General Secretary Michael Lynch of the Rail and Maritime Union 8th April has alerted rail workers to the prospect of a strike ballot affecting the Epsom and Ewell Borough’s Waterloo line services (Epsom, Ewell West and Stoneleigh stations). Strike action is threatened following an internal rail company inquiry that found a railman guilty of a series of sexual harassment accusations made by female workers,  afterwhich, SWR allowed him to return to the same workplace without advising the complainants.

At the time of this report, the matter is being referred to an urgent “avoidance of dispute” negotiation between the Union and the management of SWR. Michael Lynch has told members: “The Union’s National Executive Committee has considered this matter and is appalled at the insensitive way SWR is handling multiple cases of serious harassment that will have a detrimental impact on female members working for the company. It is incomprehensible that the individual has been found guilty but remains employed at the same location and is expected to work with the victims of his actions. Ultimately, the company has failed their employees and have failed even by ACAS standards in dealing with this case.”

In response to Epsom and Ewell Times, a spokesperson for SWR said:  “This matter has not been concluded and remains part of an ongoing process. It would be inappropriate for us to comment further on any specific details. However, we want to make clear that South Western Railway takes a zero-tolerance approach to abuse of any kind. We take any reports of abuse extremely seriously and will investigate complaints fully.”

Our request to SWR to clarify the “ongoing process” remains unanswered.

We’d love to hear from you via email at admin@epsomandewelltimes.com Let us know your views here at Epsom and Ewell Times.

John Dipre of the Dipre family-run Marsden Nurseries Ltd, owners of the Epsom bordering Ashtead Park Garden Centre in Pleasure Pit Road, has applied to Mole Valley District Council to demolish this popular garden centre and restaurant and build on the site 26 two to four-bedroom houses.

Neighbours are up in arms and objections are mounting before the consultation deadline of 25^th April passes. Objectors point out that recently the Council had removed the site from an area for potential development. It is said to occupy a sensitive area of the Green Belt as it separates Epsom from Ashtead. The roads around are narrow and bendy and already hazardous. Public transport is threadbare. The Langley Vale E5 bus every two to three hours that crosses Epsom is the only one apart from a weekday daily school service.

The Applicant, John Dipre, has been involved as Director of no less than 120 registered companies, most of which have been in homes, investments and property.  He claims that the proposed development will be an improvement for nature as presently most of the land is tarmac and his plans will see trees, hedges and grassy areas grow.

No affordable housing is planned for the development.

The full plans can be seen via molevalley.gov.uk/planningsearch and enter MO/2022/0474

Issues relating to development, housing, planning, brownfield sites and affordable housing are addressed in an opinion piece exclusively for the Epsom and Ewell Times by Tim Murphy you can read HERE.

If you are affected by a significant planning application email us or use the contact form and we will consider reporting on it.

Want more from us? Read more Council News here.

We hear much about the housing crisis in this country. This is often synonymous with the assertion that we have too few homes. In fact, overall, there is no shortage of homes in the UK – the total number of residences is approximately the same as the number of households who want a home, even taking into account those ‘hidden households’ where, for example, young people want to move out of the family home but cannot afford to do so. However, there are significant issues regarding the cost of housing in some parts of the country, and there are issues with the way that housing is distributed, particularly between the generations.

Housing in places such as Epsom and Ewell is unaffordable for many, particularly the young and key workers in sectors such as health and care. House prices are driven upwards because of the relatively high salaries and other wealth of many in the region and also by the historically low-interest rates that currently prevail. For many, a home is an investment as well as somewhere to live. Residential accommodation in this country is particularly poorly distributed by comparison, say, with many of the countries of continental Europe. It is not in the interests of housebuilders to put sufficient housing on the market that prices will drop – they prefer to hoard land to maintain their share price. 

What can be done, nationally and locally, to address the affordability crisis? Much more genuinely affordable housing needs to be provided, including social housing for subsidised rent. A relatively recent study by Herriot-Watt University suggests that we need around 150,000 additional genuinely affordable homes per annum for the next ten years. Not all of these, of course, need to be ‘new build’ – some could come from our existing housing stock, acquired by local authorities and housing associations to meet genuine housing needs. 

Second homes and properties left unoccupied for more than a few months should be highly taxed to encourage higher occupancy rates. Fiscal incentives should be available to encourage downsizing, especially given our ageing population, and more housing should be designed for the active and not so active elderly. Authorities such as Epsom and Ewell need to encourage the release of as many brownfield sites as feasible. For example, the potential for mixed uses, including residential, on large car parks and current commercial estates, such as Kiln Lane and Longmead, needs to be investigated. Authorities need to require house building at considerably higher densities than has been achieved in the past, employing high standards of design. 

