Ralph Vaughan Williams in … READ MORE

On the Hunt for pothole repairs

COUNCIL OPINIONS PLANNING

The Government will give an additional £3.7m for pothole repairs in Surrey. But one Surrey councillor is calling for ministers to “go further” and change the way road funding is … READ MORE

Cllr McCormick’s own answers on Local Plan

COMMUNITY COUNCIL PLANNING

Cllr Steven McCormick (RA Woodcote Ward) Chair of Epsom and Ewell Borough Council’s Licensing, Planning and Policy Committee writes for the Epsom and Ewell Times to answer many of the … READ MORE

Public meeting on Local Plan dominated by greenbelters.

Monday 13th March 243 members of the public attended a packed meeting to debate the draft Local Plan issued by Epsom and Ewell Borough Council. 85 more logged in online. … READ MORE

COMMUNITY COUNCIL HEALTH

Dementia Hub serving Epsom and Ewell

16 March 2023

Epsom & Ewell Borough Council have renamed their Dementia Daycare Service the Dementia Hub – and are using the opportunity to remind those living locally about the fantastic servicethe Hub … READ MORE

Motion to pause Local Plan process

23 March 2023

The motion passed by an extraordinary meeting of the Epsom and Ewell Borough Council on 22nd March 2023:

Proposer Cllr Eber Kington
Seconder Cllr Christine Howells

This Council notes that:

Extensive green areas, especially the green belt, and the absence of high-level development in our urban areas makes Epsom and Ewell a distinctive, green and an excellent place to live.
Under the existing legislation Local Planning Authorities are being required to draft Local Plans on the basis of out of date, 2014, data that does not reflect Epsom and Ewell’s housing need, as shown in more recently available 2018 data.
The Government’s recently proposed legislative changes to the planning process, whilst welcome in several aspects, are not yet enacted and the current legal position has not changed.
These factors suggest that a pause in progressing the Draft Local Plan in its current form would provide an opportunity to assess the Government’s draft proposals as well as the 2018 data on housing need in the borough.
This Council therefore agrees that:
i. Other than for the purpose of analysing the responses of the public consultation to capture residents’ views and any new information, the Local Plan process be paused to enable:
a) further work on brown field sites, including information arising out of the Regulation 18 consultation
b) further options to be considered that do not include green belt sites
c) an analysis of Epsom and Ewell’s required future housing numbers based on 2018 data
d) a clearer understanding of the Government’s legislative intentions in regard to protections for the green belt and the current mandatory target for housing numbers.

ii. Write to the MP for Epsom and Ewell calling on in him to use his influence to get the Government to abandon its use of 2014 data to calculate housing need and accept that all planning and housing policies must reflect the latest data if they are to be effective as well command the respect of the people they affect.

Sudden hike in Council room charges threatens community groups

23 March 2023

Letters to the Editor from Peter Prowse and Kevin Meager.

From Peter Prowse – 22nd March 2023

For the past year, Epsom and Ewell French Club has been hiring a room (The Studio) at Bourne Hall for its monthly meetings. The Council had agreed a discounted hire rate of £20 per hour, so £40 for our two hours, on the third Tuesday of each month.

Without any prior consultation and with very little notice, the Council has just announced that from April (ie in 10 days’ time) the Club will be charged a new ‘discounted’ rate of £35.36 per hour, so £70.72 for its two-hour booking, plus a new charge of £25 per session for use of the hot water urn (which has until now been provided free of charge).

Image: Bourne Hall Ewell Credit Bobulous – Own work. CC BY-SA 4.0

That would put the cost to the club up from £40 per booking to £95.72.

The club cannot possibly afford these prices. Other community groups who use Bourne Hall will be in the same position. Unless small, local clubs and societies can continue to use Bourne Hall for something very close to the 2022 prices, many will have to close.

Epsom & Ewell French Club is a non-commercial community group, provided for the benefit of its members and anybody else who want to come to its meetings. It is closely allied to the Epsom and Ewell Town Twinning Association, which is supported by the Borough Council.

The club almost folded during the Covid pandemic and its committe worked very hard to build it back up to the point where it is now attracting enough interest and support to keep going – provided it does not have to pay these new ridiculously expensive room hire costs. Bourne Hall exists for the benefit of local residents. This latest price hike means that many of them will no longer be able to use it.

