Epsom Police Station has been closed since 2012 along with its several cells for detainees. The Surrey Police are situated in offices in The Town Hall, The Parade, Epsom, where there are no custody facilities for arrested suspects. LDRS reports on the latest plans for the old building.

A former Surrey police station and the neighbouring ambulance station could be turned into a 96-bed care home.
Plans for the Church Street site, in Epsom, include a basement car park, croquet lawns and specialist care for people with dementia.

But the The Epsom Civic Society has raised concerns about “the proliferation of specialist elderly accommodation within the borough” while there is an “outstanding need” for housing, especially affordable homes. A letter to the council regarding the application also highlighted the “importance of supporting the vitality and viability of Epsom town centre”.

Image. Left: Old station – Google street view. Right: Plans for former Epsom Police Station in Church Street. Credit: Hunters

The society also raised concerns about protecting trees on the site, necessary measures being put in place for demolition works which may involve asbestos removal, and a possible flooding risk associated with the basement car park.

The police station part of the site was granted planning permission in 2020 for a residential development with 29 apartments located in two blocks, but this excluded the ambulance station. While a since withdrawn application was also made in 2019 for a 60 apartment extra care scheme, which saw some local opposition but no objections from the statutory or council consultees, according to documents submitted by the applicant.

The 1960s police station building has been empty since 2012, and could now be replaced with the three to five-storey blocks of a CQC registered residential care home which would offer 24-hour care.

According to planning documents, the 96 bedrooms would provide nursing, residential and dedicated dementia care, and would have an ensuite wet room.

The applicant said: “The care home will be capable of caring for residents of all dependency levels, including those who require dementia care within a specialist unit.”

The Church Street Conservation Area, which contains contains 20 listed buildings including the grade II St Martin’s Church, The Cedars and Ebbisham House, wraps around the south and west ends of the site.

Plans show the home would include gardens with trees planted and “activity lawns” for residents to include bowling, croquet, gardening.

Transport for the South East have received approval from their Partnership Board to progress delivery of their Strategic Investment Plan which includes nearly 300 multi-modal transport interventions to be delivered across the south east over the next 27 years.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Press release from Transport from the South-East

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

Mole Valley District Council’s scrutiny committee met to discuss the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities £500million funding for local authorities to provide homes to Ukrainian and Afghan families via the resettlement and relocation schemes. 

Councillor Paul Potter. Image credit: Surrey Live – Grahame Larter

If fully progressed, the council would receive about £1.5m to help deliver up to nine properties for families seeking refuge. These would then become part of the area’s long-term affordable housing stock  – available on a rental basis of 80 per cent market value.

The move was widely supported by members at the March 7 meeting but the council’s main social housing provider, Clarion was criticised by councillors.

The housing association said it was investing £5m and  “hiring 100 new staff” to tackle the problem.

Councillor Paul Potter (LD, Brockham, Betchworth and Buckland) said: “Great that we are helping people less fortunate than ourselves but I did have a couple of concerns, the first was that affordable rent was not actually affordable. My bigger concern is Clarion, if you are going to pick someone to do houses we should be doing it ourselves because my dealings with Clarion over the last God knows how many years has been a nightmare. It has got better, the chap they got now he’s done more in seven days than they have in 10 years – so something is happening there. But to put someone in the houses I’ve seen, in the state they’re in.

“I had a family actually move into Tanners Meadow from a house that was quite frankly derelict, mouldy, the kids area all on inhalers. These people have come from a war zone. They really don’t want to be going into a damp house, like that young kid last year. So I do have a big concern that Clarion is taking over.”

Cllr Potter was referencing the decision reached at Rochdale Coroner’s Court which said two-year-old boy Awaab Ishak died following prolonged exposure to mould –  three years after his parents first complained about damp in their one-bed Rochdale Boroughwide Housing association flat.

It also follows a statement issued in December 2022 when district leader, Cllr Stephen Cooksey, said he would write to Clarion Housing to address “widespread issues of mould and damp problems” and urged the association to give the problem “higher priority”.

He said he was “fully supportive” of the Housing Ombudsman’s report – where Clarion Housing was one of the six housing associations highlighted for multiple failings of damp and mould, complaint handling and record-keeping.

Cllr Caroline Salmon who presented the local authority housing fund report to the committee agreed that there has been an issue with damp and that efforts were underway to remedy the situation in Mole Valley.

The Lib Dem member for Beare Green said: “Clarion have been trying to improve damp, and we’ve been working with them too. There have been some really good changes.”

The meeting was wound up with the select committee chairperson, Cllr Joanna Slater, recommending that cabinet moves forward with the proposals with a preference for freehold housing and a discussion over the choice of partners.

