£11.9m to help Surrey residents cut their energy bills
Grants of up to £25,000 are now available for eligible Surrey residents to help make their homes warmer and more energy efficient.
People living in hard to heat homes and on lower incomes, could receive grants between £10,000 and £25,000 to improve insulation and install renewable technology – helping to save energy, reduce emissions and combat rising energy prices. Improvement measures include loft insulation, cavity and external wall insulation, underfloor insulation and renewables, such as solar electricity panels.
Residents can check if they are eligible by visiting the Action Surrey website – www.actionsurrey.org, or calling them on 0800 783 2503.
Marisa Heath, Cabinet Member for Environment at Surrey County Council said: “We know this is a challenging time for many and we’re really pleased to be offering this funding to our residents who need our support the most.
“Improving the energy efficiency of homes in Surrey will also help us achieve our goal to be a net zero county by 2050.
“I encourage residents to check if they are eligible as soon as possible.”
Funding totalling £11.9m has been awarded through central Government to Surrey County Council, leading on behalf of the local authorities across the county. The project will be delivered and managed by Action Surrey – an energy efficiency advice service set up in partnership with all Surrey local authorities.
Wisley Airfield town plan: We report on a Surrey housing application that illuminates issues all local boroughs face today [Ed.] : To paraphrase from a popular TV show: “Wrong location, wrong location, wrong location.” That’s the message from campaigners against plans for 1,700 homes on the former Wisley Airfield. They say traffic concerns, an abundance of wildlife and trying to fit an urban development in a rural area are all reasons for the plans not to go ahead.
The former airfield is located alongside the A3 and is just over a mile from junction 10 with the M25, where another set of controversial works started this month. It was allocated as a new settlement in Guildford Borough Council’s local plan for around 2,000 homes, shops and offices. An outline planning application was submitted to the borough council by Taylor Wimpey for the first 1,700 in the summer, and residents have until Monday (October 3) to comment on the plans.
There are so far 168 objections to the outline plans on the borough council’s planning portal and comments received after the deadline will ordinarily also be considered. On a walk around the current site, which was used as an airfield from 1942 until 1972 and still has a tarmac landing strip in the middle, campaigner Chris Campbell, from Villages against Wisley New Town, told the LDRS he did not believe a new town should be built there. “Wrong location, wrong location, wrong location,” he said. “Location is everything and as you can see, this is not the location for a town.”
Around the old runway, the site is used as farmland, with two tractors out on the fields on the day of our visit. We also see several kites in the air, and pass “Snakes Field”, so-called, the campaigners tell me, because there are grass snakes, slow worms and amphibians living there. They’ve also seen badgers and owls on and around the site, and Mr Campbell raises concerns particularly about the impact of an increase in the number of dogs walking through woodland, a special protection area, between the site and the A3.
He said the “last thing” that’s needed for the ground nesting birds on the site, including the Dartford warbler, night jar and woodlark, would be the additional 400 dogs that could come with the new homes.
A suitable alternative natural green space (SANG) will be allocated on the site to “avoid adverse effects on the integrity” of the special protection area according to the borough council’s local plan. Taylor Wimpey documents state that the SANG provision is a “bespoke provision agreed with Natural England” and that more than half of the site will be accessible open space, as well as a 20 per cent biodiversity net gain on the site.
Frances Porter, chair of Ockham and Hatchford Residents’ Association, walks across the former airfield every day with her dogs. She claimed she was told at a meeting with Taylor Wimpey representatives that traffic calming measures around the new town were designed to “frustrate” motorists out of their cars. But she doesn’t think that people living in the town will be pushed out of their cars. “People haven’t got anywhere else to go,” she said. “You’re going to need a car; you can’t get the bus.”
The borough council’s local plan identifies requirements for the site including a “significant bus network” going to Effingham Junction and/or Horsley stations, as well as Guildford and Cobham. It would also require a cycle network to key destinations including stations, Ripley and Byfleet “to a level that would be attractive and safe for the average cyclist”.
Frances Porter, Imogen Jamieson And Chris Campbell of Villages Against Wisley New Town. Credit Emily Coady-Stemp
Imogen Jamieson, vice chair of Ockham Parish Council, does not think the narrow roads surrounding the site can support the additional traffic, and isn’t convinced cycle lanes would be used anyway. She said: “You’re not going to pack your three children onto the back of bikes and cycle them to Horsley to get to school in the pouring rain.” The parish councillor also said she believes it’s a “myth” that so many new homes are needed, though she does acknowledge that there is a need for places for people to live. She said the environmental impacts of building new homes are far greater than re-purposing and retrofitting existing buildings, which can be done in towns and urban areas.
On top of the plans for the airfield, a further 1,500 new homes are planned in a three-mile radius of the site, but Mrs Jamieson said homes would be better built in areas where there are already transport links, employment opportunities and facilities such as doctors and schools. She said: “Here you’re entirely reliant on a car. It’s positioned right by the strategic road network. So it’s going to mean that people are constantly in their cars trying to access everything.” She claimed there was an over-allocation of homes in the local plan, which came to light when the census released in June showed the figures used to draw up the plan were too high. “I’m still trying to understand the way housing is delivered in the country,” she said. “I think it’s a bit of a myth that we need homes in the way that we’re constantly told we do.”
A Taylor Wimpey spokesperson said: “The former Wisley Airfield is allocated for development in the Guildford Borough Council local plan and our proposals have been carefully considered following close engagement with key stakeholders and the local community. We understand the concerns of local residents regarding traffic and our proposals include a number of measures to encourage the use of sustainable transport options, including new bus services and cycle routes. The design and layout of the development has been considered with the surrounding area in mind and we will continue to consult with residents on this as our plans progress.”
Guildford Borough Council was contacted for comment.
Image: Wisley Airfield plans. Credit Taylor Wimpey and Vivid
Stretching Resources?
Both “The Horton” (Arts Centre) and The Horton Cemetery featured on the agenda of the Epsom and Ewell Borough Council’s Strategy and Resources committee Thursday 29th September. For the second time this year discussion on a request to the Council to exercise Compulsory Purchase Order powers over the neglected 9000 body 5-acre cemetery on Hook Road, Epsom, was withdrawn.
Hon Alderman Alan Carlson by the memorial to the 9000 buried in Horton Cemetery.Image Stan Kujawa
As previously reported HERE the bone of contention, between the charity, The Friends of Horton Cemetery and a report to Councillors, concerns the valuation basis for compensation to the property speculator, to whom the intact Cemetery was incongruously sold by the NHS in 1983. Trustee of the Charity Hon. Alderman Alan Carlson stated “We are grateful our request has not been determined by the Strategy and Resources Committee. Our own independent expert and affordable valuations have not been enough to persuade the Council. We will now obtain more. We are also grateful to the many supporters who on short notice of the matter mounted an effective email campaign to Councillors in protest”. He further added: “This 5-acre Cemetery is sacred to a growing number of relatives of the dead. It is a white elephant in the possession of Michael Heighes of Marque Securities, who cannot in a thousand years develop it at all. This is why he has totally neglected the site for 40 years”.
Chairman of the Committee, Councillor Neil Dallen (RA Town Ward), responded to the supporters’ campaign stating the Council will meet the Charity as “aspects of the Council Report have been misunderstood by the Trust”.
The Horton
Just one week after an opening event at The Horton arts and heritage centre, the venue appeared on the agenda of the same meeting of the Strategy and Resources Committee. However, without challenge from any of the 10 Councillors present, the Committee went into secret session to discuss the item. The committee stating that the item concerned the finances of a “third party” and it was not “in the public interest” for them to be disclosed publicly.
Other items:
The committee approved investment in a new gas boiler for the Council’s Community and Wellbeing Centre on Longmead, Epsom. The Council has investigated the efficacy of ground and air heat-pump systems, but the building is not well enough insulated for them to be effective. This prompted Cllr David Gulland (LibDem College Ward) to query whether insulation should be invested in. The officer responded that the Council was reviewing insulation across the Council’s entire estate.
Following the sudden departure of Kathryn Beldon from the top Council post of Chief Executive (reported HERE) the committee agreed to extend the employment of Jackie King as interim Chief Executive pending a permanent posting. The meeting also noted a requirement for the appointment of a chief legal officer. Cllr Kate Chinn (Labour Court Ward) joked she had asked a previous Council law officer Simon Young to return from The Falklands where he had migrated to be the islands’ lead attorney.
The chief IT officer had been lost recently so an Information Technology strategy review was withdrawn from the meeting.
The committee approved the business plan being put this Autumn to a vote of business rate payers in the central Epsom area. This would allow Epsom Bid Ltd (known as Go Epsom) to continue for another 5 years to make improvements to the business zone, funded by an additional levy to business rates. Cllr Eber Kington (RA Ewell Court Ward) expressed enthusiastic support for the recent work of Epsom Bid in the changes and activities it has initiated.
More trees please for Surrey
Surrey County Council will receive £298,000 from the Defra Local Authority Treescapes Fund (LATF) to increase tree planting and keep on target with the planting of 1.2 million trees, one for every resident, by 2030, supporting the Council’s aim to be carbon neutral by 2050.
This funding will help to facilitate planting in non-woodland settings such as parks and community spaces as well as along roads and footpaths helping communities to fight the effects of climate change. Trees in these settings are particularly valuable as they can provide the greatest levels of benefit to ecosystems, such as carbon absorption, flood protection and support for biodiversity, as well as connecting fragmented habitats through wildlife corridors.
Marisa Heath, Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for the Environment comments: “Since 2019 over 333,749 trees have been planted across Surrey. We are well on our way to achieving the County Council’s ambition to plant 1.2 million new trees and this boost in funding will help us to achieve this. We can’t do this alone and encourage Schools, Parish Councils, landowners and community groups to help us achieve this”.
The LATF fund will help the nation build back greener from the pandemic and will target landscapes that have been neglected in the past, ecologically damaged or affected by tree diseases like ash dieback – with ash being the most common species of tree found in non-woodland locations. For further information on the LATF Fund visit Local Authority Treescapes Fund – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
If you are a school, Parish Council, Charity or formal community group who own, or have a formal lease agreement on land and you are interested in receiving free trees to plant, you can contact SCC at trees@surreycc.gov.uk.
Keep up to date on the progress towards SCC’s target of making Surrey net zero carbon by 2050, and find out what you can do to help. Sign up to SCC’s Greener Matters newsletter to get updates.
Tongham Tories Tetchy Tongues Ticked Off
Epsom and Ewell Times’s inspiration, “The Guildford Dragon” was a victim of inappropriate comments from two Guildford Councillors. Report from LDRS:
Two Guildford councillors breached the authority’s code of conduct in calling a journalist “pea-brained” and “grubby”. A hearings sub-committee of the borough council on Tuesday (September 27) concluded that one member should apologise for the remarks and another should face formal censure. In a series of events described by the investigating officer as “unfortunate” and “regrettable” that it could not have been resolved earlier with an apology, the meeting heard about emails and WhatsApp messages sent by Councillors Paul Spooner and Graham Eyre. The councillors, both Conservative representatives for Ash South & Tongham, were accused of sending emails and messages about the editor of local news website the Guildford Dragon. Its editor, Martin Giles, complained to the council about their comments and the committee heard from the investigating officer that the facts in the case were “straightforward and not particularly in dispute”.
Simon Gaucher, a partner at Weightmans LLP, had looked into the communications and interviewed those involved in the case, which centred around a story about Cllr Spooner being elected the Conservative group leader on the council in June 2021. The committee found that the councillors had breached the council’s code of conduct regarding treating others with respect and in terms of councillors conducting themselves in “a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing your office or the Council into disrepute”.
Cllr Spooner said in the meeting he disputed the fact he was acting in his capacity as a councillor, saying these were conversations held in a private forum, and there was a grey area in this respect. He asked the meeting: “If I go and I order a curry from the local tandoori and the proprietor greets me as: ‘Hello Councillor Spooner’, does that mean that I’m acting as a councillor or acting as someone collecting a curry for the family?”
In his report on the issue, Mr Gaucher said he had considered Cllr Spooner’s article 10 right to freedom of expression and particularly political expression “which is afforded a high degree of protection”. He added: “Mr Giles is a journalist writing about and commenting on political matters so must be expected to receive a certain amount of comment on his reporting by those he reports about. However, the comments made by Cllr Spooner which I have found to result in a failure to comply with the code are merely personal and abusive (“So you can get stuffed” and “pea brained editor”) and cannot be categorised as political expression.”
He said the same considerations applied in Cllr Eyre’s case when he called Mr Giles a, “grubby little boss” in an email to one of the site’s reporters, David Reading. The meeting also heard that the context for the emails and WhatsApps was Mr Giles contacting the late councillor Richard Billington, at a time when he was ill, to corroborate what he had been told by Cllr Spooner, and a typo in a message which seemed to call Cllr Spooner untruthful.
The report stated: “Cllr Spooner had indicated that one of the reasons he was so angry about Mr Giles’s behaviour was because he had chosen to contact Cllr Billington despite knowing he was seriously ill. This may provide a degree of context and mitigation it does not justify Cllr Spooner’s response.”