Peter Prowse.

Letter from Kevin Meager

23rd March 2023

I would like to follow up on the letter to the editor regarding the hike in hire charges at Bourne Hall. I organise weekly dance classes in the main hall on Monday evenings through my organisation, Ceroc Surrey and we’ve been hit with similar charge increases with little to no notice. If this increase remains in place, we will have to stopping running classes at Bourne Hall as the new hire charges are unaffordable. The vast majority of our dancers are local, many are of retirement age and this is either their main or only weekly social event. Apart from lockdown, we’ve been using the venue continuously for over 20 years!

Your faithfully,

Kevin Meager

This is “offensive”.

23 March 2023

In our letters page today a Ewell resident rightly fulminates against the selfish habit of leaving dog poo bags for others to remove.

“To the person who tied a Dog Poo Bag to the fence between the NESCOT Playing Fields and the College buildings yesterday (Thursday).

You said you would return to collect it later as you didn’t want to carry it with you. You will have noticed it was not there on your return as I added it to my Litter picking bag.

_{Image – c. Bill Kasman – under licence} _{illustrates the wider problem.}

Had I come along 5 minutes later, when I wouldn’t have heard your explanation, how would I have known you would collect it? How would I have known that the other (very similar) bag dropped 2 metres further on was not yours? Or the black bag on a branch in the hedge round the corner? Or another deposited in a popular dropping spot on the edge of the Rugby Grounds?

Would I have been sure that the 4 people who threw glass beer bottles into the hedge, or the cans along the roadside, or the fast food packaging etc would be collected later to be deposited in the bins on the route, or taken home to be put in their own bins? No.

Your bag probably weighed no more than 100 grams. The bag of rubbish I collected weighed about 8 kilos when I’d finished. Approximately 2,000 items (I didn’t count beyond 250); Fine potential of £200,000.

You’re probably saying “mine’s different”. NO. It’s Litter. It’s Offensive; It’s an Offence.

Jennifer Brzozowska

Ashtead Choral Society celebrated Surrey’s Vaughan Williams.

23 March 2023

Andrew Storey conducts the Ashtead Choral Society with enthusiasm and vigour, presenting them at their
best in this delightful programme, showing off a range of music by Ralph Vaughan Williams in the 150th
anniversary year of his birth. A review of the concert held on 25th February in Epsom.

Starting the evening with Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical songs, the choir began with a warm and harmonious
sound, which remained well balanced and well blended throughout the evening. Accompanied solely by Stephen
Ridge on the piano, the sound filled the wonderful acoustics of St Martin’s Church in Epsom. The choir provided
excellent support to the baritone soloist, Daniel Tate, who gave an especially commendable performance as a last
minute stand-in, and whose tone and clarity propelled the storytelling of RVW’s Mystical Songs. The choir especially shone as the focal point in the 3rd song, demonstrating a beautiful understanding of tonality, and picked up the pace for the 5th song – the well-known ‘Let all the world’ – with an injection of energy to finish off.

The second piece of the evening was The Lark Ascending, played by The Kent Sinfonia with Christian Halstead as
lead and violin soloist. As one of Vaughan Williams’ most famous pieces, and an award-winning performance behind Halstead, the audience had a lot to look forward to, and it was as outstanding as we could have imagined!

The orchestra crafted a full-bodied sound and yet took no attention away from the exquisite violin solo, which had the audience mesmerised.

The second half began the titular piece of the evening, Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony. Demonstrating strong
entries all round, the choir and orchestra provided a majestic sound, with especially impressive lone chorus entries standing up to the magnificent sound of the orchestra. We also had our first entry of the soprano soloist Eleanor Pennell-Briggs, who gave another sparkling performance. My own conductor often tells me that “Musicians must be actors!”, which both soloists and ACS demonstrated beautifully this evening, conveying the power and emotion of the sea.

The symphony continues with some elegant call and response passages, well executed by both choir and orchestra, and it was especially pleasing when the main melody passes around the orchestra sections. The scherzo then starts, feeling energetic and urgent, with the chromatic passages handled with great skill and empathy by the choir. The dynamic contrasts by both parties provide drama, again echoing the feelings of the sea.

