Dog ownership in Epsom and Ewell saw a big rise during the pandemic, especially among young families. Poodle mixtures being evidently the most popular varieties purchased. And sometimes for £1000 or more. The Epsom and Ewell Times invites you to submit photos of your dog in any of the open spaces we and our canine friends enjoy in the Borough. Please send in new photos taken outdoors during the cold spell.
Image: Freddie, a 9 year old male Labradoodle on Epsom Common on Sunday 11th December.
Send your photo with your name (let us know if you want anonymity or not), name, type, age and sex of dog and where and when the photo was taken.
Email to
admin@epsomandewelltimes.com
We will publish a gallery in the early New Year.
Thank you.
Surrey inspiration for writing and photography
Fanny Burney (1752-1840) lived and wrote in Surrey and was inspired by the area’s beautiful countryside and gardens in the Mole Valley area, particularly around Bookham, Mickleham and Box Hill. To celebrate Fanny Burney and the area she loved, Surrey Libraries and Surrey Heritage are pleased to announce our Photography Competition ‘Frances Burney’s Surrey’.
SHC would love to receive your photographs of places or buildings around Surrey, especially in the Mole Valley area, which were associated with Fanny Burney, or which inspire you today.
The competition is open from now until Sunday 22 January 2023. Submissions should be made online and emailed to leatherhead.library@surreycc.gov.uk and should have been taken during the competition period only.
We would also be pleased to receive printed entries, together with your contact information, at Leatherhead Library.
The winning entry will be announced in February 2023. The winner will receive an Amazon voucher for £50. Two runners-up will each receive an Amazon voucher for £25.
A selection of entries will be on display in Leatherhead Library from December 2022 onwards.
Over the last 20 years the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) has allowed finds made by metal detectorists in Surrey to be added both to the national database and the county’s Historic Environment Record (HER). Any groups of coins, groups of prehistoric metal objects or individual precious metal objects over 300 years old have also been required to be reported to the Coroner under the 1996 Treasure Act. This reporting process is undertaken by the county’s Finds Liaison Officer (FLO). The purpose of the Treasure Act is to provide museums with the chance to save important finds before they are lost to commercial auctions and to preserve them for local communities and public collections. Finders and landowners receive full financial reward for everything acquired as part of this process.
One recent discovery from Surrey which has been reported under this law, is a hoard of 28 silver Roman coins (denarii), found dispersed across a small area of equestrian pasture in the Elstead area (recorded as SUR-EA4D41 and SUR-0E4DC2). The coins were most likely originally buried in a bag or box which has long decayed and released its contents to be scattered by ploughing. These coins represent an unusual and significant find for the county and after being declared Treasure at Coroner’s Inquest were acquired by Godalming Museum, with financial assistance from Surrey Archaeological Society, Council for British Archaeology South-East and the V&A Purchase Grant Fund
Images and text courtesy of the Surrey History Centre
2030 vision for the elderly in Surrey
Surrey County Council sets out its vision for the care and living of the older generation by 2030. In 2021/2022 Adult Social Care in Surrey spent £506 million to support older people. This money helped over 5,600 older people and their unpaid carers. Money was also spent with voluntary organisations that support people in their community too. Adult Social Care also ensures services for information, advice and guidance are available to help people understand their care options and to make good care-related decisions.
The county of Surrey has a population which is getting older with people living longer than in other parts of the country. These changes mean that many more people are likely to be living alone, without support from their family. By 2030, the number of people aged 75+ predicted to be living alone will have increased by 27%. National reporting states that the number of unpaid carers 65 years old and over will increase by 17% from 2016 to 2025.
Dementia is most common amongst older people and in Surrey it is estimated that between 2020 and 2030 the overall number of people with dementia could increase by 28%, from 17,700 to 22,672.
In building the 2030 strategy SCC stated “We spoke to over 750 people living in Surrey. We worked with many diverse groups of Surrey residents of all ages including unpaid carers, care providers, partners, and colleagues. This took seven months and included workshops and surveys. We wanted to know what works well, what does not work well, what could be improved and what is important to our residents.”
The plan sets out all the ways SCC, working with its partners in the NHS, care sector and districts and boroughs, will support people to live and age well in Surrey over the next decade. At the heart of the plan is a commitment to improving opportunities and care choices in local communities so that older people can be as active and independent as they wish.