A Clarion Housing spokesperson said: “Members of our senior management team recently met with cabinet members of Mole Valley District Council to outline Clarion’s strategy to address the conditions of a small number of our properties in the region, including issues with leaks, damp, condensation, and mould.  Housing for refugees was part of the discussion and we look forward to working closely with the council to provide essential housing for those in need.  We at Clarion are determined to resolve condensation, damp and mould in our homes promptly and effectively. 

“As part of this effort, we have increased the ways residents can get in touch with us to report it and are investing an additional £5 million annually to tackle the issue, including hiring 100 new staff – which will include specialist surveyors and new Resident Liaison Officers to deal specifically with leaks, condensation, damp and mould cases.”

Each year the Council formally recognises a member of the Epsom and Ewell community who goes above and beyond in a voluntary and/or campaigning capacity. The Active Citizen award is within the incumbent Mayor’s gift. The individuals are permanently recorded on a special citation within the Town Hall and receives a medal at the evening reception honouring volunteers from across the borough.

Photo: Anne and Clive Richardson (left) with the Mayor and Mayoress of Epsom and Ewell

So it is with great pleasure we congratulate Epsom Rotarians Anne and Clive Richardson being awarded the Epsom & Ewell Borough Council Active Citizens Award by the Mayor of Epsom & Ewell Cllr Clive Woodbridge. The award was made during the evening of 10 March 2023 at the Mayor’s Civic reception. Anne and Clive  have given much of their time to help with many local charities through Epsom Rotary Club and are active within the Epsom & Ewell Twinning Association.

Photograph Competition Open to Scouting and Guiding Groups

Each year Epsom Rotary hold a club photography Competition open to Scouting and Guiding Groups. This year the theme is the built environment and entries are welcome by the end of March 2023.  For details of how to enter, visit the website :

https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=892508&ClubID=874

Epsom & Ewell FC 2-1 Montpelier Villa. Southern Combination League – Division One. Saturday 11th March 2023

Some days they go in and some days they don’t! Saturday’s meeting with Montpelier Villa definitely fits into the latter category as we dominated proceedings throughout almost all of the match, creating a number of chances. However, only two of those were converted and it led to a bit of a nervy ending before we were able to properly celebrate clinching all three points.

With no information released by the club since Anthony Jupp resigned as Manager, but was then appointed Director of Football, it is still unclear whether Matt Chapman has the job now, or whether the club still intend to advertise for a replacement, or maybe have someone in mind. Either way, Chapman was in charge again for this match and despite the occasional flat period, we were good value for this win. Tom Theobald returned in goal, while Steve Springett came in at left back making his 50th appearance in place of the absent Kevin Moreno-Gomez. In fact we had three new defenders this week as Chris Boulter and Ollie Thompson were not available either, so Alex Penfold and Nick Wilson came in at the back and both looked solid there, even if Wilson would be somewhat harshly penalised later when being adjudged guilty of a foul in the penalty area.

Up front we were almost the same as for the Godalming match with one notable exception; Jamie Byatt coming into the starting eleven for the absent Mario Quiassaca and although Quiassaca had played fairly well on Tuesday, we just do not possess another goal scorer like the ageless Byatt. It is no surprise that he was part of the reason why we were able to cause so many threats in this match as everyone knows where he will be!

The match started off in a rather odd fashion when Penfold picked up the ball, explaining to the referee that he thought it was damaged! Luckily the referee saw common sense and the game restarted once the ball had been checked!

We pushed the visitors back in the early stages and the concern on the visitors bench was clear with many instructions being given out. Athan Smith-Joseph worked a clever one-two with Byatt, but his final delivery was beyond his incoming teammates. This was followed up by a good run from the right by Jaevon Dyer who set up Jaan Stanley for a low strike that was fairly comfortably saved.

However, we took the lead in the 18th minute in rather “Sunday League” circumstances as a long ball from (I think) Theobald straight up the middle was chased by Smith-Joseph who just got a toe to the ball ahead of the advancing Toby Gardner in the Villa goal, diverting it into the path of Byatt who finished off into the open net from inside the six yard box. The Villa Management tried to gee their young team up, but seven minutes later we doubled our lead and this came from the wing play of Dyer who beat his man and cut in before laying the ball back to Stanley, who flicked the ball on for Smith-Joseph to tap in from a yard.

A tactical substitution followed for the visitors in an attempt to stop the damage and in the 29th minute they were back in the game, admittedly against the run of play when Wilson was adjudged to have brought down a striker. Mayckoi Sabino tucked away the penalty, giving Theobald no chance and it was 2-1. If someone had told me at that point that we’d already seen all the goals for the day I’d have been extremely surprised, but that is how it turned out.

It wasn’t for the want of trying though. Stanley saw his shot from Byatt’s pull back well saved by Gardner and then in injury time Dyer’s ball in was inches away from a full stretch Byatt.