The final movement begins cinematic and sweeping, with precision by the chorus when they are left exposed. There is power when the basses sing alone, with a great contrast to the delicate female voices. The orchestra and soloists have a moment to shine on their own, with both soloists again demonstrating exceptional storytelling, before the chorus returns for the start of the finale. The regal fanfare from the horns and the vivid energy from the choir draws to a close to finish up the piece.

Overall both ACS and Kent Sinfonia provided a thoroughly enjoyable evening, showcasing a range of musical talent and shining a spotlight onto Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Lizzie McCaffrey

16th March 2023

23 March 2023

BUSINESS NEWS

Epsom to be Primarked in Ashley Centre revamp

16 March 2023

Exciting new changes are taking place in Epsom’s Ashley Centre shopping mall this year and into 2024. The Ashley Centre will be rebranded as ‘Ashley Centre -Epsom’ marketed with a … READ MORE

NEWS TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT

From custody to caring – new plans for Epsom’s old nick.

15 March 2023

Epsom Police Station has been closed since 2012 along with its several cells for detainees. The Surrey Police are situated in offices in The Town Hall, The Parade, Epsom, where … READ MORE

Grand plans for South-East transport

14 March 2023

Transport for the South East have received approval from their Partnership Board to progress delivery of their Strategic Investment Plan which includes nearly 300 multi-modal transport interventions to be delivered … READ MORE

COUNCIL HOUSING

Breaking the mould for Ukrainian refugees

Families fleeing war-torn countries such as Ukraine should not be placed in “derelict” and “mouldy” homes run by a Surrey council’s housing association partner, a councillor has claimed. Mole Valley … READ MORE

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS

Epsom Rotarians win Citizen Award.

Each year the Council formally recognises a member of the Epsom and Ewell community who goes above and beyond in a voluntary and/or campaigning capacity. The Active Citizen award is … READ MORE

Epsom and Ewell FC form rising

Epsom & Ewell FC 2-1 Montpelier Villa. Southern Combination League – Division One. Saturday 11th March 2023 Some days they go in and some days they don’t! Saturday’s meeting with … READ MORE

RUGBY SPORTS

The season’s final curtain

COMMUNITY COUNCIL PLANNING

Sutton & Epsom RFC 34 v Bracknell 24. Saturday 11th March. The modern league fixture list has a marvellous symmetry as it ends against the opponent oneplayed on the opening … READ MORE

Final Call to public meeting on Draft Local Plan

12 March 2023

Monday 13th March at 7pm at Wallace Fields Junior School Dorling Drive, Ewell, Epsom KT17 3BH, Epsom and Ewell Times will chair a public meeting on the Draft Local Plan. … READ MORE

Why planning matters at Hobbledown

A parent fought back tears as he told a Epsom and Ewell Borough Council’s planning committee he thought someone was going “to be injured or killed” as councillors approved a … READ MORE

ATHLETICS COUNCIL SPORTS

Surrey Youth Games getting starting pistol

The Specsavers Surrey Youth Games is kicking off next month, with a wide range of activities available in Epsom & Ewell. The Games are the largest multi-sport youth programme of … READ MORE

BUSINESS NEWS

Dorking pastry chef charts way to pie victory

NEWS TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT

Dorking-based pie-expert, Fine Piehouse has triumphed at this year’s British Pie Awards, taking home the prize for best Chicken Pie. The pie-maker beat off 31 other mouth-watering entries in this … READ MORE

Stoneleigh station to be revamped.

COUNCIL TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT

A new, covered footbridge will replace the existing structure at Stoneleigh station, providing full access via lifts or stairs to the central platform from both sides of the station. New … READ MORE

Your Council Needs You – to bin your litter

9 March 2023

Epsom & Ewell Borough Council has launched an anti-littering campaign, aimed at reducing litter throughout the borough. The campaign will focus on hotspots including Epsom train station, Epsom and Ewell … READ MORE

_{Local Plan meeting attendance and question form.}

Possible pause to Plan pondered ……

9 March 2023

Epsom and Ewell’s Local Plan is at risk of even further delay after councillors from the ruling Residents’ Association (RA) proposed pausing the process in the face of fierce opposition … READ MORE

Epsom and Ewell Times now hot off the press

23 March 2023

Think of friends or relatives or neighbours who would appreciate a printed version. Not everyone has computers or smartphones. Places of work, dentists waiting rooms, libraries and coffee shops etc., all welcome to print and make available. All the files are pdf and A4 size.