The council engaged with residents and their families, as well as staff and partners, to draw up the strategy – and is now seeking input to help shape how it’s put into practice.
The plan is centred around three priorities. They are:
Prevention – supporting people to lead healthy and independent lives in their local communities for as long as possible
Living independently – enabling people to live in their own homes with care and support tailored to their strengths, including through planned new extra care housing
Care homes – making sure that Surrey can offer the right mix of high quality care homes for those who need them
Working with partners, including the NHS in Surrey Heartlands and Frimley, as well as care providers and voluntary organisations across the county, the council has already achieved some key milestones in its plan.
These include:
signing a new contract for home care services so that people receive even better care in their own homes
enhancing its reablement service for people needing short-term care, such as after a hospital stay, through linking with specialist care workers
carrying out in-depth planning to help SCC and its partners meet the growing need for care home places catering for complex and challenging needs
The council’s keen to continue to gather residents’ and partners’ input as it works towards meeting the commitments in the plan. There will be opportunities to take part in workshops and surveys.
Anyone who has an interest in shaping services for older people can sign up via the web page or by calling 0300 200 1005, SMS (for the deaf or hard of hearing) 07527 182 861, text relay 18001 0300 200 1005 or BSL video relay.
Mark Nuti, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adults and Health, said: “Our ambition here in Surrey is that no one is left behind – we’re committed to helping those who need us most, and improving quality of life for everyone. We want older people to be able to lead independent and active lives for as long as possible in their own homes and communities and, if they need extra support, to receive tailored and dedicated care. Our Living Well in Later Life plan sets out how we will continue to modernise our services and work with our partners over the rest of the decade to enhance the lives of older people in Surrey. If you have an interest in shaping services for older people, please come forward and help us put our plan into practice.”
Additional reporting from Surrey County Council news service.
Council help for cost of living
Epsom & Ewell Borough Council (EEBC) is raising awareness of the range of support available to residents struggling with the cost of living crisis. The Council have created a dedicated page on the EEBC website, which pulls together information on what the Council and other local and national organisations can do to help in one place at www.epsom-ewell.gov.uk/cost-of-living .
Residents will find advice in a wide range of areas, including energy and housing payments, health costs, food, applying for benefits, employment support and local places to go to keep warm. There are also specific areas for families with children and older residents.
The Council will also be sharing information and money-saving tips through social media and other material out in the Borough to reach as many people as possible with the help available.
Councillor Alex Coley, (Residents Association- Ruxley Ward) Chair of the Community and Wellbeing Committee, “We are aware of the significant effects rising costs in all areas are having on people’s everyday lives in the Borough. We want to ensure that those who need help are aware of what support is available and are able to access it.”
“This campaign is an opportunity for the residents, charities, the Council and Councillors to work together to help each other through the current crisis. If you are affected by the cost of living crisis, please visit the Council’s webpage, look out for and engage with the advice on its social media and across the Borough or contact your ward Councillor to share your concerns. We’re all here to help.”
As Epsom and Ewell Borough Council is expected to publish a draft Local Plan in February 2023 Epsom and Ewell Times carries below an opinion piece authored by the Keep Epsom & Ewell Green Belt Group. We cannot confirm these campaigners’ contentions but we are happy to stimulate public discussion and interest through our pages. The Local Plan will shape for several years to come the decisions on new housing development locations in the Borough.
Opinion Piece:
Alarmed by well-sourced leaks, residents have decided to come out fighting early against joint landowner and developer discussions with Epsom & Ewell Borough Council (EEBC) to build hundreds of homes on the 110-acre Downs Farm, destroying forever one of the closest Green Belt sites to London.
Other Green Belt sites near Epsom’s Hook Arena and Horton Farm are also believed to be earmarked housing in the Local Plan process, and it is even feared that other areas within Epsom’s 42% of Green Belt land could also have been offered up and included.
Residents in Surrey’s already highest populated borough are so concerned that they are not waiting for what they say could be a flawed consultation process, expected in February.
Under Government pressure to deliver nearly 700 homes for each of the next 20 years, planning officers and councillors should instead be prioritising developer partnerships for an imaginative alternative “brownfield” core scheme, claims the residents’ campaign group.