The second half also started with a strange incident as Sabino was grappling with Gideon Acheampong for the ball. It was a physical battle and our man ended up on the deck with a free kick awarded in our favour, but for some reason the yellow card was waved at Sabino, when I really couldn’t see any reason for it.

In the 56th minute after some more pressure Dyer just got his toe to the ball ahead of a challenge which then took him out in the penalty area, but he then blotted his copybook by sending the penalty Harry Kane style, just over the bar to the keeper’s right! Byatt then headed over from eight yards before a much better downward header forced Gardner into a smart near post save with his legs.

After 68 minutes he gave way to new signing Lewis Pearch and the new man had a good opportunity in the 74th minute when a clever pass put him through, only for his shot to hit Gardner’s right hand post with Ryan Smith striking the loose ball into the side netting from a wider angle.

Despite the chances being missed, we were still well in control and just needed to see the game out sensibly, which made it all the more frustrating when Gavin Quintyne spoilt his good performance with a comment to the referee that earned him his second visit to the sin bin in five matches. This was worrying because we absolutely couldn’t afford to drop any points in this fixture, particularly after being so much in the ascendancy. Luckily we were still well in control through this period and Stanley was really unlucky to see his piledriver from over thirty yards just dip over the bar, clipping the top of the netting.

We added George Owusu and Owen Higgins also came on after some time out, although Higgins was guilty of a clumsy foul just outside the penalty area in the 92nd minute, which was a concern until Sabino sent it flying over our crossbar. Stanley, by now playing at left back after an injury to Springett had forced him off, and our final sub Theo Lukyamuzi both picked up yellow cards for time wasting and you wondered whether these would have happened had we scored a third goal earlier in the match. Lukyamuzi forced a final decent save out of Gardner in the 98th minute and finally after eight extra minutes we were all able to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Everyone in the ground knew we had been the better team and we were more than worthy of the win, but it was one of those matches where you just couldn’t quite relax until it was all over!

Six matches, or more likely eight matches remain as we continue to aim for promotion and with Shoreham remaining four points ahead and holding a game in hand with a far superior goal difference, we have to be sensible here and accept that second place is a more realistic target. Still, we kept on course for that spot and on another day we might have substantially boosted our goal difference. Maybe next time!

Epsom & Ewell: Tom Theobald, Gideon Acheampong, Steve Springett, Ryan Smith (c), Alex Penfold, Nick Wilson, Jaevon Dyer, Gavin Quintyne, Jamie Byatt, Jaan Stanley, Athan Smith-Joseph

Subs: Lewis Pearch for Byatt (68), George Owusu for Dyer (86), Owen Higgins for Springett (91) Theo Lukyamuzi for Smith-Joseph (93)

Sutton & Epsom RFC 34 v Bracknell 24. Saturday 11th March.

The modern league fixture list has a marvellous symmetry as it ends against the opponent one
played on the opening day of the season. Way back in September that meant a journey to Lily Hill
Park to play Bracknell for the first time since the 2009-10 season. A lot of players have crossed the
whitewash since then, and too many of them have been S&E’s opponents, and 22 games later the
season has ended. Perhaps the omens were not so favourable on Day 1 as once again as with
those former times the Black & Whites were facing the denouement of the campaign having
already been relegated from Level 5. On 10 th April 2010 the team bid a fond farewell by thrashing
North Walsham 55-15 and on this occasion Sutton & Epsom put in a rousing performance to sign
off with a 34-24 triumph over Bracknell.
The game certainly had the feeling of the end of an era as James Caddy led out the side for his
allegedly last appearance. Joining the stalwart back row in the departure lounge were George
Drye, Sam Hurley and Jamie See, all of whom have been superb servants of the club and were
instrumental in the recent rise to National 2. In addition, it was certainly a red-letter day for Chris
Pointing as he celebrated his 100 th 1 st XV league appearance.
Despite the aforesaid reasons for one last Herculean effort S&E started the match in the worst
possible manner. The unfathomable slow start that has become the byword of this season reared
its ugly head again. In front of a crowd in excess of 250 Bracknell ruthlessly exposed the early
Sutton frailties. The opening ten minutes hinted at an unpalatable drubbing for the Black & Whites.
The outstanding Bracknell Number 8 Ken Hodgson was rampaging round Rugby Lane and soon
scythed through the defence to set up Simon Bayliss for a try in the corner. Moments later the
backtracking Robbie Martey cut out an assist but was shown a yellow card. With the man
advantage the Berkshire men went blind exploiting another defensive oversight and Simon Bayliss
strolled in for his second. On this occasion Ollie Radford added the conversion for 12-0.
As the Fab Four might have considered that the fairy tale ending to their careers was being
penned by the Brothers Grimm Sutton scored. Freddy Bunting intercepted a pass in his own half
and ran it back. He added the conversion for S&E to trail 7-12. The Rugby Lane men had woken
from their slumber and began to defend with urgency. The Bracknell backs who had enjoyed time
and space in the first quarter were being pressed on the gain line and all over the pitch Sutton
tackled with a ferocity and zeal that lifted the crowd. Robbie Martey returned and was soon on the
action making a vital mark on a dangerous cross-field kick. A couple of infringements and the
Bunting boot put the hosts in the corner for a 5-metre lineout. The ball was secured and the pack
did the necessary and George London scored. Freddy Bunting made light of the challenging
conversion and the Black & Whites led 14-12.
What had looked like a relaxing end of season jaunt for the visitors had been transformed and the
hosts had not finished. On the half hour the S&E pack once more lined up for another 5-metre
lineout. Lightning was to strike twice and with meritorious efficiency Will Lloyd forced his way over.
Freddy Bunting thumped over the conversion as the jubilant crowd roared their appreciation for
the 21-12 lead. Aged followers tried to recall if they had seen their team lead at the break. The Lily
Hill Park team rather taken aback by the effrontery of three scores conceded without reply
threatened to end the half as it had begun. Scrum half Franklin Lewis took a quick penalty 40
metres out. Desperate defence saw Sutton fling themselves on a loose ball but a knock on gave
Bracknell a scrum 15 metres out under the posts. From this prime platform to attack Ben Tame
and Jamie See made crucial tackles before Ken Hodgson was held up over the line. Five minutes
later the referee drew the first half to a close when Ollie Radford’s promising run ended when he