Got a printer at home or work? You are free to print and distribute for free or sell up to the cover price to cover your printing costs. As many copies as you like. If you wish to donate from time to time the proceeds of your sales to Epsom and Ewell Times that would really be appreciated. We do have running costs to cover. Go to our donate link above.

CLICK HERE for our downloadable PRINT editions.

Grand plans for South-East transport

23 March 2023

The plan sets out a vision for the region, with priorities to decarbonise the transport system, level up left behind communities and facilitate sustainable economic growth in the south east between now and 2050. Included within the ambitious list of interventions is several global policy interventions, designed to address the challenges and opportunities faced not just in the south east but across the whole of the UK. These cover issues such as decarbonisation, public transport fares, new mobility, road user charging, virtual access, and integration between all modes of transport.

_{^{The Board: Photo: (L-R) Rupert Clubb, Geoff French, Vince Lucas, Cllr Gary Hackwell, Cllr Phil Jordan, Cllr Keith Glazier, Cllr Elaine Hills, Cllr Matt Furniss, Cllr Joy Dennis, Cllr David Monk, Dan Ruiz.}}

This ambitious plan forecasts a total capital cost of over £45 billion over 27 years and interventions that once implemented could generate; 21,000 new jobs, an additional £4 billion growth in GVA each year by 2050, 1.4 mega tonnes less CO2 equivalent emitted, 500,000 more rail trips a day, 1.5 million more trips taken by bus, mass transit and ferry, and take roughly 4 million car trips a day off the south east’s roads.

While £45 billion is a significant sum of money, it isn’t dissimilar to the levels of historical investment in the south east over a similar time period. Not only does the plan identify the investment needed to transform the economy in the south east, it also recognises the financial constraints faced by the bodies that would traditionally fund these sorts of interventions. Delivering this plan requires significant investment and Transport for the South East welcomes ongoing discussions with government, both local and central and with the private sector as they continue to explore potential funding options.

Councillor Keith Glazier, Chair of Transport for the South East said; “This evidence based investment is a once in a generation opportunity to set out a sustainable transport network that recognises the importance of major transport corridors across the south east. Corridors that are fundamental to our economy and our communities.

“This plan is the result of five years of partnership working, it truly is a plan developed by the south east, for the south east.

“Following approval by our Partnership Board we have submitted the plan to the Secretary of State for the Department for Transport with a request for it to be considered as future investment decisions are made.

“We could not be more grateful for the insight, support and challenge shown by our partners, and the Department for Transport in the development of this plan.”

Transport for the South East’s Partnership Board brings together elected members from local transport authorities and district and borough authorities, representatives of local enterprise partnerships (LEPs), protected landscapes, National Highways, Network Rail, and more.

Throughout the development of the investment plan, Transport for the South East held regular stakeholder meetings to gather evidence and seek input. They also held a 12-week public consultation on the plan in the summer of 2022 asking for comments from anyone who lives, works or travels within the region, receiving over 600 responses.

Prior to approval at the Partnership Board, local transport authorities within the region also had the opportunity to present the investment plan to their own council members to secure sign off.

Transport for the South East’s investment plan promises to not only deliver economic benefits to the region but to also make a material contribution towards net zero carbon. It supports a reduction in the need to travel by encouraging integrated planning and a shift to more sustainable modes of travel for both passengers and freight.

It recognises the importance of accessible, affordable, integrated, reliable and attractive public transport, that is fit for purpose and have ensured it is at the core of the Strategic Investment Plan. The transport body promises to work with local authorities and operators to provide better-connected and accessible multi-modal journeys with users easily able to walk, wheel or cycle for the first and last miles of their journeys.

Following approval Transport for the South East’s attention now turns to delivery. They will continue to work with partners from across the region to develop a delivery action plan, setting out the current position of each of the nearly 300 proposed multi-modal schemes within the investment plan. The action plan will focus on the next three years, 2023-2026, and detail what the next steps are and confirm the roles and responsibilities of Transport for the South East and its delivery partners required to make this plan a reality.

You can read the plan in full at www.transportforthesoutheast.org.uk

Transport for the South East (TfSE) is a new body created to improve the transport network and grow the economy of the whole South East area.

It brings together representatives of 16 transport authorities and five local enterprise partnerships covering an area stretching from the English Channel to the border of London, and from the Kent coast to Berkshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Not only does this area include major airports, ports, roads and rail routes, it is also a powerful economic motor for the whole of the UK – adding £200 billion a year to the national economy.

The aim of TfSE is to support and grow this economy, improve quality of life and protect the environment by choosing the right strategic transport priorities for investment. A thirty-year transport strategy was published in July 2020 with a strategic investment plan to follow by 2022.

Press release from Transport from the South-East

Final Call to public meeting on Draft Local Plan

23 March 2023

Monday 13th March at 7pm at Wallace Fields Junior School Dorling Drive, Ewell, Epsom KT17 3BH, Epsom and Ewell Times will chair a public meeting on the Draft Local Plan. The meeting will feature a panel of experts. Tim Murphy CPRE, Margaret Hollings Epsom Civic Society and Chair Licensing Planning and Policy Committee Cllr Steven McCormick (Council officers invited). Questions and view points from the public attending will be allowed. We will confirm if the meeting can be followed online in the next few days.

Registration to attend is not required but it would be helpful to us if you did inform us of your intention to attend. This will help some planning. Also it would help the chair of the meeting if you submitted questions in advance.

You can tell us if you are attending the Epsom and Ewell Times Local Plan Public Meeting and suggest a question by filling in:

Mole Valley Local Plan paused: official

Epsom & Ewell Borough Council Draft Local Plan.

Green-belters seeing red on Local Plan?

Hook Road Arena plans and links to many other related reports.

Dorking pastry chef charts way to pie victory

23 March 2023

Dorking-based pie-expert, Fine Piehouse has triumphed at this year’s British Pie Awards, taking home the prize for best Chicken Pie. The pie-maker beat off 31 other mouth-watering entries in this category to take home the prize.

The pie-oneering awards, now in its 15th year, celebrate the nation’s most delicious pies – from the traditionally British to the tantalisingly innovative and totally whacky.

Fine Piehouse won over the esteemed judges this year with its Normandy Chicken with Apple Brandy pie.

Matthew O’Callaghan, Chairman of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association and host of the British Pie Awards, said: “We are always highly encouraged to see the nation’s love of pies at these annual awards, and this year there has been a huge level of excitement and creativity.

On Wednesday we had the pleasure of enjoying some spectacular pies, and Fine Piehouse has overcome exceptionally stiff competition for best Chicken Pie. These awards celebrate the skill of British piemakers across the nation, so I’d like to say a particular congratulations to them for this success.”

The contest comprises 23 different classes or types of pie including traditional favourites and newcomers such as Vegan and Gluten Free Pies. This year in a surprise twist, meat-based pie entries dominated the top four classes for the first time since 2019, with Beef & Any Flavour topping the entry rankings.

Other memorable entries in the contest included a Marmite and Cheese concoction and Fusion Pies such as Balti Pies, Vindaloo Pies, Kebab Pies, and even Baldy’s ‘Nearly As Good As Mama Joan’s Lasagne Pie’.

Thanks to the British Pie Association.

^{Image – Oddbodz – CC BY-SA 3.0}

9th March 2023

23 March 2023

NEWS TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT WESTMINSTER

Surrey MPs oppose each other on drills in the hills

Jeremy Hunt MP has said it is “disappointing” that plans to drill for oil and gas in Dunsfold have not been “formally shelved” altogether. The Chancellor of the Exchequer issued … READ MORE

EDUCATION NEWS

Surrey academic wins ‘Woman in Innovation’ award for tackling bias against neurodivergent people

On International Women’s Day Surrey University announce a prize winner among its female academics. Online technologies to help neurodivergent people successfully enter the workforce are being developed at the University … READ MORE

COMMUNITY HEALTH

New hospital programme called “HS2 of hospitals”

BUSINESS TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT

The government’s hospitals programme has been called the “HS2 of hospitals” as “quite intense” discussions continue about how to take it forward. Epsom and St Helier had its plan for … READ MORE

Can you beat the ULEZ charge?

Established in Epsom in 1904 Wilsons car dealership still keeps ahead with the times. LDRS reports on its efforts to stay ahead of ULEZ expansion to Epsom and Ewell’s London … READ MORE

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS

“Imagine this house is in Epsom” says our man in Ukraine.

Surrey Stands With Ukraine

Epsom based Surrey Stands With Ukraine’s charity director returned from Ukraine recently. Interviewed yesterday by Epsom and Ewell Times (E&ET). E&ET: Why did you go?Lionel Blackman: The fantastic Epsom and … READ MORE

COMMUNITY COUNCIL PLANNING

Public meeting on Local Plan

6 March 2023

On Monday 13th March at 7pm at Wallace Fields Junior School Dorling Drive, Ewell, Epsom KT17 3BH, Epsom and Ewell Times will chair a public meeting on the Draft Local … READ MORE

RUGBY SPORTS

The Prince of Maidenhead Reigns Supreme

5 March 2023

Sutton & Epsom RFC 26 – Maidenhead 45. Saturday 4th March. The Black & Whites returned to Rugby Lane in the knowledge that their race had been runthis season. The … READ MORE

COUNCIL TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT

Late winner points Epsom’s way.

5 March 2023

Selsey 2-3 Epsom & Ewell FC. Southern Combination League – Division One. Saturday 4th March. Ultimately Saturday’s League match at Selsey was decided by, and will be remembered for a … READ MORE

Surrey’s get greener update

4 March 2023

Surrey County Council and the Greener Futures Partnership are on a mission to make Surrey carbon free and greener by 2050. Here are links to the latest updates from Surrey County … READ MORE

Epsom news Surrey County Council. Green initiatives.

LOCAL HISTORY

Celebrating celebrated Surrey women

4 March 2023

March is Women’s History Month. You can discover important and inspiring stories of Surrey women in history on Surrey History Centre’s (SHC) Exploring Surrey’s Past website. Watch out for social media throughout … READ MORE

NEWS

Pay black hole takes £2.2M Epsom Hospital funds

4 March 2023

Epsom and St Helier Trust has set out how it is working to claw back £2.2million in salary overpayments. A board meeting of the trust heard that people continuing to … READ MORE

HEALTH NEWS

Patient nut complaint to protect others

TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT WESTMINSTER

The Epsom and St Helier Trust board heard the complaint of a patient allergic to nuts given nut oil. LDRS reports: A hospital patient with a peanut allergy and an … READ MORE

Fractious Court case anticipated

Anti-fracking campaigners are celebrating after the High Court granted a judicial review into the exploratory drilling of £123 million of oil near the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. … READ MORE

LOCAL HISTORY

Churchill’s visits to Epsom

Churchill in Epsom. Epsom news

In 1903 Winston Churchill, then the MP for Oldham, visited Epsom College and unveiled a memorial stained glass window in memory of the Old Epsomians who had died in the … READ MORE

ARTS CULTURE

Suffragette stage play review

Sarah Dewing, who initiated the statue of Emily Davison in Epsom’s Market Square reviews “Emmeline” a play about the foremost British suffragette, Emmeline Pankhurst, and the fight for the vote … READ MORE

_{Local Plan meeting attendance and question form.}

Mole Valley Local Plan paused: official

2 March 2023

Inspectors have agreed to pause the examination of Mole Valley’s 6,000 home blueprint amid attempts to remove all green belt sites for development. Mole Valley District Council had written to … READ MORE

Public meeting on Local Plan

23 March 2023

On Monday 13th March at 7pm at Wallace Fields Junior School Dorling Drive, Ewell, Epsom KT17 3BH, Epsom and Ewell Times will chair a public meeting on the Draft Local Plan. The meeting will feature a panel of experts. Tim Murphy CPRE, Margaret Hollings Epsom Civic Society and Chair Licensing Planning and Policy Committee Cllr Steven McCormick (Council officers invited). Questions and view points from the public attending will be allowed. We will confirm if the meeting can be followed online in the next few days.

The Epsom and Ewell Borough Council is holding an extraordinary meeting on 22nd March at 7.30pm at The Town Hall, The Parade, Epsom to discuss a motion about the Draft Local Plan. Only 11 councillors approved the Draft Local Plan going forward at a meeting of the Licensing Planning and Policy Committee of 30th January. The Full Council meeting of the 22nd March will be the first public opportunity for all Councillors to speak on the Local Plan.

You can tell us if you are attending the Epsom and Ewell Times Local Plan Public Meeting and suggest a question by filling in:

Mole Valley Local Plan paused: official

Epsom & Ewell Borough Council Draft Local Plan.

Green-belters seeing red on Local Plan?

Hook Road Arena plans and links to many other related reports.

Celebrating celebrated Surrey women

23 March 2023

March is Women’s History Month. You can discover important and inspiring stories of Surrey women in history on Surrey History Centre’s (SHC) Exploring Surrey’s Past website. Watch out for social media throughout the month too. The month also incorporates International Women’s Day on 8 March. Both initiatives promote the achievements and contributions of women in the past and present, and the ongoing campaign for equality in all areas of life. From artists to actors, suffragettes to scientists, and gardeners to musicians,

Harriet Grote, (right in image) 19th century Radical ‘female politician’, hostess and patron. For Women’s History Month, SHC celebrates the long life of a radical writer and hostess through the recollections of the Farrer family of Abinger Hall in Surrey, whose papers SHC hold.

The ‘Influential Women’ section of case studies for SHC’s Exploring Surrey’s Past website was created by Surrey’s museums and each museum revealed stories from their collections about talented and inspiring local women. These included Margaret Robinson of Chertsey (1920-2016), (centre in image) who was an artist, a puppeteer, and a model-maker with a worldwide fan base as a result of the models she created for Hammer Film, most noticeably The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Mummy. You can read all of the stores here.

Surrey’s women played a vital role during the First World War, serving as Red Cross nurses at home and abroad, working on the Home Front in the Women’s Land Army, and being munitions workers in factories. The Surrey in the Great War website records and preserves their contribution and hosts research guides, film and fascinating stories about local women. One of the films you can watch captures a rural community caught on camera for a local newsreel, with members of the Women’s Land Army demonstrated their ploughing skills in an inter-farm competition at Cross Farm, Shackleford, in April 1917. Find out more and watch the film.

Text and photos courtesy of The Surrey History Centre.

Suffragette stage play review

23 March 2023

Sarah Dewing, who initiated the statue of Emily Davison in Epsom’s Market Square reviews “Emmeline” a play about the foremost British suffragette, Emmeline Pankhurst, and the fight for the vote for women at the start of the 20th century.

“Emmeline” was performed at Esher Theatre on 24th and 25th February, as part of a tour that began in Oxford and will end in Manchester on 8th March, International Women’s Day, It is the debut play of young playwright and actor Beatrice Hyde, who also played Sylvia Pankhurst in the production. It was staged by the Theatre Lab Company, a London-based theatre company and was directed by Its Artistic Director, Anastasia Revi.

Beatrice condensed thirty years of suffragette history into two and a half hours, which sounds intense, but the interval broke it up nicely. She spent five years researching the Pankhursts and the events that took place around the struggle for government acceptance of women’s suffrage.

The play focused on the relationships between the newly widowed Emmeline and her three daughters, Christobel, Adela and in particular, Sylvia. Her relationship with her mother becomes increasingly fractious as the strategies pursued by the Women’s Social and Political Union, founded by Emmeline, become increasingly at odds with her socialist principles. These were encouraged further by her relationship with the founder of the Labour movement, Keir Hardie.

At the same time as we are let into the Pankhurst family dynamics, we are shown their social and political context including the debate around the cause between prominent politicians of the day and many of the stand-out events during the suffragette era, including the actions of Emily Wilding Davison at the Epsom Derby in 1913.

The play was well acted by a diverse cast of actors, with a stand-out performance by Georgie Rhys as Emmeline in particular. Direction was impressive, given the sheer intensity of the plot, and coordination of all the different aspects of the production.

The set was very simple but effective, with a two-tier stage with raised platforms at the rear and sides, minimalist lighting and a variety of props that often acted as symbols rather than literal objects. The sound design accompanying the production was an important aspect of the overall impact of the play, with several authentic and beautifully sung suffragette songs. reprieved throughout the play to rousing effect.