However, following much-publicized Government climbdown guidelines announced this week by Secretary of State, Michael Gove, that top-down housing targets were to be “advisory only” and could be challenged by local authorities if the character of their area would be irrevocably changed, EEBC should be in no doubt, say residents, that Green Belt sites should be now removed from its Draft Local Plan.
By redeveloping the Kiln Lane/Longmead area closer to town centre facilities, “more starter and lower cost young family homes could be built – and bring much needed rejuvenation and job opportunity benefits. Yet there is little sign that the planners are engaging with developers on this opportunity, preferring the easier, but devastating, option of
building higher end housing on Green Belt fields.”
The borough-wide residents’ campaign, “Keep Epsom and Ewell Green Belt” involves social media, mass leaflet drops, a new petition (https://www.change.org/EpsomGreenBelt) and its own website(https://epsomgreenbelt.org/). Some residents may well stand as independent Green Belt candidates in the May elections.
‘Our advice is that once a site has been publicly designated as suitable by the Council in the Local Plan, public consultations rarely change what are perceived as “done deals” – and we are not simply prepared to stand by and let that happen. In 2019, EEBC listed Downs Farm as a Green Belt site not suitable for development, yet it now appears to conveniently ignore this just because the site has been offered up to them’ said Yufan Si, campaigner of Keep Epsom and Ewell Green Belt.
Downs Farm is a rare chalk grassland habitat for protected species such as skylarks and bats, with regular sightings of deer, redkite and pheasant.
“Destroying forever high quality Green Belt sites will result in mainly luxury houses. We are deeply disappointed that the Residents Association controlled EEBC appear set to prefer Green Belt desecration over redeveloping a core brownfield scheme in central Epsom. Properly phased, this could be promoted as a creative industries hub, focussed on the town’s University of Creative Arts centre for excellence. As well as a much better mix of around 5,000 affordable starter and rented homes for young families, this would provide job opportunities in a much-needed Epsom rejuvenation.”
The campaign group also points out keeping Green Belt spaces also helps sustainability and the UK commitment to net zero by 2030.
The Elmbridge Council Local Plan is cited as an example where the council and residents challenged unrealistic top-down government housing targets. It proposes redeveloped brownfield sites without any Green Belt destruction – despite having a greater proportion of Green Belt land (57%) than Epsom.
The residents’ campaign urges EEBC planners to quickly engage with brownfield developers using a £75,000 grant recently announced by the Government. Given its overriding remit to only prefer Green Belt development in “exceptional circumstances”, and the recentGovernment policy rethink on housing, this should be done before the draft Epsom Local Plan is issued in February, say residents.
“Keep Epsom and Ewell Green Belt” Campaign Group – for further information contact epsomgreenbelt@gmail.com
Epsom and Ewell and indeed the whole country has a real shortage of homes. We cannot go on with a generation of young people who aspire to home ownership but … READ MORE
Epsom and Ewell Borough Council (EEBC) has approved a delayed timeframe for the development of its new Local Plan, putting it behind both government targets and other Surrey councils, amid … READ MORE
Tim Murphy’s opinion piece on Epsom and Ewell’s Local Plan. An up-to-date Local Plan is a necessity. It indicates to those proposing new developments or conversions to properties just what … READ MORE
Epsom and Ewell Borough Council’s Licensing and Planning Policy Committee (LLPC) met on the 26th of May 2022 to agree on a timetable for consultation on drafting “The Local Plan”. … READ MORE
Council elastic on plastic?
In March 2019 Epsom and Ewell Council agreed to phase out its use of single-use plastics. How is it getting along? Judge for yourself from the reply of Councillor John Beckett (Residents Association – Auriol Ward) to a progress report demanded by Councillor Julie Morris (Liberal Democrat – College Ward) at the Council meeting 6th December.