was bundled into touch. Sutton turned around 21-12 to the good after a Jekyll and Hyde
performance in the first period.
The second half got under way with the visitors having the advantage of the wind and keen to be
the first to add to their tally on the scoreboard. An early Bracknell break was followed by a probing
kick that was gathered by a wonderful sliding take by Robbie Martey 5 metres from his line.
Having cleared the ball Sutton continued their fine form of the first period. The hosts spread the
ball wide after powerful carries by the forwards and forced the visitors onto the defensive. Both
sides were showing great defensive resolve as thunderous tackling all over the pitch thwarted the
best attacking efforts of all concerned. The match ebbed and flowed until a long clearance from
Freddy Bunting was taken near the touchline on halfway. The initial chaser was too easily stepped
and the defensive support was inadequate. A surging run down the touchline and a simple pass
inside saw lock George Jupp score. Ollie Radford impressively bisected the uprights as Bracknell
trailed 19-21.
There was hardly any time for the crowd to contemplate the two-point deficit before the next
score. And what a score it was by Robbie Martey. Any self-doubt in the Black & White ranks was
instantly extinguished as the winger jinked and weaved his way through would be tacklers and
outpaced the cover to score Sutton’s try of the season. The conversion drifted wide as the hosts
led 26-19. Next it was Jamie See’s turn to sidestep his way down the pitch and the Rugby Lane
team were awarded a penalty. Wisely they opted for the kick at goal and Freddy Bunting extended
the lead to 29-19. Sutton had a ten-point lead with ten minutes left on the clock.
Perhaps the largest roar of the day greeted Chris Pointing coming off the bench for his 100 th 1 st XV
league appearance. There have been too many near misses and eleventh hour tragedies this
season for the Black & Whites and the crowd urged on the team to dig deep. The XV responded in
great style. Ross Parsons made a break and the pack powered in behind him to advance the ball
to the Bracknell line. It was the Berkshire men’s turn to show superb defence and frustrate the
Surrey men by holding them up over the line. However, Sutton gathered the drop out and
countered. The ball went wide to replacement Ciaran Mohr who finished with aplomb squeezing in
at the corner he stretched for the line to score despite a superb covering tackle. S&E led 34-19 as
the game entered time added on.
There was no let up in the action as Sutton again attacked. Even in the opposition 22 the hosts
tackled as if they were on their own line as they denied them any space to counter. In the end it
was a kick and chase by Noah Cannon that almost secured a fourth try and a bonus point for the
Lily Hill Park team. Once again Robbie Martey was on hand to touch down. In was a temporary
respite as moments later Noah Cannon decided on a more direct approach. He sped down the
blindside delivered a jolting palm off and scored in the corner. The conversion drifted wide and Mr
Foster blew the final whistle and Sutton had won 34-24.
It was a rousing end to a disappointing season and a fitting farewell to Messrs Caddy, Drye, Hurley
& See. It was the best Sutton performance of the season in a match where Bracknell started in
irresistible style and threatened to run away with the game. For the visitors Ken Hodgson was at
the heart of everything and a constant threat. For S&E it was a wonderful team performance. The
commitment to the cause was mightily impressive whether it was the tackling in defensive duties
or the ball-carrying by the pack or the Bunting boot. When it was needed Robbie Martey added
that sprinkling of magic on an afternoon when the Black & Whites were not to be denied. The
league season may have ended but a new Cup competition follows in the weeks to come. The
draw will occur next week and the date and opposition for this match will be posted in due course
on the club website.
Sutton & Epsom