What is not needed is the very high and indeed unrealistic housing targets imposed on local authorities like Epsom and Ewell by the central government. There is no requirement, unfortunately, that most of these homes should be genuinely affordable. Epsom and Ewell have only very limited potential to build new homes on previously developed brownfield sites. Consequently, there is a danger that councillors will see no alternative to losing some of our much valued Green Belt and other countrysides. Be clear, significant areas of Green Belt and other open space in Epsom and Ewell – around Horton and Stamford Green, near Langley Vale, on and close to Priest Hill, and close to The Downs and the College – could be lost forever.

Photo above is Judy Sarssam, Chair of EETN.

A happy group of Volunteers has returned to their recording Studio at Swail House after an absence of two years, while the virus held its sway, to continue recording the Epsom and Ewell Talking Newspaper (EETN), a free local news and magazine service for Visually Impaired residents of the borough.

Since the end of the first lockdown, a local team of dedicated Volunteers have been producing the EETN from their homes. The complicated procedure required careful management and organised deadlines, to enable the free service and free postal distribution to continue.
Every two weeks, Visually Impaired People (VIP) receive a wallet containing   the Talking Newspaper on a memory stick, for which the charity can also provide an easy to use audio player.
People with a visual loss especially those who live alone, frequently feel and are, isolated as loss of vision results in loss of confidence to navigate the world outside their familiar home surroundings. The Pandemic has, of course, increased the isolation of everyone who lives alone and the restrictions have filled some elderly people with macular degeneration with so much anxiety that even now they remain imprisoned  through fear of catching Covid.

Hence the good, kind efforts of the EETN  Volunteers to bring the outside in by providing local news, magazine articles and Podcasts to entertain and absorb our many Listeners.
The team are hugely proud of the independent, volunteer-run, completely free service which has been available for nearly fifty years. Wallets are still sent to Listeners who have left the area but continue to take an interest in where they once lived and of course, they continue to enjoy the information and entertainment on offer.

Judy Sarssam, Chair of EETN and herself visually impaired said: “Being unable to read any longer is a huge loss and happily audiobooks are available but unless the VIP is computer literate the whole world of print is not accessible. The EETN reflects the different interests of those who choose the articles and thus there is always something of interest for every Listener. The youngsters so engrossed in the digital world cannot appreciate that even provided with a screen reader, one has to have not only skills, which many of the older population do not have, but a good amount of residual vision and time, to navigate that world. For the present elderly visually impaired  VIPs it is wonderful to have instant access to such a rich pageant of material which the EETN offers.”
One Listener  said “It is like welcoming old friends into their home regularly as the familiar voices are heard once again.”

If you have a family member, friend or neighbour whom you could tell about the EETN free service, please do so. Recipients of the EETN do not need to be officially registered as Blind or Partially sighted, they just need to have reached the point of sight deterioration when reading is no longer possible to do with ease.   Bear in mind that they will not be able to read these words as you can.

If you know of anyone who would like to receive Epsom & Ewell Talking Newspaper  please  call 01372 721519 and leave a message and your call will be returned.
To learn more, visit https://eetn.org.uk

Surrey Brass Friday 8th April entertained over 100 in the magnificent main hall of Epsom College in aid of local 75 years old this year charity Age Concern Epsom and Ewell. The charity’s mission statement is: “Empowering older people in Epsom & Ewell to live the most fulfilling lives they can.” The charity has an army of volunteers who befriend their clients with regular visits, help with DIY, drives to medical appointments, support for a foot clinic and a free hearing aid clinic, advice and information and other services. With demands on its services ever rising this Epsom and Ewell based charity can be proud of its year on year growth with income rising from £125,000 in 2017 to £258,000 year end March 2021. However, the Charity’s Chief Officer Dorah May explains that the challenges of the Co-Vid pandemic are placing a strain on finances with reserves being used up. “Public support is needed more than ever to keep current services going.”

As their 75th year continues Age Concern Epsom and Ewell will combine its celebration with the Platinum Jubilee and recycle old hats that will be part of their Jubilee themed stall appearing in the Epsom Market Square on Thursdays throughout the month of May. Marie Thackwell, the charity’s fundraising and marketing coordinator, said “I’m really looking forward to establishing some fun events and we already have a few great things lined up for the year ahead – after all it’s Age Concern Epsom and Ewell’s 75th anniversary – now that’s something worth celebrating.”

The Charity’s monthly Sunday teas at Stoneleigh Methodist Church continue…

Surrey Police are appealing for assistance in identifying two people who may be able to help them with an assault investigation in Epsom. Officers were called at around 4 am on Sunday, 3 October 2021 following reports that three men had been assaulted on Waterloo Road between Nando’s and Epsom Grill. The injuries the victims sustained included bruising, grazes on their face and body, a black eye and an injured knee. Officers have been investigating the assault since it occurred in October, their enquires have recently led them to identify the two witnesses pictured above.

PC Tom Brock said: “Through the course of our investigation we’ve identified two people who we believe may have witnessed the assault. We’re keen to speak with them both to understand more about what happened. We know the quality of the images is poor but we wanted to release them in the hope someone may recognise themselves or a friend.”

The first person is described as a white male with short brown hair and facial hair. He was wearing glasses, blue jeans, a black padded jacket and black trainers. The second person is described as wearing a long black padded coat with a fur hood pulled over their head.

If you recognise the people in the images or have any information which may help, please get in touch with Surrey Police quoting PR/45210104209 via:

• Webchat on their website surrey.police.uk
• Online https://www.surrey.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/cor/tell-us-about-existing-case-report/
• Calling them on 101

If you do not wish to leave your name, please call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

UPDATE – Monday 11th April – EEBC: “Having reviewed the documentation and made the necessary checks, [the charity] qualif[ies] for the additional rate relief.” Good news for Ukraine.

Monday 4th April Ashley Centre based Surrey Stands With Ukraine received from Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, a demand for business rates of £1229 per month. Immediately the charity applied for discretionary relief as they have had to halt purchases of medical supplies. Local MP Chris Grayling has supported the waiver applied for. Thursday 7th a Council spokesman answered the Times: “There is a formal process we have to follow for charitable rate relief, I can confirm this process is underway. There will be no request for payment while we process this. I cannot give a specific date for completion but I can confirm this is being treated as a priority.” Nataliya Irvine of SSWU responded: “We understand a computer probably generated the demand but it needs an urgent human intervention to reach a decision. We appreciate and thank the Council for processing an application we made for a street collection licence very quickly, so we know they can.”

Want more from us? Read more Council News here.

From Epsom Choral Society

This year Epsom Choral Society celebrates its Centenary and is doing so in style!

Our first concert was on Saturday 19^th March 2022 at St Martin’s Church, Epsom attended by The Mayor, Peter Donovan and his wife. For this concert, the audience was treated to Vivaldi’s Gloria, one of the most popular pieces from the Italian Baroque era, as well as three works which were all written for Epsom Choral Society – Cecilia McDowall’s I Know That My Redeemer Liveth, Jonathan Willcocks’ O Joyful Soul and Adrian Payne’s I Hid My Love.

The soloists were Lisa Swayne, soprano, Helen Semple, soprano and Carolyn Holt, alto, all top-class young professionals and the concert was conducted by Epsom Choral Society’s Musical Director Julian Collings.

Epsom Choral Society with Mayor Peter Donovan and his wife

Our other concerts in this Centenary year include Songs from the Shows in St Andrews Church, Cheam on 25^th June 2022, Messiah at the Epsom Playhouse on Saturday 3^rd December 2022 and our ever-popular Christmas Concert on Saturday 17^th December.

Epsom Choral Society is Epsom’s longest established choir and has continued to sing throughout the pandemic. At first via Zoom, then rehearsing outside in a garden and even, thanks to the kindness of the Epsom & Ewell Borough Council, live-streaming a concert in a car park which was heard by over 5,000 local residents thanks to What’s On In My Town.

Continued …

Briefing notes:

1. Epsom Choral Society has been singing for 100 years and has around 90 singers. It usually puts on at least four concerts each year which attract a loyal following. Epsom Choral Society is a friendly choir – they do not require auditions but do aim for high performance standards. Rehearsals are on Wednesday evenings under the baton of their Musical Director, Julian Collings. www.epsomchoral.org.uk

2. Cecilia McDowall composed I Know That My Redeemer Liveth in 2009 for Epsom Choral Society as a tribute to Handel on the 250^th anniversary of his death, with words taken from Messiah. It was first performed by Epsom Choral Society on 21^st March 2009 at St Martin’s Church, Epsom.

3. Jonathan Willcocks’ O Joyful Soul was premiered by Epsom Choral Society on 30^th June 2018. It was commissioned in memory of Cecil Wiltshire who had sung with the choir for 67 years, funded from the generous legacy that he left the choir. The piece’s five movements were selected from religious and secular texts that encapsulated both his interests and his gentle and generous nature.

4. Adrian Payne’s I Hid My Love received its world premiere by Epsom Choral Society on 15^th June 2013 at St Martin’s Church, Epsom. It was performed again the following year at the European Choral Festival in Überlingen in Germany and the choir has sung it on tour in France and The Netherlands. Adrian has sung with the choir for 25 years.

Contact:     Nina Kaye: publicity@epsomchoral.org.uk, 07778 406834

Surrey Fire Service service would like to reiterate its sincere condolences to the family and friends of a Banstead resident who was victim of a tragic incident.

The Fire Investigation Team have concluded that the cause of the fatal fire in Banstead that occurred in the early hours of Friday 19 March was most likely due to unattended cooking.

During the first of the six 999 calls to our Joint Fire Control, a neighbour described the fire as being “well developed”.

The Fire Service want to make sure these incidents don’t happen at all and want to help people to be safe in their own homes, but if they do happen then they want to ensure residents are alerted to the danger and have an escape plan to make their way outside of the building before we arrive.

Surrey Fire and Rescue Service offers free Safe and Well Visits, where fire and rescue personnel visit homes with the aim of making them safe from a fire. They’ll fit fire safety equipment, provide fire safety advice about how to live safer as well as refer onto other services/partners if needed too.

If you’re worried about someone, whether your profession has led you to their home (carer, engineer, meter reader etc), a neighbour, or loved one – you can refer anyone to Surrey Fire Service for a free Safe and Well Visit at surreycc.gov.uk/fire..

Sunday 21 March

SFRS and Surrey Police are continuing to investigate a serious residential fire which tragically claimed the life of one resident. 

Firefighters were called to a fire on Holly Lane West in Banstead at 2.41am yesterday (Friday 19 March 2021). Six fire engines, including an aerial ladder platform, were involved in the response to this incident.  

Very sadly, a person who was in the property when the fire broke out was pronounced dead yesterday. Both services send thoughts and condolences to the family and friends of the resident.  

Emergency service personnel remain on scene. Holly Lane West remains closed with Holly Lane open as normal.

Tuesday 29th March over 160 local citizens converged on St Joseph’s Church Hall for an information evening about hosting Ukrainian refugees. Half the hands in the room went up when asked who is willing to host refugees fleeing the war. There was overwhelming enthusiasm for the aid the community can bring to the urgent need for hosting Ukrainian refugees.

Joanna Sherring of the Epsom Refugee Network chaired the event and introduced local refugee supporters with experience of hosting and teaching English. Nina Kaye spoke about her experiences of opening her home to no less than 30 Syrian refugees since 2015. It is a big but rewarding commitment and friends for life are made. The important point was made that most refugees want to return home. Making them welcome here is a small way to meet the trauma of forced displacement.

The Government rules about hosting were explained including a requirement that hosts undergo a “Disclosure and Barring Check” (DBS). Basically this means a check about any criminal record. Apparently these rules are welcomed by Ukrainians especially as men are required to remain in Ukraine and the majority of guests will be women and children.

You can find out more information and guidance on the Epsom Refugee Network website here.

Epsom accountant Nataliya Irvine is among 350 volunteers working tirelessly to collect essential items at the Ashley Centre in the town to send to Ukraine where her family are currently living in the war zone.

They operate under the name Surrey Stands With Ukraine

“It’s good to be doing something”, Nataliya tells me as we sit down in a coffee shop to speak with each other about the incredible work that she and others are doing on behalf of Ukraine. Nataliya, since Sunday, has been organising local people in Epsom to collect donations of essential items, for those suffering from the current conflict. The vital and impassioned work she’s doing is supported by a network of amazing volunteers, whose numbers have swollen from 4 to 350, in one month. 

Nataliya, who is Ukrainian, approaches the task with an almost sombre necessity. Her mother, sisters, brother and step-father, are all in Ukraine as we speak to each other, she worries about them day and night. I ask whether they’re collecting as much as they expected and she tells me that it’s more than they ever imagined. Nataliya emphasises just how supportive the local community has been, just how many locals have been willing to give up their possessions, and even their time, to help the people of Ukraine. 

“It started independently”, she says, when I ask about the genesis of the idea. Nataliya tells me that it was just her, speaking with her family on the phone and sending them money for vital medical supplies, that were then being given to hospitals in Lviv. Nataliya began to reach out to friends and organise couriers to deliver supplies directly to the Polish-Ukrainian border with assistance from her local gym, FitnessTheory, who provided a vital place to store the items before they were sent off. What started as 4 people looking to make a small difference to the humanitarian effort, has expanded to a 350-strong group, with a committee and community hub, generously given by the Ashley Centre in Epsom, organising donation efforts on a much larger scale. Locally based registered charity Harrop HR Missions Ltd was able to step up and provide the legal entity to facilitate the operation. To have achieved all this, while worrying about her family in Ukraine, all a person can do is admire the strength and bravery of Nataliya and the many other Ukrainians working with her.

The charity has raised over £80,000 and sent over £450,000 worth of supplies to Ukraine in 11 van runs.

At the Drop-Off point in the centre, boxes upon boxes of supplies are piled high, but the spirits of the volunteers are higher. I was lucky enough to be able to spend a little bit of time observing the operation during one of its few quiet moments, and I was blown away by the compassion, focus and drive that pushes these selfless volunteers to go above and beyond for a country that most of them have never been to. They’re laughing together; they’re supporting each other mentally, physically and spiritually, drawn together and emboldened by a shared sense of duty, to deliver the help that Ukrainians dearly need right now. The whole time I was there, one word kept going through my head: Community, and that’s what I saw; a united community, together for a common purpose, selflessly working together to achieve it.

Many individuals have made what Nataliya and her fellow volunteers are doing possible. David Barnes, the lead volunteer, sits at the front desk all day greeting all those who wish to help with a smile. The volunteers I spoke with all told me that David’s work is above and beyond, and his contributions are truly vital. David Meadows, the general manager of the Ashley Centre, has also enormously supported them, allowing the group to use an unused unit of the centre, as their operations hub and donation point. Other individuals that gave both resources and time to help this cause are numerous: Councillor Neil Dallen facilitated contacts, Steve Moore’s guidance on marketing allowed them to tap into social media, James Brook, an architect also working out of the Ashley Centre, provided vital organisational support. 

The team members I spoke to were full of appreciation for one another, people like Roy and Kim Deadman, Jess and Pinch Tarrant, Zoe, Ross and Luda, among many others. On top of each and every local Ukrainian who set aside time to help their country get the vital supplies it needs. This appreciation should also be applied to every single person who has donated food, money or any other item to this cause, their help is invaluable and is making a positive difference in the lives of people in need. Epsom should be truly proud of how it’s come together in a time of great melancholy for Europe and the world, to provide hope and more crucially material aid, for the citizens of Ukraine who are unable, or unwilling, to leave their homes.

Epsom and Ewell households will pay more council tax from April after the Borough Council agreed on its budget for 2022-23 at a meeting of the full Council on Tuesday evening (February 15).

The budget-setting meeting sets out the Borough Council’s expected revenue and expenditure for the forthcoming year and, as a consequence, the additional amount the Council needs to raise in council tax.

The budget proposals were put forward by the governing party, in Epsom and Ewell’s case the Residents’ Association group,   stating how they are managing the council’s finances.  This was followed by speeches from the opposition council groups.

Councillor Colin Keane (RA, Nonsuch), chair of the Strategy and Resources Committee proposed a Borough council tax increase of £4.95 a year for a B and D property, or 2.38%, as a result of what he called “a robust and sustainable budget” and despite “another challenging year”.  “Our strong financial position” he said, “has been the result of many years of sound advice and excellent financial management by our finance team.”  

Councillor Keane criticised the Labour opposition for arguing that council tax should not be raised.  He argued that such a course would create a £165,000 shortfall and accused Labour of failing “to propose what policies and strategies could be adopted to fill the reduced income”.  

Cllr Kate Chinn (Lab, Court Ward) argued that “residents of Epsom and Ewell, along with everyone else in this country, are facing a huge rise in the cost of living” and put forward ways of increasing revenue and cutting costs.  “Review of venues such as the Playhouse and Bourne Hall can increase revenue and tackling homelessness can reduce costs,” she argued and went on to propose other measures, even questioning whether the Town Hall itself is needed now that many staff continue to work from home.

But, later in the debate, veteran Councillor Jan Mason (RA, Ruxley Ward) responded angrily to Labour, saying that, for the £4.95 rise, “we get weekly bin collections, we get our parks and open spaces that are second to none, and we have the wonderful centre in Sefton Road.  These are things we are choosing to do for our residents.  We have one of the best boroughs in this country.  If the Labour party are worried about nine and a half pence a week, the price of 2 cups of coffee a year, then all I can say to them is – get a grip of yourselves.”  

Speaking for the Liberal Democrat group, David Gulland (College Ward) concentrated on the Climate Emergency, arguing that, 3 years on from the Council’s own Climate Action Plan, “we still have no funds allocated for specific actions to reduce our own emissions…Let’s get on and do some of these projects.”  He also suggested that the Council should take a lead by shifting its own investments.  “It would be relatively easy to ensure some of our …. portfolio is redeployed into equivalent funds with Green credentials,” he said  “Let’s join up and live our values.”  

Another veteran Councillor, Eber Kington (RA, Ewell Court) quoted independent auditors as saying that “the Council has a track record of delivering robust financial plans”.  He attacked the Labour party’s zero tax rise policy and went on to criticise the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, whose one Borough Councillor was unable to respond as she was in the hospital.  

Leading committee member, Cllr Hannah Dalton (RA, Stoneleigh), was the last to speak in the debate.  Also responding to Labour’s comments, she said that “review of the venues and venue strategy, the Town Hall strategy, and homelessness, they’re all in here [the annual plan being discussed]’.  And responding to a Liberal Democrat comment about sharing services with other Councils, she said that “we are working closely with East Surrey to look at opportunities [for] synergy – we’ve got to be doing that”.

26 Residents’ Association Councillors, voted for the budget, the Labour group voted against, and Liberal Democrats, arguing they were broadly in favour but there were some aspects they couldn’t support, abstained.

The £4.95 increase in the Borough Council’s precept is not the only extra amount of council tax to pay in the forthcoming year.  The Borough Council accounts for only 10% of the overall amount of council tax collected.  Conservative-controlled Surrey County Council receives 76% of the council tax and the remaining 14% is taken by Surrey Police.  SCC’s portion is increasing by £77.31 this year (4.99%) for a Band D property and Surrey Police’s precept by exactly £10 or 3.4%.  This means that the overall council tax increase for a band D property in the forthcoming year will be £92.26 or 4.52%.

Epsom and Ewell Borough Council met online July 19^th and considered the proposed submission regarding changes to Wards of the Borough. The Boundary Commission  confirmed the forecasted electorate figures for 2027. The forecasted electorate in the Borough is shown to be 64,889. On the basis of these figures, based on 35 Members the ratio for electorate to Member in 2027 is estimated to be 1: 1853.9. For the purposes of calculation for equality of Ward representation, the Council has worked to the 2027 figures at a ratio of 1:1854. It is important to note that the Electoral Review changes will take effect from 2023, which is before the next local Borough elections

The roads, railway lines, open spaces and rivers, criss cross the Borough. These features have helped to shape the Wards which currently exist. For this reason, there are key challenges to building a Warding Map which is distinctly different from what currently exists. The development of the Hospital Cluster since the last review, identified a clear need for the creation of a new Ward which encompassed the settlement. The creation of this new Ward directly helps to address the electoral variances which had grown over time. The mapping of the Borough in terms of Warding, focused on the natural and built divisions which have themselves, created distinct communities. In turn these communities have built their own local support infrastructure and arrangements. Although the advice on an Electoral Review is to start with a blank map, it is also to note the nature of the environment and the settled communities which exist.

The proposals being put forward for submission include:

The creation of a new Ward of Horton which would address electoral variances within key existing Wards;

To redistribute the electoral variances and addressing anomalies in Ward boundaries which have developed over time.

The table below sets out the comparison between the current arrangements alongside with recommended to Council for approval.

Councillor Alex Coley Chair of the Community and Wellbeing Committee reported to the Full Council Meeting (online) of 19^th July 2021 that the Council has been successful in a bid to the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) to fund the establishment of a Youth Hub. In response to a growing problem of unemployment and to avoid the pandemic creating a cohort of left behind young people, the DWP had requested bids from local authorities to establish a Youth Hub within the borough with the intention of supporting 18 – 24 years olds to help them seek employment and increase their chances of gaining future employment. The role of the Youth Hub is not to replicate existing DWP provision but to leverage a range of additional partner and industry resources to provide employment information and advice, support employer connections, work placements and mentors to support young people find pathways into work as soon as possible.

Partners would include NESCOT and the Coast to Capital Enterprise Adviser service.

The Hub is likely to be set inside the Ashley Centre, High Street Epsom