Cllr Eyre, who was not present at the sub-committee, told the LDRS before the meeting: “I don’t believe I was in breach of the code of conduct because I sent the email from my private email account and it contained thought to someone I had known for years.” Cllr Spooner made clear in the meeting he would not apologise to Mr Giles or the Guildford Dragon, and on this basis the committee decided he should be subject to formal censure. He will also be sent a formal letter of advisement about his conduct.
Cllr Eyre will be sent a formal letter of advisement about his conduct and asked to apologise to Mr Giles. A borough council spokesperson said before the meeting: “Councillors are routinely reminded of their duties at committee meetings. They are reminded to disclose any interests they may have in respect of matters to be considered. We review our code of conduct at least every four years. The next review is due following the borough council elections next year. Councillors complete training that we arrange for them on a regular basis. The next training is due to take place in October 2022. We endeavour to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by our Councillors.”
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Giles said the messages sent by Cllr Spooner had come about because he had been clarifying information he was given, when “journalists are often criticised for not checking or double-checking facts”.
Epsom and Ewell not stung by this Surrey debt scandal
Three Surrey councils are owed a total of £30million by a council which has seen the government intervene in its borrowing problems. The government announced this month that after “serious concerns about the financial management” at Thurrock Council, neighbouring Essex County Council would be brought in to take control. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism revealed a total of £138m of public money was unaccounted for, with questions raised over the Essex council’s borrowing and investment in 53 solar farms.
Three Surrey councils have loaned money to Thurrock Council, with Waverley, Spelthorne and Guildford borough councils each having invested £10m in the troubled council.
A Guildford spokesperson said lending between local authorities was a “common practice” and that the risk rating of the debt had not changed since the government’s intervention. Spelthorne and Guildford are both due to have the debt repaid in 2023, with Waverley’s money due to be paid back in January and March 2024, because it is two separate loans of £5m.
Essex County Council will take full control of Thurrock’s finances and has powers to see if there are failures elsewhere to mitigate any further risk to services. Guildford’s lead councillor for finance Cllr Tim Anderson (Residents for Guildford and Villages, Clandon & Horsley) said the authority had invested £10m with Thurrock Council from March 2022 until March 2023, at a rate of 1.35% per cent.
He confirmed the council had also loaned more than £40m to eight other local authorities, including £10m to the London Borough of Croydon, which issued a section 114 notice, effectively declaring itself bankrupt, in November 2020.
The other loans are £5m to Birmingham County Council, Derbyshire County Council, Somerset West & Taunton, Gravesham Borough Council, Mid Suffolk District Council and Cherwell District Council, and £2m to South Somerset District Council. Cllr Anderson said: “A council has never defaulted on a local authority investment.
“Councils are required, by law, to produce a balanced budget, and if they can’t their chief finance officer may, as a last resort, have to issue a s114 notice. “The notice suspends all new expenditure with the exception of statutory services including schools, adult care and safeguarding until the council agrees a robust recovery plan. “If a revised balanced budget cannot be approved, then external auditors and central government may decide to intervene and impose an action plan to resolve the financial issue.”
Spelthorne confirmed two loans of £5m each are due for repayment in January 2023. A spokesperson said no further loans had been issued and the agreed terms and conditions and risk assessment still applied.
They added: “It is important to note that government will underwrite ability of councils to meet their liabilities and there is no indication to show a different approach is being taken now, therefore, the monies will be repaid. “In terms of low levels of credit risk councils rank only after sovereign governments.”
Waverley Borough Council did not wish to comment further, but a spokesperson confirmed two loans had been made to Thurrock Council of £5m each, one with a maturity date of March 2024 and the other of January 2024. Then local government secretary Greg Clark MP said in a statement on September 2: “Given the serious financial situation at Thurrock Council and its potential impact on local services, I believe it is necessary for government to intervene. “I strongly believe that when a council gets into difficulties its local government neighbours should be the preferred source of help in turning it around. I know that Essex County Council possesses the expertise and ability to help its local government neighbour. Working together, I believe the councils can deliver the improvements local people expect and deserve.”
Surrey County Council and the remaining districts and boroughs confirmed they did not have any outstanding lending with Thurrock Council. Thurrock Council did not respond to a request for comment.
Council’s memorial benches to Co-Vid victims
Epsom & Ewell Borough Council is installing 14 memorial benches across the Borough to commemorate all the lives lost in the Covid-19 pandemic.
Metal benches have been placed at Alexandra Recreations Ground, Long Grove Park, Nonsuch Park, Shadbolt Park, Stoneleigh Broadway and The Grove in Ewell Village.
More metal benches are in the process of being installed at Auriol Park, Ewell Court Park, Mounthill Gardens and The Wells Centre.
Wooden benches will also be placed at Epsom Common, Grandstand Road, Horton Country Park and Hogsmill by the stepping stones at a later date. Flowers will also be planted around the benches where appropriate.
Funding for the benches was provided via the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).
Councillor Hannah Dalton, who put forward the CIL bid, said, “The past two years have been extremely hard for everyone in the borough, but more so for those who have lost loved ones. These benches are our permanent memorial to all those affected by the pandemic.
“I hope they will bring comfort to grieving families, ensuring that their loved one will always have a place in and be remembered by our community.”
Councillor John Beckett, Chair of Environment and Safe Communities Committee, added, “While these benches memorialise the pandemic, they also represent a time for reflection within the Borough. I can’t think of a more fitting tribute to those we have lost, than to have something to remind us and generations to come.”
County Town to charge congestion?
Not an Epsom and Ewell report but Guildford’s ambitions may signal a local future? [Ed.]
Congestion charge could be coming to Guildford as the council looks at ways to reduce traffic and raise money to support sustainable travel. As part of wide-ranging plans for the town centre, including more than 2,000 new homes, opening up the area around the river and overhauling the one-way system, officers are also starting to look at the options for some form of charge to drive into the town.
A meeting of the borough council’s executive on Thursday (September 22) approved £3m to be moved into the relevant budget for the next stage of planning to begin. The meeting heard that more had to be done to encourage businesses to set up and stay in the town, and more measures needed to be taken to protect from flooding.
Council leader Cllr Joss Bigmore introduced the range of consultants at the meeting as “a number of very expensive people” who would talk through the plans as they currently stand. All works will go through the usual planning stages at the borough council. Andreas Markides, from independent consultancy Markides Associates, told the meeting a lot of work had been done to gather data on how people were travelling to the town and where from, using car parks, traffic surveys and mobile phone data.
He said many elements would be considered including improved cycling and walking in the town, a better park and ride service and the consideration of “some form of congestion charging”. Mr Markides added: “I don’t know at this stage what form that will take, there are dozens and dozens of different forms. “But I think that would be a very good way of not only deterring car traffic to come into the town, but also to get money that we can put towards more sustainable measures.” He said the next step was to work on traffic modelling plans with Surrey County Council and looking at the whole town.
The basics objectives of the plans were as follows according to Mr Markides:
Getting rid of the one way system because two-way roads mean slower traffic and more attention paid to pedestrians; Opening up the riverside to the town centre, “cutting out” a lot of existing roads “so that the the town centre can roll down to the river as required by the master plan”; Removing some traffic lanes to give priority to cyclists, pedestrians and buses; Maintaining access to all key destinations in the town such as the bus station, train station and car parks.
Improving local voter access
A review of all polling districts and polling places in Epsom & Ewell is taking place following the recent boundary review by the Local Government Boundary Commission.
The purpose of the review is to ensure that:
• All electors have reasonable access to voting facilities
• Polling places are accessible to all electors including those with disabilities
The 2022 review started on Monday 12 September and views are invited from electors within the district as well as from persons or bodies with expertise in relation to access to premises or facilities for persons with any form of disability.
There will be a change to some of the polling stations residents’ use as a result of the review.
Councillor Neil Dallen, Chair of the Strategy and Resources Committee at Epsom & Ewell Borough Council said: “We’re pleased that this review will facilitate more accessible polling places in Epsom & Ewell. We hope anybody with personal, or professional expertise in this area can take the time to share their views before the deadline of 17 October 2022 at 5pm.”
Epsom & Ewell Borough Council will be directly contacting:
The Member of Parliament for Epsom and Ewell, Chris Grayling.
Electoral Services (Polling District/Place Review), Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, The Town Hall, The Parade, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 5BY.
The deadline to respond to this review is 5pm on 17 October 2022.
Epsom & Ewell Borough Council regularly reviews its polling districts and polling places. The last full review took place in December 2019.
Families ‘in limbo’ as SCC fails on school transport
Nearly 150 families have been left “in limbo” and facing additional stress without school transport as Surrey County Council deals with more than 500 applications. The authority said “urgent” steps were being taken to deal with the backlog, described by one councillor as a “tsunami” of cases.
Image: Aimee James and her son Isaac.
One single mum on Universal Credit is paying around £10 a day to take her son to school by public transport, and claims she has not had it confirmed by the council when she will be reimbursed. Aimee James’s son, Isaac, is in his first year at Gosden House School for children with learning and additional needs.
She told the LDRS she had transport approved by the county council in June for Isaac, but before the August bank holiday, just days before the start of the school year, received an email to say it would not be available for the start of the school year but with hopes it might be by the end of October.
While she said the school have been understanding about the difficulties she faces, having to drop her other child at school in Woking and then come back to Guildford to get a bus to the school, Isaac is still doing shorter days because she “can’t be in two places at once”.
No confirmation of when reimbursement will come Miss James said she only has a couple of hours in the middle of the day before she has to turn around and do the journey again for pick up. She added: “It’s really stressful because I’m a single parent, and I don’t drive. I’m also on Universal Credit, so trying to get him to school is a real pain.” Her son, who has autistic traits, is “not brilliant” on public transport and Miss James said the transition has not been an easy one for him.
While the council has confirmed it will reimburse those who are out of pocket while waiting for transport to be arranged, Miss James said she hasn’t had confirmation of when this money will come in. She added: “At the minute, life on Universal Credit isn’t brilliant anyway. Because I’ve got to spend out before they reimburse me, I’m sort of skint before they give me my money back.”
A spokesperson for the county council said “complex and significant challenges” and a 20 per cent increase in the number of applications for transport on last year were leading to the delays. They said staffing resources had been increased and temporary financial allowances were being given to allow families to make alternative arrangements where possible.
‘I’ve never seen it like this before’ Councillor Nick Darby, Residents’ Association and Independent Group Leader on the county council, said he’d heard of several cases from residents and also from other councillors. He described it as like a “tsunami” of cases, and said he had never seen it like this before. He’d heard of children who simply couldn’t go to school, others whose parents had taken most of the day out of their jobs to do school runs, and children who were “hugely stressed” at the lack of routine.
He called for better communication from the council with parents and councillors, saying because many of these cases related to children with additional needs, it was “very difficult and challenging” for the parents concerned. Cllr Darby said the council was “just not delivering what we should”, and of the lack of communication with families, said: “Just ignoring it doesn’t do us any good.” ‘I’m crying a lot, because I’m so emotional’ Another parent who has been juggling multiple school runs is Claire Nash, whose daughter Justice is currently attending a mainstream school but awaiting a place at a specialist school.
Her school taxi was cancelled last school year but Ms Nash said it should have then been extended until July 2023, because of the circumstances she faces in trying to get her four children, three of them with additional needs, to school.
Mum of four, trying to sort transport for her youngest, Justice, who is 6, but SCC have left her in the lurch. Claire Nash with daughter Justice (6). photographer byline Darren Pepe.
Having emailed the council on September 6, she is yet to hear back at the time of writing, and is currently getting her daughter to school late every day after taking her eldest two children to school and then waiting for a mini bus to take her son to his school. She said: “I’m so stressed out, my life is very stressful anyway, but I’ve lost sleep over it. “I’m crying a lot, because I’m so emotional. It’s extra stuff I just don’t need. My life’s already hard and I have to fight for the things that should just be easy to get considering my circumstances.”
A Surrey County Council spokesperson confirmed that as of September 20, there were 529 school transport applications being processed, of which 196 were received before the start of the academic year. There were 149 families who had had their eligibility confirmed but had not yet had transport scheduled. These families had been offered temporary financial allowances in order to make alternative arrangements. As well as this, there are currently 141 families going through an appeal process for school transport, which the spokesperson said the independent appeal team were working through at an increased rate in order to process them as quickly as possible.
The spokesperson said they could not comment on any individual children, but the council “would like to sincerely apologise to anyone experiencing delays” with their applications. They added: “As with many services nationally we are dealing with complex and significant challenges, particularly with driver shortages in some areas. “We are concerned about the delays some families are facing and are taking urgent steps to address this by increasing staffing resources and offering temporary financial allowances to enable families to make alternative arrangements, where possible. We are determined to do everything we can to support children and young people that need us most. We know how important it is for children and young people to have access to their education setting and we are working tirelessly to manage increased demand and address issues.”