Alex Mawdsley, Robbie Martey, Lawrence Elliott, Freddy Bunting, Sam Hurley, Jamie See, Ross
Parsons, Tom Boaden, Chris Farrell, Will Lloyd, George Drye, Josh Glanville, Ben Tame, George
London, James Caddy ©.
Replacements: (all used) Alex Mount, Chris Pointing & Ciaran Mohr
Bracknell
Alex Frame, Simon Bayliss, Daniel Mays, Oliver Radford, Alexander Fieldhouse, Matthew Outson,
Franklin Lewis, Ruairi Henderson, Bradley Walters, Nicholas Ovens, Thomas Scott, George Jupp,
James Johnson, Liam Wood, Ken Hodgson.
Replacements: (all used) Jasper Miranda, Joseph Maybey & Noah Cannon.

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

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

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

_{Local Plan meeting attendance and question form.}

Related reports:

Epsom and Ewell Local Plan meeting times

Mole Valley Local Plan paused: official

Epsom & Ewell Borough Council Draft Local Plan.

Green-belters seeing red on Local Plan?

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

A parent fought back tears as he told a Epsom and Ewell Borough Council’s planning committee he thought someone was going “to be injured or killed” as councillors approved a series of applications for a family attraction. Hobbledown Farm in Epsom made five planning applications to its local council, some for works that had already been carried out.

Councillors called the attraction “a great asset” to the borough but also voiced frustrations that applications were coming to them for things that had already been done.

When the applications were last brought to Epsom and Ewell Borough Council’s planning committee in October, councillors deferred their decision and asked Hobbledown representatives to come back with a flood assessment for the site.

The meeting heard council officers were “content” with answers that had come back on the flooding risk after two rounds of consultation with the Environment Agency and with the lead local flood flood authority. But as well as concerns around an increased risk of flooding for neighbours, the vice chair of Clarendon Park Residents’ Association spoke at the meeting on behalf of residents in the estate next to the farm.

Alex Duval had been told he could not speak on all five applications at once, and was not able to stay for the whole meeting because he needed to get his nine-year-old child home for bed. But speaking as part of the consideration on a new overflow car park, and before an item on lorry deliveries on McKenzie Way, which he said residents were “most worried about”, Mr Duval set out the issues.

He claimed his car had been nearly hit by a reversing lorry there recently and that a two metre high fence that had just been approved by councillors retrospectively meant lorries coming out could not see as they exited. Clearly emotional, he said: “I’ll just say it as it is: completely unacceptable. My son has had to go out into the road, I’m going to try not to be really upset about it, to go round lorries coming out from that site into oncoming traffic and it’s not acceptable. It is not acceptable for anyone living on Clarendon Park.”

He paused, saying he could not even read his prepared notes any more. Again having to cut short his speech and close to tears, the father said: “Some resident, or a resident’s child, is going to be injured or killed, when [deliveries] could have been controlled on the other side [of the site].”

Cllr Jan Mason (Residents’ Association, Ruxley) said she had been talking to residents who had raised concerns about lorries using the McKenzie way entrance. She had also previously said an application for a gas tank holder on the site was “an accident waiting to happen” though councillors were reminded that this would be a matter for the Health and Safety Executive and not for planning.

The planning applications put in for the site, which is in the green belt and next to Horton Country Park, were:

• A retrospective application for timber and netting outdoor play structures, three bounce pillows and a lorikeet enclosure.
• Putting in a new “shepherd’s hut” toilet block.
• A retrospective application for timber fencing around the farm, the relocation of entrance gates and the installation of a gas tank holder.
• A variation of a condition on previously granted planning permission to allow part of the site to be used for over-flow car parking at the busiest times.
• A variation of a condition to let deliveries to the farm shop and cafe enter the site via McKenzie Way.

All the applications were approved, with the chair using a casting vote on a second attempt to approve the gas tank holder.

Councillors were told by officers that the fact applications were retrospective was not material consideration, despite many expressing their frustrations on them.

A representative for Hobbledown said management changes at the attraction had been made and they were working to “resolve any planning breaches at the site”. Bob Neville said meetings had been held between the applicant and senior planning officers at the council to try and respond to concerns.

He told the meeting: “We hold our hands up. There have been planning breaches that have occurred on the site. What we’re doing now is working pro-actively to resolve those issues going forward.”

After the overflow car park was approved, Cllr Mason was heard to say: “They’ve won again.”

Speaking on that item she had previously said: “We’re not Chessington World of Adventures. This is on a local nature reserve and I think we should remember that.”

The Specsavers Surrey Youth Games is kicking off next month, with a wide range of activities available in Epsom & Ewell. The Games are the largest multi-sport youth programme of their kind in the South East, offering FREE local training for 7-16 year olds across Surrey, leading to a final celebratory event for the whole family. 

The Games are for beginners who may not get the opportunity to attend clubs, or are put off by the thought of initially competing against others. Supportive coaches will help participants join in, have fun, learn new skills and boost their confidence. 

Registration is now open for the free training sessions across a range of activities, which start after Easter and are aimed at those who live or go to school in the borough. All teams then unite for a family-friendly event at the Surrey Sports Park in Guildford on Saturday 17 June.

Councillor Alex Coley, Chair of the Community and Wellbeing Committee, said “This is a wonderful initiative that provides a great opportunity for young people who are still building their confidence in sport to access training free of charge, as well as gain a feeling of belonging in their local setting. I encourage all those who might benefit from the training to take a look at what’s on offer”

You can find out what’s on offer in the Epsom & Ewell borough and register for a place by visiting www.epsom-ewell.gov.uk/syg

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks to the British Pie Association.

^{Image – Oddbodz – CC BY-SA 3.0}

A new, covered footbridge will replace the existing structure at Stoneleigh station, providing full access via lifts or stairs to the central platform from both sides of the station. New lighting and security cameras will be installed on and around the lifts and bridge. The existing bridge structure will be removed, with the ticket office sited on the central island platform.

Network Rail and South Western Railway have been working together with Epsom and Ewell Borough Council to get this scheme off the ground. The council has provided a £500k funding contribution to the project from its Community Infrastructure fund.

A prior approval planning application was sent to and approved by the council in May 2022.

Network Rail estimate work will start on site – spring 2023 and enter into service Spring 2024.

Next up but one up the line Motspur Park will get a similar revamp and if cross-rail is ever built those trains will stop there.

Epsom & Ewell Borough Council has launched an anti-littering campaign, aimed at reducing litter throughout the borough. The campaign will focus on hotspots including Epsom train station, Epsom and Ewell town centres, and the borough’s parks. 

The Council’s team of Environmental Enforcement Officers, who work in partnership with Surrey Police, will patrol the borough on foot or in a marked council vehicle and may warn people at risk of being fined or issue a Fixed Penalty Notice of £100.

The latest virtual recruit to the Council’s Environmental Enforcement team is the famous image of Lord Kitchener, created by British graphic artist Alfred Leete. Posters will be displayed around the borough and used on social media, instructing potential litterlouts to bin their litter or take it home – or risk a penalty fine.

Littering is a criminal offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 sections 87/88.

A Fixed Penalty Notice will be issued to any person who is witnessed littering, including:

•               Throwing away food wrappers or uneaten food

•               Dropping chewing gum

•               Discarding cigarette butts

Councillor John Beckett, Chair of the Environment and Safe Communities Committee, said: “Dropping litter is an issue for several reasons. It can take years to degrade, causing harm to wildlife and habitats. Food which is discarded by people attracts vermin such as rats and feral pigeons. 

“Research has also shown that people can feel less safe in areas that are littered. Poor levels of cleanliness have been found to be associated with an increase in social disorder and crime.

“Epsom & Ewell Borough Council is committed to reducing incidents of littering within the borough, to ensure that Epsom & Ewell is a pleasant place to live and to visit, that feels safe.”

Epsom and Ewell’s Local Plan is at risk of even further delay after councillors from the ruling Residents’ Association (RA) proposed pausing the process in the face of fierce opposition to proposed Green Belt development.

Seven RA councillors are proposing that development of the Local Plan is paused and have triggered an extraordinary council meeting, which is due to take place on 22 March. The meeting was arranged a few days after a protest against Green Belt development in Epsom town centre, which organisers have said involved over 200 demonstrators.

The Plan is currently subject to public consultation, which is set to run until 19 March.

Local elections will take place on 4 May.

Councillor Eber Kington (Residents’ Association, Ewell Court Ward), who will propose the motion, said: “My view is that a pause will enable the Borough Council to assess the responses from residents to the public consultation and review any new information on brownfield sites.”

However, it is not clear what impact the “pause” would have. Assessing responses to a consultation is part of the normal process for developing a Local Plan and the motion expressly states that this should continue.

Cllr Kington added that a pause would also allow the council to re-examine brownfield sites previously designated as non-viable.

The council did not include the Longmead Industrial Estate or the Kiln Lane area brownfield sites that Chris Grayling (MP) has suggested could be used to meet housing need, in its list of sites for potential development.

