Epsom based solicitor Daniel Bolster advises landlords and tenants alike. In this sponsored article he sets out the basis of the law for both landlords and tenants.

Sending out or receiving an eviction notice is unfortunately something that a considerable number of landlords and tenants will experience. It may be that a landlord requires vacant possession of their property to sell it, or that tenants require a notice to show their local authority in order to seek assistance to find a new home.
What is an eviction notice?

One of the most common notices is a section 21 notice. This is commonly known as a “no fault eviction notice” and basically means that a landlord does not need to give a reason for seeking vacant possession of their property. These types of cases can potentially be dealt with by the court on paper (without a hearing being necessary). However, there are a number of technical defences that tenants can bring to invalidate a section 21 notice. If the court deems that there is a point to be answered, then there will be a hearing. It can be useful for landlords to contact a solicitor before issuing a section 21 notice, in order to take advice on whether the section 21 notice is likely to be valid. Equally, a tenant can take advice from a solicitor as to whether any technical defences may be available, such as:

 Prescribed information issues – such as the existence of an energy performance certificate
 Deposit protection issues
 Tenant Fees Act issues
 Notice from the Local Authority
 House in multiple occupation licence and selective licence issues

Aren’t all eviction notices the same?

In short, no. Another common notice is a Section 8 notice. This is normally used by a landlord when they allege that a tenant has breached the term of their tenancy agreement. This could be as a result of failing to pay the rent, anti-social behaviour such as causing a nuisance or annoyance or breaching another term of the tenancy agreement. After serving the notice and waiting the correct amount of time for the notice to elapse, the landlord will be in a legal position to issue a claim seeking possession of the property. There will then be a hearing and both parties should attend this hearing. It may be in both parties’ interests to be legally represented at such a hearing.

What about a possession order?

Some grounds for possession are mandatory, meaning that if the ground is proven at the hearing, then the court will have to give a possession order. However, other grounds are discretionary, which means that the court will have various options with regards to orders that it can make. It can be useful for both landlords and tenants to take advice on this before either issuing proceedings or defending proceedings.

If you are dealing with any of the issues above, our dispute team can help. Contact us on
020 8944 5290 for more information, or email Daniel.Bolster@peacock-law.co.uk.
Peacock & Co Solicitors, Park Place House, 24 Church Street, Epsom KT17 4QB. peacock-law.co.uk

All green belt sites could be removed from Mole Valley’s plan for homes following proposed changes to planning at central government level. A specially-called meeting of the district council will be held this month to discuss asking the government inspector looking at the authority’s local plan her opinion on removing the sites.

The council’s local plan, which sets out where and when 6,000 homes will be built in the district up to 2037, was put on hold in December when Michael Gove announced changes to housing targets at central government level.
A consultation is now running on plans to update the National Planning Policy Framework, closing on March 2.
The council’s leader Councillor Stephen Cooksey (Lib Dem, Dorking South) said along with four other members of the council’s cabinet, he had called for an extraordinary meeting of the council on January 16.

The council will be asked to consider seeking the inspector’s view on removing all green belt sites from the draft local plan. While many of the new homes were planned for towns like Dorking and Leatherhead, green belt sites had been released to ensure the authority could reach its housing targets set by central government.
Residents and councillors had raised concerns about developments in rural areas as well, and the impacts they could have on communities, roads and infrastructure.

The council’s cabinet member for planning, Cllr Margaret Cooksey (Lib Dem, Dorking South) said changes to planning policy removed the “central direction” of housing numbers and the need to develop the green belt in order to meet them. She added: “If the inspector agrees with our proposed process, as we hope she will, this can be achieved by introducing a major modification, which would allow the plan to proceed to the next stage of consultation on all the proposed modifications.”

BBC Local Democracy Reporting Service

[Ed: Epsom and Ewell Times hope to bring you an update on the position with Epsom and Ewell’s Local Plan next week as we await news from the Borough Council.]

Vocationally minded local students get a boost as the University of Surrey is set to accept T Levels. A more diverse pool of students will be able to enjoy access to a world-class education at the University of Surrey, as it announces that it will now accept the rigorous new vocational T Level qualifications for selected programmes.

The move follows a joint task group with Farnborough College of Technology (FCoT), providing the T Level provider perspective. Starting in the 2023/24 academic year, several undergraduate programmes across Chemistry, Nursing and Midwifery, and Bioscience programmes will accept T Levels.

Photo: Surrey University campus. cc Tanya Hart

Professor Osama Khan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Academic from the University of Surrey, said: The University of Surrey has always been a leader in employability – with its graduates being amongst the most employable in the UK. Embracing the continued revolution in vocational qualifications is a natural move for us as we continue to marry the very best in teaching and learning with the strongest possible links with employers and industry.

T Levels are new 2-year courses which are taken after GCSEs and are broadly equivalent in size to 3 A Levels. Launched in September 2020, these courses have been developed in collaboration with employers and education providers so that the content meets the needs of industry and prepares students for entry into skilled employment, an apprenticeship or related technical study through further or higher education.

T Levels offer students practical and knowledge-based learning at a school or college and on-the-job experience through an industry placement of at least 315 hours – approximately 45 days. The courses are available at selected colleges, schools and other providers across England.

A University of Surrey student arriving with us through the T Level route and completing an industrial placement as part of their studies with us will graduate with years of experience in the workplace – setting them up for a flying start to a successful career.

Virginia Barrett, Principal CEO at Farnborough College of Technology, said: “The University of Surrey has been working with us to understand these new, employer-led qualifications, and we are pleased to see that they will now enable many of our T Level students to progress onto their degree programmes. Our T Level students are frequently among the most driven and career-focused at our Ofsted Outstanding college. The T Levels we offer have been introduced to match the local jobs market, so we are confident that the combined offer of studying locally at FCoT and the University of Surrey will be a great benefit to both students and their future employers.

“Also, our own University Centre at Farnborough offers learners from all T Level programmes a progression route into higher education, including a range of accelerated degrees, higher national qualifications, and higher-level apprenticeships, all taught on-site at Farnborough. I invite all those considering their post-16 options to visit our next Open Event to explore their T Level options with us, safe in the knowledge that these can lead to fantastic opportunities within higher education, employment, and apprenticeships.”

T Levels are an alternative to A levels, BTEC, apprenticeships and other post-16 courses.
To explore FCoT’s range of T Levels, visit www.farn-ct.ac.uk/t-levels.

The destruction of farmland and countryside caused by a Heathrow Airport fuel pipeline would ‘make HS2 look like a picnic in the park’, an angry farmer has claimed. Farmer Colin Rayner has vented his frustration after fuel company Esso “wrecked” his farmland. Contractors came to Mr Rayner’s farm, in Laleham, Surrey, in October to dig up and replace part of the existing 90km fuel pipeline.

The pipeline, which has been in place since 1972, stretches from Southampton to Heathrow Airport but because inspection and maintenance are increasing, Esso decided to replace it. However, this major work requires contractors to go to several landlords and farmers’ land. Esso reportedly must agree to several conditions to avoid damage to their land, the countryside, and to wildlife, and to restore the land once finished.

Mr Rayner accused Esso of “empty promises” after “wrecking” and leaving “horrendous damage” at his farm when their contractors turned up in October. Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Rayner said: “It’s all rather upsetting. They just wrecked our farm and they come along and make lots of promises. We had a meeting with them [Esso], and they made lots of promises, and nothing ever happened since and the damage they are doing to the countryside would make HS2 look like a picnic in the park.”

Mr Rayner also claimed other farmers have experienced the same and when he raised his issues to Esso, he was reportedly met with silence. He added: “As farmers, we tried to accommodate Esso and Heathrow Airport but what is the point of us working with them if they just come a long and make lots of empty promises and then just damage and wreck the countryside.” Some of the damage Mr Rayner outlined was Esso blocking his drainage system with water from the “mud bath” the contractors caused. Security is also something Mr Rayner is concerned about, saying not enough has been done to deter trespasser or flytipping.

Project executive of the Southampton to London pipeline project Tim Sunderland said: “The project is replacing an existing aviation fuel pipeline that has been in place since 1972. It currently carries the equivalent of 100 road tankers of fuel every day. Without the replacement pipeline, the fuel would need to be transported by truck on local roads. Periods of extreme wet weather experienced at the end of 2022 have made construction challenging.

“We have met with the tenant and their land agent and acknowledge that our contractor could have done a better job in this area. We regret the concern this has caused. Following our meeting we have implemented the agreed actions as recorded by the tenant’s agent. We will be reinstating the land on a like-for-like basis, in compliance with the legal agreement we have with the landowner.”

Heathrow Airport declined to comment.

[Ed. adds – there is also an aviation fuel pipeline that branches off from Walton on Thames to Gatwick that runs through Epsom.]

The Cost of Living Crisis is affecting many in Epsom and Ewell with rising prices and concerns about the future. But for some, the crisis is truly devastating. People in our borough are coming to the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) very worried about paying their bills and looking after their families. The CAB want to make sure people have the right support to manage in these difficult times.

They help clients by giving free advice and information about many different issues including debt, benefits, housing and employment advice. They can give crisis support including vouchers for the local food bank and funds to help with fuel payments. They also offer practical advice such as how to reduce energy use and save money on bills.

CAB can check that people are claiming all the benefits and other money that they are entitled to. They can also help people with budgeting skills whether they are already in debt or are worried about managing their money effectively.

Louise Curd, the publicity and fundraising manager of Epsom’s CAB says: “Like all Citizens Advice, we are an independent charity and need to raise funds to keep our services running. We are not part of the government but are one of over 270 local Citizens Advice helping those in the local community.

Our work makes a big difference. During 2021-22 we helped more than 2,700 people resulting in over £1.12m financial outcomes for those clients (unclaimed benefits and money due to them; debts, payment or loans written off or restructured etc). Reducing financial worries can have a knock on effect of reducing stress and improving wellbeing. In fact last year 80% of our clients said that our help had made a big difference to their situation.”

The Borough’s local CAB has come together with the Aviva Community crowdfunding team to raise money to help it respond to the cost of living crisis and build a more resilient community. So far, they have raised over £5,000. The fund closes on 10 January and the more they raise, the more people they can help. All funds received will go towards running their free advice services for the benefit of the community of Epsom & Ewell.

You can donate via this link:
https://www.avivacommunityfund.co.uk/p/citizens-advice-epsom-ewell-cost-of-living-advice-services

CAB Epsom and Ewell is located in The Old Town Hall, The Parade, Epsom and initial contact can be made via its website contact form HERE.

Due to the planned national strikes Epsom and Ewell rail customers are urged only to travel if absolutely necessary from Tuesday 3 to Sunday 8 January 2023. From Tuesday 3 to Sunday 8 January, strike action will see a severely reduced service between 07:15 and 18:30, on a limited number of routes, for customers who have to travel. Sunday 8 January will also be impacted by the strike; first trains across the SWR network will start from around 07:30 and are likely to be very busy.

The strikes impact both lines that serve the rail stations in the Borough of Epsom and Ewell. SWR – Epsom, Ewell West and Stoneleigh (and Worcester Park) on the Waterloo line and Southern services for Epsom and Ewell East on the Victoria and London Bridge lines.

The national advice is always to consult in advance of your journey the online rail service journey planner

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Thank you for reading the Epsom and Ewell Times in 2022.   Throughout 2023 we are all set to continue to “fill the gap” in local journalism identified in the Government commissioned Cairncross Review of the press of 2019.  

“The challenges to public interest journalism are most acute at the local level.” See Chapter 5.3 page 79.

The Epsom and Ewell History Explorer accounts for the demise of local news services and today its website confirms Epsom and Ewell Times as  “The local newspaper providing Boroughwide current news”.

In 2022 we have reported consistently on Epsom and Ewell Council meetings. The first time this has been happening for 10 to 20 years. We secured a valuable partnership with the BBC’s Local Democracy Reporting Service. The only officially recognised press regulator in the United Kingdom is IMPRESS and we qualified to be regulated by this body in 2022.

To sustain our service we need to attract more readers. Many readers can be reached by connecting to our website through the social media of Facebook and Twitter. We publish on those platforms website page links to all of our reports. Please do what you can to help us promote Epsom and Ewell Times. Remember we welcome your letters, opinions, events, news, family and other official notices for publication.

We remain strictly an unpaid, not-for-profit, volunteer service. It’s the only way this can be done in a Borough our size.

Have a great 2023.

The Team at Epsom and Ewell Times

Epsom & Ewell FC 1 – 3 Chessington & Hook United – Southern Combination League – Division One – Tuesday 27th December.

Oh no! Not Chessington again! Historically, we have a superior won lost record against our opponents, yet this defeat was our sixth at home in the last eight encounters dating back to our days at Merstham. Indeed the last fifteen matches between these two clubs have produced just ONE home win between them, which I suppose bodes well for our return fixture at Chalky Lane in April! Seriously though, most of our home defeats against them have followed a similar pattern that we seem to struggle with, regardless of our playing personnel or Management; that of a team defending solidly as a unit at the back, working energetically to deny space and pinching their chances when they came.

Equally worryingly, we have started to see a similar script occurring in home matches. Worthing United and Deportivo Galicia also conceded first, yet we have allowed all of these teams back into the match from a position of strength and appear to be unable to stop them once they have gained their own momentum. We have not won at home since 29th October and this is not going to be good enough if we are to remain at the top of the table for much longer. Indeed we are now clinging to that position on goal difference alone, with the imposing threat of Shoreham now looming large in our rear view mirror.

So, if not exactly a terminal hammer blow to our title hopes due to the strong position we had created in recent months, Tuesday’s defeat must have sent some very large alarm bells ringing across the club and the next couple of matches will give supporters an indication of whether it has been heeded.

I referred in my match preview to the kick off being delayed an hour to 12pm instead of the traditional 11am and how much this decision might cost us financially. Our attendance, independently counted by two people from two different positions in the ground was 127 (although the club advised 138 in their official figures). Either way, Forest Row v Oakwood (at 11am) recorded 113, well over double the average attendances for those clubs and this was noted on Twitter by Oakwood with comments as to how their ground had been swelled by a large number of ground hoppers. It is conjecture of course, but for our often feisty and entertaining local derby at a venue with great facilities, close to a train station and motorway on a Bank Holiday when there were very few other local matches, you have to wonder how many of those extra sixty or seventy supporters would have chosen to come here instead, but chose not to because of the added difficulty in getting to a 3pm kick off after our game as many of these floating supporters tend to do, and that’s not including people who didn’t fancy the trip to Sussex, but who might have come here. This was an opportunity to get close to, if not over 200 missed by our club and is a lesson we must learn quickly. Moving the fixture back a day from Boxing Day = “A Plus – great idea”. Moving the kick off back by an hour = “E Minus – Could do better”.

In terms of personnel, there were a few changes from our defeat last Wednesday. Aaron Bogle and Zach Powell returned at the back, while Brad Peters was missing, so Gideon Acheampong took the Captain’s armband on and moved into the centre of defence with Johnny “Sonic” Akoto coming in at right back. Further forward Athan Smith-Joseph and Jaevon Dyer returned to the starting eleven in place of Josh Owen who was absent injured, and Steve Springett, Josh Alder and Ryan Smith, who would have to wait for their opportunities from the bench.

And things started well once again. Smith-Joseph skipped down the wing in the opening twenty seconds and his ball into the danger area caused panic, leading to a corner. However, our service would be particularly poor in this match and the delivery was weak. Then Smith-Joseph made a great exchange of passes with Nick Wilson who then set up our winger for a shot, but he delayed it after drawing the keeper and was smothered out by Chessington defenders. Dyer’s shot was then deflected wide for a corner but in the 11th minute a visiting striker broke through and we were fortunate that he shot directly at Kane Charles who made the save.

Our next attempt involved a good run from midfield by Gavin Quintyne, but Chessy keeper Andrew Osei was out quickly to save after our man had received a Smith-Joseph pass. We then took the lead in the 21st minute. A ball down the right found Jaevon Dyer who made tracks before pulling the ball back to Quintyne. Feeling confident after his super strike on Wednesday, he took aim from just inside the penalty area, but only side footed the ball towards Osei who strangely failed to gather the ball and experienced goal poacher Jamie Byatt nipped in to lift the ball over the stretching keeper from close range to score his 35th goal for us in 35 appearances; a stat that moves him onto our club Hall of Fame chart for the top fifty scorers on our history.

Byatt was just wide with a header from a free kick shortly after this and we looked good value for our lead. Byatt then shrugged off a weak challenge on the half hour and was through on goal, but the referee called him back for a foul which looked very harsh. It was a pity as he would probably have given us a two goal lead, yet in the 33rd minute the visitors were back in the game with an equaliser. The play built up well on the right and we got dragged over a little, so that when the ball was sent over, Aaron Cole-Bolt had time to control the pass and get it onto his right foot before drilling the ball into the bottom far corner from just inside our penalty area.

It was not a deserved equaliser at the time, but by the time the half time whistle had blown they were in the ascendency and Ben Bauchop’s attempt from 40 yards then went way wide of the goal just before the break gave a hint as to how the play had been going. Interestingly at half time the Chessington team were back out after just a few minutes and were doing a bit more ball work. They seemed to want to send a message that they were keen and eager to fight for the points. Having said that, we were the first team to fashion a good chance just a few seconds into the second half when a short corner between Dyer and Bauchop resulted in a shot from the latter that deflected to Byatt some eight yards out, but his snap shot on the turn cannoned back off the Chessington crossbar and away to safety.

This chance would come back to haunt us as soon as the 50th minute when they broke away after being pushed back and a right wing delivery to Cole-Bolt was struck at goal, only to rebound kindly for former Salt Hakim Griffiths to slot home the loose ball past our helpless keeper from a few yards. This was such a frustrating goal to concede and our heads appeared to visibly drop.

We would still make chances for a while though and Smith-Joseph did well on the left, having switched wings with Dyer, but his pull back was just behind the incoming Byatt before Byatt himself had a shot at goal but his connection wasn’t the strongest and provided an easy save for Osei, who was by this time beginning to waste a lot of time and picked up a yellow card for time-wasting shortly after. Smith-Joseph then provided a mazy run, beating three men before seeing his shot deflected for another corner which came to nothing.

We made a few substitutions but the pattern of the game was changing more in favour of the visitors and we only created one real chance after this when Byatt chased a through ball in the final minutes, forcing a poor clearance from Osei, but Ryan Dacres-Smith was unable to take advantage of the vacant net from thirty yards out with his attempt at goal not getting past a covering defender. Of course, by then we had already conceded a third goal in the 78th minute when a ball in from the right found another former Salt in space, Fabian O’Brien and he guided the ball past Charles and into the far corner from ten yards. It is notable that a lot of recent goals conceded have come from the opposition right hand side and as with our previous loss to Deportivo Galicia it is my opinion that their winger was the best player on the park, in this case Ben Anderson, giving us a lot of trouble throughout the match. However, we have looked extremely vulnerable at the back recently, with as many goals conceded this week (seven) as we have in the previous nine matches, and this must be a real concern.

Those who regularly read my reports will know that I am honest and critical where required and for sure this was a poor performance, although 3-1 was a flattering score line. However, It is more important to see how our group of talented players respond before being too harsh. After all, we are top of the table still, so many things are being done well. Next up though is another opponent we have had terrible struggles with in recent years, the Dorking Wanderers B team at the new Meadowbank; a ground we haven’t won competitively at since it was rebuilt. If that challenge, added to our performance here doesn’t motivate a good response, then maybe the next report won’t be so forgiving.

Epsom & Ewell: Kane Charles, Johnny “Sonic” Akoto, Zach Powell, Ben Bauchop, Gideon Acheampong (c), Aaron Bogle, Jaevon Dyer, Nick Wilson, Jamie Byatt, Gavin Quintyne, Athan Smith-Joseph

Subs: Steve Springett for Powell (65), Ryan Dacres-Smith for Dyer (73), Ryan Smith for Akoto (73), Oliver Thompson for Bauchop (83)

Report Source: www.eefconline.co.uk

In the middle three weeks of December local rotarians escorted Father Christmas around the streets of Epsom accompanied by Tilly the train and a band of helpers from local youth associations.  Joining the effort were Wilsons of Epsom on two of the nights, when they provided a driver and a Santa Claus.

It was a truly wonderful experience with young children and adults saying how delighted they were to see Santa Claus; and they gave generously to help local charities.  This year knocks on people’s doors returned and they were pleased to see the Train and Santa after the COVID lay-off.

With today’s Social Media such as WhatsApp, children were ready and waiting.  It was a wonderful sight when the train started down a street to see little groups in the darkness waiting.  Tilly was also happy to have so many photos taken of her.

Around £6000 was raised for local charities, which included the youth organisations who helped.

Epsom Rotary, over the festive season, supported a group of young carers to a pantomime trip, a Christmas Card Appeal raised £250, the Christmas Hamper and Balloon Race Competitions, Carol singing and collections in the Ashley Centre raised even more cash for local charities. They supported the Meeting Room by collecting and donating presents and collecting donated foods from Waitrose.

Rotary and the local charities they support thank the marvellous generosity and spirit of Epsom and Ewell’s wonderful local community.

South Western Railways will run 21 extra services between midnight and 3.15am on New Years Day but none down our line. You could get to Oxshott. Not closer. Southern trains are no better with all services out of Victoria rescheduled to depart from London Bridge. Last train 23:45 (you’ll miss the fireworks) – but you’ll need to double-check that on the day.

Tube services will run all night on most lines and that means you could get the Northern Line to Morden and the last 293 bus to Epsom is still scheduled to depart at 00:25. The tube journey takes 30 minutes – so you’ll still miss the fireworks.

There are night-buses throughout the night that could take you to Wimbledon, Morden, Raynes Park and Kingston and the closest to Epsom and Ewell being the 93 from Putney Bridge to North Cheam. But threats of strikes may effect journeys and you must check on the day to avoid being stranded.

If you know of any other alternatives to get back to Epsom and Ewell leaving London after midnight do let us know.

Guildford Crown Court’s Presiding Judge sends online love fraudsters to prison.

Two people have been sentenced to a combined total of 11 years and nine months’ imprisonment at Guildford Crown Court today (23 December) for orchestrating a complex romance fraud scheme which conned five people out of over £200,000.

Using a variety of fake personas they would target victims through online dating sites, gaining their trust over a period of time by making them believe they were in a relationship, before asking for large sums of money under false pretences which they never intended to pay back.

Key to the scams were a series of elaborate and emotive excuses for needing money from the victims, ranging from the persona being held by Dutch customs when trying to return to the UK, all the way to being kidnapped, with money needed to ‘secure their release’.

In order to make their lies more believable, they would forge documents including death certificates and airline tickets. The victims were always falsely reassured that the money would be paid back, often with the promise that the persona was due to inherit hundreds of thousands of pounds and just needed a stop-gap loan until they had the funds.

In one case, a victim was defrauded over a period of 14 years before they were told by officers that the person they thought were speaking to wasn’t real and was in fact a scammer.

The investigation began after a Surrey victim came forward in 2020 and officers were able to trace bank transfers made by the victim straight to the pair’s door. Numerous devices were seized from their home address, leading to the discovery of a gold mine of evidence which showed the pair plotting, sharing account logins and fabricating stories together to manipulate victims with.

Working with City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, a further 179 victims of fraud were identified throughout the course of the investigation, with 80 linked to romance fraud, 22 to investment fraud and 77 who had had their identities or bank details stolen or shared. They are being supported by the City of London Police’s victim care unit. Officers also uncovered evidence of money laundering by painstakingly tracing bank transfers between multiple accounts, which fraudsters often do to make money as hard as possible to trace. In total, over £400,000 was found to have been laundered through their bank accounts.

Fredrick Diji, 37, of Flaxman Road in Lambeth, was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud, concealing criminal property and possession of an identity document for improper means.

Racquel Johnson, 43, also of Flaxman Road in Lambeth, was sentenced to three years and nine months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of money laundering.

On sentencing, Judge Fraser commented that both Diji and Johnson carried out a ‘truly callous conspiracy of significant scale’, adding ‘the harm you have caused has been devastating to so many’. Judge Fraser also praised Detective Constable Becky Mason’s ‘tireless’ work in investigating the case, labelling her diligence as ‘quite remarkable and most impressive’.

Detective Constable Becky Mason, who investigated the case, said: “Romance fraud is heartless and cowardly and has a devastating impact on victims, not only financially but emotionally as they find their trust has been exploited in the cruellest of ways.

“Diji had his routine down to a tee, and assisted by Johnson, they would work together using a number of fake personas to target victims online, love-bomb them with promises of meeting in person and declarations of love, before fabricating reasons for desperately needing money, telling the victims that if they really loved them they would help them out. It was the ultimate manipulation which preyed on people’s emotions and good nature.
I am incredibly grateful to each of the victims for supporting our investigation and I hope that today’s result gives them some sense of justice.”

Officers worked closely with online dating site Match where Diji and Johnson met several of the victims.
A Match spokesperson commented:

“At Match, the safety of our members is our highest priority. We are very sorry to hear about this case. We have a dedicated team monitoring security 24/7, deploying industry-leading technology and human checks to ensure user safety. We are constantly reviewing our safety methods and proactively communicate safe dating advice to our members and within our platform.

“We encourage everyone to take the same precautions when meeting people online, as they would if they were meeting through friends or in a pub, bar or public space. It is always best to keep conversations on the Match site, messaging service or app, so that there is an accurate record and any concerns can be quickly reported. We also have a ‘report this profile’ function prominently positioned.

“We strive to create a safe and friendly environment for all users. Match has a zero-tolerance policy for reports of serious offences and encourage anyone who has felt exposed to unsafe behaviour whether through our services or anywhere else, to speak to the police, so that the matter can be investigated and documented. We have co-operated with the police on this case, as part of our commitment to work with the wider industry to define standards and share information.”

To read more about the signs of romance fraud click here.

If you, or someone you know is vulnerable to Romance Fraud please report it online or call 101.

If you think you have been the victim of romance fraud, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via www.actionfraud.police.uk

A Planning Inspector has allowed Epsom and St Helier Trust to go ahead with a 6 level car park at Epsom General Hospital. Despite the plans rejection by local councillors and over 100 local objectors resisting. In a key section of the published decision (6th December) the Inspector stated:

“Overall, the institutional character of the hospital site strongly contrasts with the character of neighbouring residential areas. Accordingly, the wider hospital site, including the appeal site is appropriately recognised in the 2008 Environment Character Study 2008 as having its own unique character (Area 35E). This area is described as having a low sensitivity to change and relatively low ratings in terms of townscape quality and value. The proposed multi-storey car park would be notably taller than the immediately adjacent elements of the hospital building and would form a new, sizeable and somewhat bold structure at the edge of the wider hospital site. In many respects the proposed design is honest, reflecting that it would be a structure which results from its function. The design and scale, however, would be compatible with the wider utilitarian character of the hospital site within which it would be principally read. It would readily relate to the scale and height of the taller buildings on the hospital site including the consented backdrop of the Guild Living scheme. Accordingly, the multi-storey car park would appear as a logical and coherent consolidation of the built form in the unique host character area.”

In short, the implication is that as the hospital site is as a whole rather ugly, more ugliness is not objectionable. The Inspector goes on to observe:

“Despite the proposed height and massing there are relatively few public perspectives in which the proposed structure would be readily experienced. The principal ones would be from the site frontage to the hospital complex on Dorking Road and across the open sports ground from Woodcote Road. The proposed structure would also be highly visible from the public footpath connecting Dorking Road to Woodcote Road where it passes adjacent to the appeal site. However, in all of these places the multi-storey car parking building would be primarily experienced in the context of the adjacent modern, large hospital buildings described above. In those main views from Dorking Road and Woodcote Road it would be seen at some distance, dissipating any visual effects arising from its bulk and height at the edge of the hospital site. For users of the footpath adjacent to the site there is scope to install hedging along the boundary as part of the landscaping for the appeal site, as found elsewhere on the path, mitigating to some degree the visual effects from the proximity of the height and scale of the structure.”

While acknowledging that there would be harm to neighbouring conservation areas he stated: “The scale of harm, however, would be significantly moderated by the existing impact of the hospital buildings on the setting of these conservation areas. The existing hospital complex would form the principal context and backdrop in which the car park structure would be experienced in the limited public views identified from within the Conservation Areas”.

On the question of encouraging commuting by car there appears to be a paradox. The Inspector stated “Overall, the modest uplift in total parking provision would not be excessive or unduly encourage significant or unnecessary additional car-based trips to the hospital.” [Emphasis supplied.] He goes on: “In the round the appeal proposal would generate environmental benefits over existing conditions in terms of reducing queue lengths and associated emissions and through the significant provision of vehicle charging points as part of the necessary transition to a lower carbon future.”

To read the full appeal decision Click HERE

Related reports:

Epsom Hospital car park appeal

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Epsom & Ewell 2-4 FC Deportivo Galicia – Surrey Premier Cup – Second Round – Wednesday 21st December 2022.

A contest that started in farcical circumstances and ended in fairly thick fog ended with our opponents clinching this Surrey Premier Cup tie with three late goals to progress 4-2 in their defence of the trophy in front of a pitiful independently counted attendance of 46.

The most disappointing aspect of this contest was that we had done the hard work to take a deserved lead towards the end of the match, only to then throw it away with some horrible defending.

We were missing a few players from the regular squad in Zach Powell, Oliver Thompson, Johnny Akoto, Aaron Bogle, and Kevin Moreno-Gomez, who were all absent, while Kane Charles came back in between the posts for Kamrun Zain. On the bench we had the returning Mario Quiassaca and also a new debutant in Ryan Dacres-Smith, not to be confused with Ryan Smith, who was back in the starting line up after spending the Dorking Wanderers B match on the bench. This meant that Nick Wilson played in the back four for the first time while Steve Springett played his first match since completing his suspension.

The match was delayed to an 8pm start because the visitors had only eight players at the arranged kick off time of 7.45. Even when the match finally commenced at 8.06 FC Deportivo Galicia took the field with ten men, although an eleventh joined them in the third minute. A full bench of substitutes were named, but only one in playing kit ever appeared there.

And with Matt Chapman in charge due to the absence of our Manager Anthony Jupp, we could and should have gone ahead in the third minute when a poor clearance from the keeper presented Jamie Byatt with a chance, but his shot from 15 yards went wide. Two minutes later we absolutely should have opened our account after a delightful pass from Gavin Quintyne was perfectly in stride for Josh Owen, clean through on goal, but he hurried his shot straight at the advanced keeper, only to then have the ball rebound kindly back to him, yet with an open goal in front of him from 18 yards, he scuffed his shot which was then cleared by a defender and also seemed to injure his groin at the same time, which ultimately led to his replacement just before half time.

All of that didn’t seem important at the time though as we took the lead in the ninth minute anyway when a poor clearance went straight to Josh Alder who set up Byatt to bury his shot low into the bottom corner from just inside the penalty area. The visitors, maybe understandably after their difficult journey, looked all at sea, but against the run of play they then equalised in the 12th minute as their right winger was allowed too much space at the far post and his shot from an angle took a wicked deflection off Springett onto Charles’ left hand post and across into the far side netting.

Despite the goal, we continued to do most of the pressing and Alder’s shot was fumbled before a Springett overlap and dangerous delivery appeared to be sent goalwards by a defender where the keeper made a fantastic double save, firstly from the defender and then secondly to claw the ball away as Byatt lunged for the loose ball.

However, after 20 minutes of dominance the pattern of the match began to shift and the visitors looked the more dangerous as the remainder of the half played out. Springett did well to block a dangerous chance after a Charles clearance had gone to the opposition. They then had another shot at goal, only to hit a team mate and just before the break Charles made a good low save as the shot came in from just outside the box. As the half concluded, Dacres-Smith came on for the limping Owen and it is hoped that the injury is not a serious one.

The second half started with little wisps of mist starting to appear above the pitch which would get worse as the evening progressed but fortunately we were back on top again. In fact a large part of this second half consisted of through balls against a Deportivo high line which our boys would chase, only for the sweeper keeper to kick the ball clear. It wasn’t a perfect plan though and Byatt broke the offside trap in the 49th minute, but his ball in was met by an Alder shot that lacked power and dribbled wide. Then it was Byatt’s turn to slice wide after Smith had broken through with a well timed run two minutes later, but pressure was building and Quintyne was desperately unlucky to see his shot from 20 yards crash down and away off the crossbar with the loose ball not coming down in time for Byatt who headed the ball wide as he ran in.

The visitors were creating little to this point and Byatt broke through once again, only for his touch to let him down. Charles needed to make a good save after Wilson lost the ball at the back, but by and large it appeared just a matter of time before we took the lead.

Finally it came in the 72nd minute when a corner was headed out to the edge of the box where Quintyne hammered a rocket back past the keeper into the roof of the net. It was a superb strike which deserved to win any match, but maybe our players thought that it was won at this point, because from this point we switched off and four minutes later a close range finish enabled the opposition to draw level out of nowhere.

Brad Peters flicked a low corner towards goal, only to see the ball cleared off the line, but Charles was forced to tip a powerful shot over the bar as Deportivo began to fancy their chances of pinching the match and on the break that’s exactly what they did after an 86th minute shot was originally blocked before the loose ball was forced in. Six minutes later another ball in from the right wing was tapped in at the far post to make the final score 2-4.

We had a couple of chances in the closing minutes with Quiassaca forcing two good saves out of the visiting keeper, but in the end we had to admit defeat and face the fact that we have just sixteen league fixtures remaining in our season now, assuming that we can avoid the need for the playoffs. However, on this performance, that looks unlikely and a massive improvement will be required before we face Chessington & Hook United on Tuesday; a team we have only beaten once at home in our last seven meetings.

Epsom & Ewell: Kane Charles, Gideon Acheampong, Steve Springett, Ryan Smith, Nick Wilson, Brad Peters, Ben Bauchop, Gavin Quintyne, Jamie Byatt, Josh Alder, Josh Owen

Subs: Ryan Dacres-Smith for Owen (44), Athan Smith-Joseph for Alder (66), Jaevon Dyer for Acheampong (71), Mario Quiassaca for Byatt (74)

Report Source: www.eefconline.co.uk

Epsom and Ewell Times refers to our reports:

River “Bogsmill” blights Borough 30 June 2022

and

Local sewage uploaded 12 December 2022

In the second report we stated the first “Labour” sponsored petition had expired. Epsom and Ewell Times apologises to Mark Todd and the local Labour Party. The petition raised by them on change.org is still live. The link may have been temporarily broken when we checked on 12th December 2022. The link to that petition is HERE. The second report provides a link to a more general petition to tackle river pollution nationwide raised by Liberal Democrats.

Epsom and Ewell Times will always publish justified corrections when we are in error.

Over the past two weeks, Surrey Police has been raising awareness about the alternative meanings of emojis, which some young people may use to reference drugs and sexual behaviour.

Have you ever wondered how children use emojis in their day-to-day life? Does that snowflake really mean snow is on the way? Are fruit emojis always only used to reference fruit?

These are some of the questions we have been addressing in our most recent campaign, which is focused on being ‘emoji aware’.

Throughout the campaign, we have aimed to educate parents, carers, teachers and those working with children on this secret world of emojis and their more concerning meanings. While this campaign might sound worrying, and we want to highlight the serious meaning these emojis can take on, we are keen to stress that the use of these emojis on their own does not necessarily mean a child is involved in drugs. Instead, this may be seen as part of a bigger picture of a change in their behaviour. Other changes may include (but aren’t limited to):

• Changes in their mood
• A change in their performance at school

Them becoming increasingly secretive

Detective Chief Inspector Kate Hyder said: “We really want parents and guardians to feel confident to have a conversation with their children about this, if and when they need to. We have shared a lot of information around emojis over the past couple of weeks, both on social media and with our local partners to help raise awareness and start the discussion around this.

“Our focus on this doesn’t stop with the end of this initial campaign. We will be continuing to work with local partners to extend the conversation around emojis. We’re also aware that emojis and their alternative meanings are something that will constantly change, and so our work and research into this will continue.”

For guidance on starting these conversations and support if parents or guardians are concerned, there are a number of resources and services that can help, some of which are specifically for children:

• Catch 22 – Surrey’s Young People Substance Misuse Service
• Talk to FRANK has helpful advice about drugs for children and parents
• NSPCC has advice about keeping your child safe, including how to have difficult conversations
• Childline – information for young people about drugs and sexual relationships
• YMCA WiSE (What is Sexual Exploitation) supports young people around staying safe in relationships, online and in the community
• Surrey Police website about county lines drug dealing

This isn’t a campaign that starts and finishes within this two-week window. Instead, this is about encouraging parents and guardians to have conversations with their children at a time that works for everyone involved. What is vital in these discussions is trust. We’re very aware that checking phones could break down this trust between a parent and their child, and therefore we are not suggesting parents do this. Instead, we want people to be aware of what these emojis mean, in case they do happen to see them.