I loved the use of the background presence of an actor portrayed as the “heroic woman” motif throughout the play, representing the movement and its ups and downs. This was inspired by an illustration on the front page of an original Suffragette newspaper. I also thought the sound design and production really took the play to a different level.

Emily Davison and Emmeline play — ^{Emily Davison Statue and the play Emmeline}

For me, the psychological aspects of the play highlighted the personal costs, as well as rewards and triumphs, that are paid by those in single-minded pursuit of a mission to the exclusion of all else, including health, safety and relationships with loved ones. The play alludes to Emmeline’s drive to finish the work started by her beloved husband as the source of this obsession.

Ironically, without those like Emmeline and her daughters, who willingly devote their lives to a cause, social progress could not happen. In this case, women would not have the rights they have today, even if there is still a away to go. This is brought home to the present day at the end with a scene where Emmeline is portrayed as her statue outside the Houses of Parliament, This play is an impressive debut for Beatrice Hyde, but also a production that I would highly recommend for anyone with an interest in 20th Century history, women’s rights and psychological drama.

Sarah Dewing
Chair
Emily Davison Memorial Project

2nd March 2023

23 March 2023

ARTS CULTURE NEWS

After Ronnie Scotts? Epsom of course!

Fresh from their ‘Two for the Road’ concert at Ronnie Scotts, internationally renowned virtuoso jazz guitarist visiting from Norway, Frode Kjekstad is pairing up with local legend Nigel Price. Together … READ MORE

NEWS OBITUARY

Sue Bull – a special lady. An obituary.

Susan Helen Bull (Sue) was born in January 1958 in Dorset but her family moved back to Berkshire inthe mid-1960s. Born into a farming community she and her older brother … READ MORE

Epsom and Ewell FC wandering to top table?

Epsom & Ewell FC 1-0 Dorking Wanderers B. Southern Combination League – Division One. Tuesday 28th February. As a supporter, it is sometimes easy to forget after an awful performance … READ MORE

NEWS POLICING

Plodcast problem leads to PC sacking

A Surrey Police officer was dismissed without notice after he made a podcast in which his wording suggested he “condoned committing criminal acts of domestic abuse”. The officer, who cannot … READ MORE

Hook Road Arena plans

27 February 2023

This is the last of nine reports on the BIG PLANS for Epsom and Ewell proposed in the DRAFT LOCAL PLAN that is out for public consultation till 17th March. We do … READ MORE

Epsom and Ewell pressed on.

27 February 2023

Epsom & Ewell 1-2 East Preston. Southern Combination League – Division One. Saturday 25th February. Whatever happened to Fortress Fetcham Grove? Last season we won eleven in a row and … READ MORE

RUGBY SPORTS

Sutton and Epsom RFC Sink Despite All Hands On Deck

26 February 2023

Brighton 39 Sutton & Epsom 22. Saturday 25th February. The last of Epsom and Sutton’s rearranged fixtures sadly fell on a weekend that not only featured the Six Nations but … READ MORE

Land at Chantilly Way

26 February 2023

This is the eighth of nine reports on the nine BIG PLANS for Epsom and Ewell proposed in the DRAFT LOCAL PLAN that is out for public consultation till 17th March. We … READ MORE

COUNCIL NEWS PLANNING

Residents aroused by “sleeping” residents?

26 February 2023

Amid claims of the Residents Association Councillors being “asleep at the wheel” one of the biggest residents’ protests ever held in Epsom took place yesterday. Over 200 demonstrators waved banners, … READ MORE

Land adjoining Ewell East Station

25 February 2023

This is the seventh of nine reports on the BIG PLANS for Epsom and Ewell proposed in the DRAFT LOCAL PLAN that is out for public consultation till 17th March. We do … READ MORE

Mulletts salted in table top match

25 February 2023

Epsom & Ewell 3-2 Arundel. Southern Combination League – Division One. Wednesday 22nd February. In an important battle at the top end of the table, our boys came through a … READ MORE

Land at West Park Hospital

24 February 2023

This is the sixth of nine reports on the BIG PLANS for Epsom and Ewell proposed in the DRAFT LOCAL PLAN that is out for public consultation till 19th March. We do … READ MORE