Councillor Kate Chinn (Leader of the Labour Group, Court Ward) said: “It is unbelievable that this RA council has spent years formulating a Local Plan; bringing in consultants to give advice and briefings; tasking officers to spend hours to formulate the plan; spending thousands of pounds and now there are several of their own members deciding it isn’t what they wanted. It would be expected they would have agreed more of a consensus before reaching this late stage.”

Councillor Julie Morris (Leader of the Liberal Democrats Group, College Ward) accused the RA of overturning “its own decisions very quickly but particularly when there’s an election looming”. She also said that last December, she had asked Cllr Steven McCormick (Residents Association, Woodcote Ward), chair of the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee, to put a “short delay” to the public consultation on a meeting agenda, but the suggestion was not taken up. “They plodded on”, she said, “and tried to keep the whole thing secret”.

In January, the council voted unanimously to launch the public consultation on the Plan. Cllr Morris said: “The reason that I voted for public consultation was that it [the Local Plan] needed to be out there. The RA has gone to such lengths to keep everything quiet.”

The Draft Local Plan sets out nine sites for potential development in the borough; five are on Green
Belt land. Green Belt land includes areas of countryside that are protected from development in
order to prevent urban sprawl and encourage development within existing built-up areas.

Cllr Kington also said: “Crucially we need to understand the Government’s new legislative proposals,
which are due to be published in May, so that we can factor the new Government’s new approach
into our own plans.”

The proposals set to be published in May are undergoing consultation, including on a revision that
states that “Green Belt boundaries are not required to be reviewed and altered if this would be the
only means of meeting the objectively assessed need for housing over the plan period”.

After Mole Valley District Council wrote to the planning inspectorate asking to remove all Green Belt
sites from its own Local Plan, the inspector agreed to delay hearings until May.

Cllr Kington added: “Finally, we have to continue to campaign against the Government’s continuing
requirement for councils to use 2014 data to develop a 2023 Local Plan. If 2018 data were used, the
number of required homes could be met by the use of brown field sites alone.”

Currently, the Local Plan is due to be adopted in Spring 2025. This would see it miss the government
target of all local authorities having an up-to-date Plan by the end of 2023 – and make it the last
local council in Surrey to adopt a new Plan.

Related Reports

Public meeting on Local Plan

Mole Valley Local Plan paused: official

Can Epsom and Ewell get more dense?

Residents aroused by “sleeping” residents?

Jeremy Hunt MP has said it is “disappointing” that plans to drill for oil and gas in Dunsfold have not been “formally shelved” altogether. The Chancellor of the Exchequer issued the statement after the High Court ruled the government-approved exploratory drilling in his South West Surrey constituency would go to Judicial Review.
The High Court ordered the review on the grounds that there was “inconsistency in decision-making” by Secretary of State Michael Gove, and that Dunsfold bordered the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – where great weight should be placed on “conserving and enhancing landscape and scenic beauty”.

Mr Hunt, who has campaigned against the planning application in Dunsfold before, said: “Despite the latest judicial review, it is again disappointing that plans for this potential gas exploration have not been formally shelved. The idea of drilling on this beautiful area continues to be inappropriate – what’s more UKOG’s data and mapping of the sub-surface is sparse, old and simply not detailed enough. I hope to meet with Protect Dunsfold again later this month to continue discussions.”

The Conservative MP has form in the matter. In June 2022 he wrote that DLUHC’s decision to overturn Surrey County Council’s initial refusal was “bitterly disappointing and wrong both economically and environmentally”.
He also wrote a letter to Housing Secretary Michael Gove that said the project had  been strongly opposed by both county council and “the entire local community”, going as far as accusing DLUHC of “ignoring the strength of local opinion”.

After news of the judicial review broke, UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) issued a statement to the London Stock Exchange.
It said: “Mr Justice Lane, dismissed five of the opponent’s grounds seeking to reverse the Secretary of State’s grant of planning consent as being unarguable. Two remaining grounds were given leave to be argued at a further hearing at some time in the future, as yet unknown.”

It added that full planning and environmental consents remain in force.

Stephen Sanderson, UKOG’s chief executive, said: “The company’s legal team remains robustly confident that following the extensive Loxley public inquiry, the secretary of state’s decision to grant planning consent was thoroughly considered and entirely lawful. Consequently, we will continue to move our project ahead.”

On International Women’s Day Surrey University announce a prize winner among its female academics.

Online technologies to help neurodivergent people successfully enter the workforce are being developed at the University of Surrey, led by Dr Alison Callwood, in a project that has seen her win one of Innovate UK’s ‘Women in Innovation’ awards. 

 The Generating Neurodiverse Inclusion Selection (GENIUS) project will explore what communication methods and personalisation options could be used to optimise access and performance in online interviews and assessments for those with neurodiverse conditions such as autism, ADHD, and dyslexia.  

Dr Alison Callwood, GENUIS project lead and Senior Lecturer in Integrated Care at the University of Surrey, said:  

“Approximately 15 to 20 per cent of the UK population is neurodivergent. The unfairness they experience in the recruitment field is unjustified. Tackling this issue will not only improve the working lives of neurodivergent people by unlocking the valuable contribution they can make, but it will also boost the economy by helping address the rising number of unfilled positions in the workforce. 

“I am delighted to receive this award which includes a £50,000 grant. The support it offers is invaluable to this project.” 

This project will build on previous work by Dr Callwood who has developed the successful interview tool SAMMI which reduces bias and provides robust, reliable, and cost-efficient interviews and assessments for employers.  

Helping to further the project, the funding awarded to Dr Callwood will give her access to tailored business coaching, mentoring and a wide range of networking and training opportunities designed to help grow this innovative project.  

Professor Paul Townsend, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, said:  

 “Congratulations to Alison on winning this award. Being one of only 50 recipients of this prize, shows the strength of her project and her hard work and dedication in this field. Her skills and the diversity of her career are valued greatly here at Surrey, and I am proud to have her in our team.” 

 Indro Mukerjee, CEO, Innovate UK, the United Kingdom’s innovation agency,  

“We are proud to support this group of trailblazing women who are changing the world through the power of their ideas. Their innovations underpin solutions inspired by societal and environment challenges, as well as their own lived experiences. I hope their stories will encourage and inspire others to follow their lead.” 

The government’s hospitals programme has been called the “HS2 of hospitals” as “quite intense” discussions continue about how to take it forward.

Epsom and St Helier had its plan for a new site agreed by the NHS in 2020, with an original date for opening set at 2025, now pushed back to 2027 “at the earliest”. A health liaison panel at Epsom and Ewell Borough Council heard from James Blythe, managing director at the trust, who said adapting the current buildings to modern healthcare standards was becoming “increasingly difficult year on year”.

The national programme was announced as delivering 40 hospitals by 2030, with Epsom and St Helier one of eight “pathfinder” hospitals due to be at the top of the list, Mr Blythe told the meeting. But he said there were “quite intense discussions” going on at government level about the programme and how to take it forward.
Mr Blythe said: “What the government, the Treasury and the Department [of Health], are working through is basically how do you go about building 40 hospitals? Clearly what don’t you do is say to 40 schemes: ‘Go and design something completely different, go out to the construction market and try and procure it.’

“This has sort of now become the HS2 of hospitals. Let’s think about how we do this as a single scheme. Let’s think about how we do this consistently, how we procure consistently, how we design consistently.”

With St Helier hospital “very evidently crumbling” and problems with buildings at the Epsom site too, the trust plans to build a new specialist emergency care hospital on the old Sutton Hospital site, next to the Royal Marsden Hospital. Mr Blythe said: “We know that if we build a modern hospital to modern standards, we can do better for our patients, including local Epsom residents.”

But he said with the move from one financial year into the next, there were questions about where future works might sit in relation to other capital projects. He added: “Clearly what the construction market can’t take is 40 new hospital schemes trying to do the same thing at the same time.”

The meeting also heard that the trust was expecting feedback on its plans “very soon”, hoping it would then be able to get on with the planning process. Mr Blythe said: “As you can imagine, planning for a hospital which is going on to the land adjacent to Royal Marsden in Belmont in a mature and developed residential area, that planning process will not be insignificant. So we know that that will take some time”

Epsom and Ewell Borough Councillor Liz Frost (Residents’  Association, Woodcote Ward) asked about plans for the new multi-storey car park due to be built at the Epsom site, which was granted planning permission on appeal in December. She said she received a lot of complaints about roads surrounding the hospital being clogged up as people queued for spaces.

Cllr Frost said: “I have in the past spent quite a lot of time at Epsom Hospital when car parking has been horrendous and everybody was turning up late for clinics because they couldn’t actually get in.”

Mr Blythe said work should start in the autumn to build the new car park, and that options being looked at to minimise disruption during the nine-month build included possible park and ride schemes and using town centre car parks.

Saying he would bring back a plan later in the year for how the project would be handled, Mr Blythe also said the “flip side” was parking should be “substantially better once it’s built”.

He added: “We’re hoping that by [building the new car park] we will prevent some of the build-up of traffic from backing up into the town centre, which has sadly been a feature of the hospital for the last few years.”

Related reports:

Pay black hole takes £2.2M Epsom Hospital funds

Epsom Hospital multi-storey car park rises

Epsom Hospital’s multi storey carpark wrong on many levels?

Epsom Hospital car park appeal

Local hospital’s building woes