The Chairman of the Environment and Safe Communities Committee reported:
“Since adopting the Single use Plastics Policy as part of the Climate Change Action Plan, the Council has been working to support the reduction in the use of single use plastics within its own operations and across the Borough. We have utilised our communications channels and public events to improve awareness and to support wider behaviour change of our residents and businesses. We installed refillable water stations in 6 of our parks and opens spaces and in our Market place, to encourage use of reusable water bottles,. We have also supported all non-food stall and dry food greengrocers at Epsom Market to stop using single use plastic carrier bags, run a reusable Tote bag giveaway event, and committed to making the Market place Single use Plastic free by April 2024. We have also reviewed the Council’s own operations to understand where we can reduce single use plastics. We have removed all plastic cups from our operational buildings, encouraging staff to use reusable bottles and cups. We replaced the depot’s old container-based water cooler with a plumbed-in version. We have also introduced segregated office recycling bins to enable improved recycling of plastics in our buildings. We have stopped buying plastic-based refreshment supplies where possible but where it hasn’t been possible to find a viable alternative, we are unfortunately having to continue to use that option. This does not mean that we will just accept the products but will continue to look at alternative options now and in the future. As the Climate Change Action Plan is a living document and with changes to industry constantly evolving, we will continue to review our operations for further opportunities to reduce the need for Single use Plastics. This work will also involve partnership working with Surrey County Council, through the Surrey Environment Partnership, to support the delivery of the Single-use Plastics Strategy for the whole of Surrey. Regarding the small milk pots which are currently used at the hot drink’s machines in the members room, council chamber and committee rooms, alternative options are being looked at with the intention for these to be discussed at the January Climate Change Working Group meeting. After an initial conversation with the councils recycling officer, it is believed that the material used in the pods might be the same as yogurt pots and the solution might be as simple as removing the foil lid and having a separate container for these to be recycled at these locations. Whilst we acknowledge it wasn’t called an audit a review has taken place of Single use Plastic use and subsequent action taken as highlighted in this reply. Since then, the issue of SuP and the 5 pledges have been incorporated into the climate change action plan and will continue to be picked up through delivery of the plan. These actions are also now robustly supported by incorporating SuP consideration into all our procurement processes. The climate change action plan has member oversight and officer resource attributed to secure its delivery and continuous review.”
Labour Councillor moves on housing
An affordable housing commitment was put off at yesterday’s meeting of Epsom and Ewell Borough Council. A motion proposed by Labour’s Court Ward Councillor Kate Chinn read: “We as the Labour Group move that in the Local Plan Epsom and Ewell Borough Council will specify a minimum requirement of 40% of affordable housing in each new housing development of 10 or more units (Use Class C3) of which at least 25% will be reserved for social rent and comply with the vacant building credit.”
The matter was referred back for further consideration by the Council’s Licensing, Planning and Policy Committee that next meets 19th January 2023.
A former Surrey Police Constable has been barred from the profession after turning up to work still smelling of alcohol from the night before. The force’s chief constable found that the former officer had committed gross misconduct and would have been dismissed from the force, had he still been serving.
An accelerated hearing held on November 7 found that former Police Constable Jurgen Lovbakke, who was based in Guildford, turned up for duty smelling of alcohol, which he had drunk the night before.
An outcome notice from Surrey Police said the breath readings were over the “prescribed limit of fitness for duty of 13mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath”. The force’s Chief Constable Gavin Stephens found that the PC Lovbakke’s actions amounted to gross misconduct. It was also found he had breached the standards of professional behaviour in relation to fitness for duty and discreditable conduct.
A Surrey Police statement said: “Had the officer still been serving, they would have been dismissed without notice and so they were placed on the College of Policing Barred list to prevent future employment in law enforcement or similar.”
Auriol school field for golden years?
Auriol School sports field in Cuddington is earmarked by Surrey County Council for 50 elderly care housing units. According to SCC: “The Cuddington site is ideally situated for Extra Care Housing and has been selected specifically for its location. The site will provide new homes in the form of 1-bedroom self-contained apartments. All of the homes will be accessible, with features designed for wheelchair users.
The accommodation has been designed around the constraints of the site and its neighbours but is still able to offer residents ready access to safe external space including landscaped gardens designed expressly to address the needs of older people; encouraging activity and promoting exercise, healthy living and wellbeing.
The design focuses on ensuring residents have sufficient space, both private and communal, and key to this have been considerations around accessibility. The development has been designed to ensure residents can remain in their homes as they grow older and/or as their needs change.”
SCC have plans for three other sites in the County. Mark Nuti, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adults and Health, said: “Our ambition is to bring affordable extra care housing to locations around Surrey and these four sets of proposals bring us a step closer. Not only would the schemes help older people live life to the full, they would also breathe new life into four community sites.”
SCC is holding a consultation exercise and if you want more information and to participate go to:
