Green Belt campaigners have obtained a breakdown of over half-a-million pounds spent so far by Epsom and Ewell Borough Council on the draft Local Plan and the Town Centre MasterPlan. The Epsom and Ewell Times provides the figures below.

Epsom and Ewell Borough Council’s response to a Freedom of Information Act request:

“The figures below are broken down into two time periods: 

• The first covering the April 2016 to December 2021. 

• The second period covers January 2022 until 15^th April 2023 – this is to reflect that from  January 2022 additional evidence was commissioned to support the preparation of the  Draft Local Plan 2022-2040. 

April 2016 – December 2021 Local Plan consultancy 

January 2022 onwards to support Draft Local Plan 2022-2040 

* note no net cost to EEBC as funded by the Local Enterprise Partnership The total spend on external services from 1^st April 2016 until the 15 April 2023 was £513,214.83. However  as noted above £99,768.10 of this was for the Emerging Epsom Town Centre Masterplan was funded by the  Capital to Coast Local Enterprise Partnership.”

Mark Todd, Chair, Epsom and Ewell Labour Party and a candidate in Horton Ward for the upcoming local election, responded to our request to all parties for comment: “Yet more evidence of terrible waste and mismanagement by the Residents’ Association running Epsom and Ewell Borough Council. No wonder our council tax is so high and our services so poor. It’s time for change at the local elections on May 4. The local Labour party will clean up the council and make sure money is spent wisely again.”

Julie Morris, College Ward Councillor and Liberal Democrat told us: “The need for a new Local Plan is known years in advance and steps should have been taken to make sure our borough had robust local planning policies in place, rather than procrastinate over what was exactly the right time to create a new Local Plan. 

Much of the evidence base has needed to be updated and has therefore required the work of professional organisations to do this, resulting in a much greater spend than was originally forecast.  There was no alternative but for council to agree to this expenditure.  Had Residents Association councillors given the matter greater priority, expenditure would undoubtedly have been less.  It’s important to bear in mind too, that the process is far from complete.”

The Residents Association, Conservative Party and Green Party have not responded.

Related Reports:

£225,000 to plan the unplanned

The Local Plan to plan The Local Plan

Many others – search “Local Plan”.

The Epsom Playhouse is listed as one of Surrey’s “quirky” polling stations in the report below from the BBC’s LDRS (Epsom and Ewell Times’ official news partner). A full list of the polling stations for the Borough of Epsom and Ewell Council’s upcoming 4th May elections can be FOUND HERE.

When many Surrey voters head out to cast their ballot in local elections on May 4 they will go to the village halls, community centres and schools that are often used as polling stations.

But some will visit more unusual locations, including a pub, a theatre and a former home for “vagrants and casual workers” all being used as polling stations.

Local elections are being held in all 11 districts and boroughs across the county, though not all residents will go to the polls.

Some councils, including Elmbridge, Tandridge and Woking, elect their councillors “by thirds”, meaning one third of council seats are up for election each time.

Others, including Guildford and Epsom and Ewell, hold “all out” elections every four years.

At the Bull Inn, in Warlingham, people voting in Tandridge District Council elections will be able to grab a pint once they are done and drink it in the pub’s garden. It is the third time the pub has been used as a polling station, and tea and coffee will be served in the morning with alcohol available from midday.

While voters in Esher, within Dominic Raab’s parliamentary ward, will tread the boards of the Esher theatre to cast their vote. A production of City Of Dreams will run at the theatre until April 29, and there is a performance the day after the vote of Cool Britannia Cabaret.

It’s not the only theatre to be used as a polling station on May 4, with the Epsom Playhouse also being used as a polling station for voters in Epsom and Ewell’s Town ward.

Some voters in Guildford will have the opportunity to cast their ballot at the Spike in the borough’s Castle ward. The purpose-built home for vagrants and casual workers, which opened in 1906, was built to separate vagrant workers from those within the main workhouse. In 2005, the Charlotteville Jubilee Trust fundraised to rescue the building, after a period of it being used by St Luke’s Hospital before its relocation to the Royal Surrey site, and after it was listed as a Grade II building. The Community Centre and Heritage Centre now on the site opened in 2008.

Polling stations on May 4 will be open from 7am until 10pm, and voters should receive a polling card from their district council to let them know which polling station to attend.

It is also the first local elections where voters nationwide will need to show ID in order to be able to vote.
A full list of accepted forms of voter ID is available on the gov.uk website and the deadline to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate is 5pm on Tuesday, April 25.

Related Reports:

Epsom and Ewell Local Elections general

Beginning to line up for local elections

Register to vote deadline for elections

4th May Surrey goes to the polls

Turn up to turn downturn in turnout!

Worrying about voter ID law

No photo – no vote!

UCA Epsom has secured a multi-million-pound fund to meet a Net Zero target. The University for the Creative Arts (UCA) in Epsom has been awarded £4.5m in Government funding to decarbonise heating at its campus.

By harnessing new technologies and increasing onsite power generation, the University aims to deliver more than a 90% reduction in carbon emissions from energy consumption across a ten-year period and meet its commitment to Net Zero carbon emissions by 2030.   

Professor Mark Ellul, Chief Operating Officer at UCA, said: “Since 2007, our investment in energy efficiency and onsite renewables, have halved our carbon emissions despite growing as a university. We are now building on this work to create a step-change in our efforts to reach Net Zero. 

“We are committed to being one of the greenest universities in the UK and this funding is an endorsement of the work we have already undertaken to deliver greener campuses.”  

Scott Keiller, UCA Sustainability Manager said: “In the coming months we will be developing our plans, aiming to replace our gas-powered heating with ground source and air source heat pumps by spring 2025. We will also be significantly increasing our solar power generation to reduce our demand on grid electricity and adding sophisticated energy control systems and grid connected energy storage.”  

The project will be funded by the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) with the University committing a similar amount of funding. The Public Sector scheme was initiated by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and it is delivered by Salix Finance. 

Director of Programmes Ian Rodger from Salix Finance said: “The projects at the University of Creative Arts are ambitious and our teams at Salix are looking forward to being part of the University’s journey to reach its Net Zero targets.

“The University has made substantial progress in the last few years in reducing its carbon emissions and this PSDS grant will enable significant further carbon reductions.

“As well as creating greener campuses, the buildings will also be more comfortable for the students, staff and other visitors to use.”

A new countywide, partnership strategy has been agreed to boost the county’s collective efforts to end Violence Against Women and Girls in Surrey. Work will now commence with partners across Surrey on an action plan to support work over the next three-years

The Surrey Partnership VAWG Strategy was developed with the County’s key partners, including survivors and communities, specialist service provision, police, education and health, to build upon the extensive work already in progress to end VAWG, such as our Safer Streets initiative. The response will address VAWG across four pillars: Prepare, Prevent, Protect and Pursue. These pillars underpin four key objectives: prevent violence against women and girls, support victims and survivors, hold perpetrators to account and partnership working.

The strategy frames all crime types we know to disproportionally affect women and girls, such as domestic abuse, sexual offences, and ‘honour’ based abuse, under the framework of tackling violence against women and girls.

It goes wider to include educating children on respectful relationships, tackling sexism in the office, and harassment and intimidation of women and girls in Surrey’s communities. The County recognise that VAWG impacts LGBTQ+, minoritised communities and children and adults with care and support needs in different ways, and the authority will look to collaborate with specialist service provision to ensure an intersectional approach to supporting all survivors, and work to break down additional barriers.

Harnessing the experiences and knowledge of all partners across the County’s multi-agency network, the strategy will set out its shared vision, principles, and commitments. The governance framework will ensure accountability and enable effective implementation of action plans by their partners.

Informed by the lived experience of women and girls within Surrey, the work of the partnership will help to empower survivors, help them to feel safe and be safe, hold perpetrators to account and bring them to justice.

Joanna Killian, Chief Executive Surrey County Council said: “With the launch of our new county wide partnership VAWG strategy we strive to end violence against women and girls in Surrey. The safety of women and girls within our communities is a top priority for us, and we must ensure that they have opportunities to flourish without fear for their safety. For too long abuse, violence, and harmful attitudes towards women and girls has been allowed to thrive, this stops with us. This partnership strategy ensures collective action to tackle all forms of VAWG within Surrey, and we hope to be a beacon of best practice for other counties across the UK. Together, with our residents, specialist services, partners, and the expertise of women and girls, we will achieve our collective goal.”

Epsom and Ewell Times has reported before about anxieties around the new requirement for photo ID for voters at the upcoming local elections 4th May. LDRS reports on anxieties in the Surrey Borough of Runnymede which are no doubt shared in Epsom and Ewell:

Don’t leave getting your voter ID for the May local elections sorted until the last minute. That is the message from Runnymede Borough Council’s election manager as the deadline to secure proof approaches.

Local elections are taking place this year on Thursday May 4 and this year, for the first time, every voter heading to a polling station in England must show a photo ID in order to cast their ballot.

Councils across Surrey have been rolling out communication pushes as the “last thing they want” is to be turning people away at the polls. Kath Richards is the election manager for Runnymede Borough Council. She said: “The deadline to apply for voter id is April 25 at 5pm. After the 25th there is nothing they can do. My concern is people will leave it until the last minute. The nearer the election day they’ve got to rely on the post. If they leave it they might have to collect it themselves. We don’t know if there is going to be a rush.”

There are a host of valid IDs that will be accepted on the day, including expired official documents such as passports, so long as there is still a strong resemblance to the photograph.

Those who do not own an accepted ID can apply for what is known as the free Voter Authority Certificate – a fast track card that will allow people to vote.

However, the deadline to apply is fast approaching leading to fears some may leave it too late. Applying for the voter card can be done online. Residents upload a photo of themselves and it lands with the council where it is then checked to ensure the person is who they say they are.

After that it is sent to a printing company in Sunderland before being posted back to people’s homes.

So far Runnymede has received about 60 applications – which have come through ‘in dribs and drabs’ despite the communications push that saw notices go up on bins, banners and through people’s doors.

She said: “We don’t want people to turn up on the day and not be able to vote because they’ve not got the right information. The ID needs to be an original document. I’ve got a picture of my passport on my phone but I can’t use it. I can be an out of date passport as long as the picture bears a resemblance. If you still look like the picture in your passport it will still be accepted. I don’t want to be in a position where somebody says they don’t know about it. The last thing we want to do is turn people away.”

She estimates that there are between two and eight per cent of the voting population who do not have a valid photo ID.

Not a massive figure in a population of about 60,000 voters but enough to potentially swing the balance in wards where there is a small majority.

Accepted forms of photo ID:

You can use any of the following accepted forms of photo ID when voting at a polling station.

International travel
Passport issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, an EEA state or a Commonwealth country

Driving and Parking
Driving licence issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or an EEA state (this includes a provisional driving licence)
A Blue Badge

Local travel
Older Person’s Bus Pass funded by the Government of the United Kingdom
Disabled Person’s Bus Pass funded by the Government of the United Kingdom
Oyster 60+ Card funded by the Government of the United Kingdom
Freedom Pass
Scottish National Entitlement Card
60 and Over Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
Disabled Person’s Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
Senior SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
Registered Blind SmartPass or Blind Person’s SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
War Disablement SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
60+ SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
Half Fare SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland

Proof of age
Identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card)
Other government issued documents
Biometric immigration document
Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card)
National identity card issued by an EEA state
Electoral Identity Card issued in Northern Ireland
Voter Authority Certificate
Anonymous Elector’s Document

The name on your ID should be the same name you used to register to vote.

Those who have registered to vote anonymously and want to vote in person, need to apply for an Anonymous Elector’s Document.

Voter ID cards can be applied for via the Government’s website

Related reports:

Register to vote deadline for elections

Worrying about voter ID law

No photo – no vote!

(Image: SecretLondon Creative Commons)

With local controversies about the draft Local Plan eyeing up Green Belt, Epsom and Ewell Borough Council soon decides on two Town proposals. LDRS reports:

Plans for a care home on the site of the former Epsom police station and ambulance station are set for refusal by councillors. The planned building, a 96-bed care in Church Street in Epsom, would be over three to five storeys, but council officers have raised concern about its “overly-domineering” impact on the surrounding area.

A meeting of Epsom and Ewell Borough Council’s planning committee on Thursday (April 20) will make a decision on the application.

The 96 bedrooms in the proposed home would provide nursing, residential and dedicated dementia care, and would have en suite wet rooms.

There are 20 listed buildings in the The Church Street Conservation Area, which wraps around the south and west ends of the site. Officers said the scale, form, design and materials of the plans would cause “cause less than substantial harm” to the nearby listed buildings including Hermitage (Grade II Listed), Ashley Cottages (Grade II Listed) and The Cedars (Grade II* Listed).

A council report into the care home said the building would “represent an overly domineering and incongruous addition that would fail to integrate with the prevailing character and appearance of the area”.

Concerns were also raised about the future of trees on the site including a cedar and a lime tree during excavation works for the development.

At the same meeting, councillors should make a decision on a plan for 20 homes in a five- and six-storey development on the corner of West Street and Station Approach in the town.

The plans, which would include just two affordable homes and five parking spaces, received 51 letters of objection raising concerns about the impact on the character of the town, and the loss of the existing building.
Officers have recommended the plans be approved, which would include the demolition of the current 1905 building which was originally a corn and coal merchants.

The redevelopment of the former Gillespie’s Bakery building has been objected to by the county council’s highways authority, because of the need to reduce the width of the existing pavement and cycle path.

Under a previous application, the highways authority had not objected to plans, but since then a stronger policy had been adopted to improve travel methods for pedestrians and cyclists, leading to the objection.

Despite the five car parking spaces not meeting the council’s guidelines for parking, an officers’ report said: “The site is in a highly sustainable location with access to a number of public transport modes and the displaced parking can be accommodated in adjacent public car parks and via on street parking.”

The two affordable homes in the plans also fall below the council’s affordable housing recommendations, but a 40 per cent provision would “substantially affect the overall viability of the scheme”, according to council documents.

The meeting will take place on Thursday, April 20 at 7.30pm.

Related reports:

West Street developers climbing down enough?

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

Epsom and Ewell residents will go to the polls on May 4 to elect their councillors for the next four years.

All 35 seats on the council are up for election in Surrey’s smallest borough, and elections are taking place at the other ten lower-tier authorities in the county as well.

The election at Epsom and Ewell Borough Council comes just six weeks after members voted for a pause to the plan for homes in the borough in order to re-consider the inclusion of green belt sites such as Horton Farm being used for homes.

The council is currently led by Residents’ Association councillors and has been since it was founded in 1938. Residents will elect councillors to 14 wards this year, with a new ward added in Horton.

Below we list all the candidates standing across the borough:

College
Kate Emily Brooks – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell
Nigel Kenneth Benno Sippel Collin – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Charlotte Mary Day – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Julian Peter Freeman – Liberal Democrat Focus Team
James John Lawrence – Liberal Democrat Focus Team
Helen Lewis – Labour Party 
Julie Anne Morris – Liberal Democrat Focus Team 
Christopher Charles Muller – Conservative
Tom Peer – Conservative
Michael John Ware – Conservative
Court
Chris Ames – Labour Party 
Christine Rosemary Beams – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Kate Chinn – Labour Party
Rob Geleit – Labour Party
David Erwin Lyndsay – Conservative
Geoffrey Christopher Pope – Conservative
Karen Seidel – Liberal Democrat 
Sandy Smyth – Conservative
Mary Catherine Sullivan – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
David Michael Triggs – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Cuddington
Caroline Barretto – Labour Party
Dan Brown – Liberal Democrat 
Kevin Rhys Davies – Labour Party 
Garrett Michael Doran – Conservative
Alex Paul Hawkes Cole – Conservative
Graham Owen Jones – Residents’ Association of Cuddington 
Phil Neale – Residents’ Association of Cuddington 
Arun Matyjas Saini – Liberal Democrat 
Rajesh Saini – Liberal Democrat
Kim Spickett – Residents’ Association of Cuddington 
Lynn Walker – Conservative
Ewell Court
Tamas Balog – Liberal Democrat 
Tom Chaloner – Conservative
Oliver Nathaniel Clement – Conservative
Dan Edwards – Labour Party
David Walter Gulland – Liberal Democrat 
Debbie Monksfield – Labour Party 
Peter William O’donovan – Ewell Court Residents’ Association
Christopher Robin John Watson – Ewell Court Residents’ Association 
Ewell Village
Christine Gladys Cleveland – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
andrew Nicholas Cook – Conservative
Sandra Noel Hatfield – Labour Party
Kenneth John Kimber – Liberal Democrat 
andrej Kubicek – Liberal Democrat 
David Anthony Lee – Green Party 
Graham Rapier – Conservative
Clive David Woodbridge – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Horton
Ros Godson – Labour Party 
Eber Alan Kington – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell
Henal Vinod Ladwa – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Philip Mclauchlan – Liberal Democrat 
Bernie Muir – Conservative
Kieran Persand – Conservative
Mark Christian Todd – Labour Party
Paul Stephen Vagg – Liberal Democrat
Nonsuch
Jamie Abrahams – Conservative
Janice Baker – Green Party
Stephen William Dixon – Liberal Democrat 
Shanice Goldman – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Gaye Hadfield – Labour Party
Christine Anne Howells – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Robert Leach – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Steven Liu – Conservative
Gary Derek Peters – Liberal Democrat 
Sharon Marie Stead – Liberal Democrat 
Ajay Kumar Uppal – Conservative
Ian Leslie Ward – Labour Party
Ruxley
Rob Adnitt – Labour Party
Joseph Ojo Alawo – Conservative 
Catherine Anne Carver-Hill – Labour Party 
Alex Coley – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
David Raymond John Collins – Conservative
David Michael Kidd – Green Party
Jan Mason – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Marian Paula Morrison – Liberal Democrat
Stamford
Andrew Darren Bailey – Green Party
Steve Bridger – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
David Colleton Buxton – Liberal Democrat Focus Team 
Richard William Chinn – Labour Party 
Alison Kelly – Liberal Democrat Focus Team
Karen Landles – Labour Party
Martin Olney – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell
Aaron Persand – Conservative
Stephen Pontin – Conservative
Stoneleigh
Rusmat Roland Arthur Ahmed – Liberal Democrat
Charlotte Ann Angus – Conservative
Hannah Charlotte Emily Dalton – Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents’ Association 
Brian William Fisher – Liberal Democrat 
Anthony John Froud – Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents’ Association 
Sue Hoyle – Labour Party 
Tracy Margaret Muller – Conservative
Ragu Raymond – Labour Party
Town
Arthur Abdulin – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Neil andrew Dallen – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Danny Leonard Fullilove – Conservative
John Stuart Gosling – Labour Party
Yvonne Caroline Grunwald – Green Party 
Sarah Louise Kenyon – Labour Party
Rachel Sarah King – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Gillian Miles – Liberal Democrat
Jamie Joseph O’sullivan – Conservative
Philip Victor Pavey – Liberal Democrat
Meera Persand – Conservative
Sarah Louise Charlotte Whitworth – Liberal Democrat
West Ewell 
Jason George anderson – Labour Party 
Patrick Christopher Campion – Conservative
andrew John Casey – Liberal Democrat 
Linda Martha Chmiel – Liberal Democrat 
Tony Foster – Green Party 
Lisa Zahra Haghir – Liberal Democrat
Nafiz Huq – Conservative
Lucie Kimberley Mcintyre – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
O’sullivan Kitty – Conservative
Humphrey Reynolds – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Alan Keith Williamson – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Woodcote and Langley Vale
Abbey Bloom – Labour Party 
Liz Frost – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Bernice Froud – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Daniel Charles Martyr – Liberal Democrat 
Emily Lucia Cottam Martyr – Liberal Democrat
Steven John Mccormick – Residents’ Associations of Epsom and Ewell 
Jonathan Neil Parkinson – Green Party 
John Michael Payne – Liberal Democrat
Fiona Peer – Conservative
Henry Strausser – Conservative
Emma Charlotte Ware – Conservative
Mike Westbrook – Labour and Co-Operative Party 

Related reports:

Beginning to line up for local elections

Register to vote deadline for elections

4th May Surrey goes to the polls

Turn up to turn downturn in turnout!

Worrying about voter ID law

No photo – no vote!

55% of inspected rented homes in Epsom and Ewell are below Grade C in Energy Performance ratings. Landlords are required to obtain Energy Performance Certificates for their rentals. To obtain a certificate an independent expert must inspect the property. In an analysis of inspections across the country between 2018 and 2022 Epsom and Ewell’s figures are consistent with the country average. 5% of those below grade C are not going to be able to rise to a C grade in the future because of structural limitations.

The Government has plans to make a C grade mandatory for all rental properties from 2025. The most energy efficient homes are graded A and the worse G. Those tenants living in sub C standard homes are paying more for their heating due to poor insulation. Insulation was the most frequently recommended improvement measure for private rental properties, making up 35% of all recommendations. On average tenants could save one third on their fuel bills if landlords brought their properties up to the C grade.

Inspections for EPCs involve an assessment that looks at heating, windows and doors, insulation and other structural factors, estimating how much it will cost to heat and light the property, what its carbon dioxide emissions are likely to be and how to improve the rating.

Jonathan Winston, occupier support manager at the Carbon Trust said  “14% of UK emissions arise from residences, homes. That means the reductions that need to be made there are very significant in order for the UK to meet its legally binding net zero target by 2050. The emissions are quite difficult to tackle, particularly around heating. There’s a major need to decarbonize our heating sources.”

Chris Norris, Director of policy at the National Residential Landlords Association said “I think there’s an awful lot of misunderstanding and uncertainty about what landlords need to do in terms of energy efficiency.

“But the future proposals are to get to a C or above, because the Government have got this Net Zero target for 2050. The problem is, they consulted on those new rules about three years ago, they closed that consultation two years ago in January 2021, and they’ve never actually confirmed what new rules will be.

“You’ve got lots of landlords that are actually quite open to making changes to their properties, or making decisions at least about what they need to do, but they really don’t know what path to take and they can’t commit to those spending decisions until we find out exactly what the Government wants to do.”

He added: “At the moment the Government is doing very little to support landlords to make these changes. They’ve not even given us the target or the deadline for what we’ve got to do.”

Rachelle Earwaker, senior economist at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “Living in a home with a poor EPC rating has a range of impacts on the tenants. Homes are colder, often damper. They are much more expensive to heat. At the moment in the energy crisis, that has had a massive impact. 

“What our research has shown is that 35% of low income private renters across the UK said they couldn’t afford to keep their homes warm even before the recent winter that we’ve just had, and we know that a quarter were in arrears with the energy bills in October and November, again before the winter.”

You can check any property’s EPC status on this Government link.

Related Reports:

Cllr Gulland: Insulate & Generate – two key aspects to include in the Local Plan for Epsom & Ewell

Is this Epsom Couple getting their heating for free?

A new Epsom and Ewell Borough Council will be elected on the 4th May. All 35 seats in all 14 wards are open to the competition. Epsom and Ewell Times is providing every candidate standing the opportunity to have published on these pages details of their candidacy and a short statement why they are standing.

The candidates are listed strictly in order of receipt of their details.

CLICK HERE for the Epsom and Ewell Times guide to all candidates – as it stands today.

When nominations close and the official list of candidates is published our list will be verified. We are not responsible if any candidate chooses not to provide details but we will endeavour to include the names and parties represented of all candidates after the official lists are published.

Candidates can supply their details via Form of entry for candidates.

You may find useful this EEBC official map of the Wards. You should have posted to you a polling card stating in which ward you live and are eligible to vote for.

The new ward of Horton and the three most closely contested wards in the last election of 2019 will each have a hustings organised by Epsom and Ewell Times as follows:

Wednesday 26th April:

3rd Scout Hall, Epsom Methodist Church, Ashley Road. Epsom, KT18 5AQ

6.15pm Stamford Ward

7.15pm Court Ward

8.15pm College Ward

Tuesday 2nd May at 7pm:

Southfield Park Primary School, Long Grove Rd, Epsom KT19 8TF, one hustings will be held for the new ward of Horton.

Related reports:

Register to vote deadline for elections

4th May Surrey goes to the polls

Turn up to turn downturn in turnout!

Worrying about voter ID law

No photo – no vote!

Election day in Surrey takes place on May 4 this year but because of the way the county is broken up, not every poll will be the same. Surrey operates under a two-tier system, so there is a county-wide council that sits atop of 11 boroughs and districts. On May 4 it’s the boroughs and districts that go to the polls.

But even the boroughs and districts are holding different types of election. Surrey Heath, Spelthorne, Epsom and Ewell, and Guildford will have all out elections, where every councillor, in every ward will be decided on election day.  The same process is also happening in Mole Valley and Waverley, although this is because of boundary changes.

In Mole Valley there will be 13 new wards, down from 21, represented by 39 seats rather than the previous 41. Waverley too has undergone major changes and instead of returning 57 members there will now only be 50 councillors. The remaining five boroughs and districts, Elmbridge, Tandridge, Runnymede, Reigate and Banstead, and Woking will be going out in thirds.

This year will also be the first time people will be required to show photo ID to vote in person.

In previous elections, residents of Woking have taken part in the Government’s photo ID pilot tests. The law was changed last year so that voters have to show photo ID before being issued a ballot paper in polling stations for general, local, police and crime commissioner elections, or any future referendum.

Related reports:

Register to vote deadline for elections

Turn up to turn downturn in turnout!

Worrying about voter ID law

No photo – no vote!