Jonathan Lees

Despite the cold weather, shoppers readily stopped to sign the “Blue Badge - Think Again” petition sponsored by the Liberal Democrats in Epsom High Street on Saturday.

We think this is a poorly thought-out proposal that attacks the most vulnerable in our community. It won’t raise any extra cash if Blue Badge holders simply park in the street, which they are allowed to do for up to 3 hours, even on yellow lines. Given the predicted costs of adapting the car parks, it could be years before the income from charges imposed on Blue Badge holders recovers the investment needed to make the changes.

It seems to me that the Residents Association Councillors have proved once again that they are clearly losing touch with public opinion. With more than 80 people per hour signing the Liberal Democrat petition, it is clear that Epsom residents are appalled at the idea that some of our most vulnerable citizens will be charged for parking, even though they qualify for a Blue Badge.

We are campaigning for a fairer Britain. This proposal is mean spirited and a low blow to people who need a bit of help. It is a small price to pay to provide people who qualify for a Blue Badge with this small benefit.

Horton Water Tower will be auctioned with a guide price of £100,000 at Allsop’s sale in London on Wednesday 17th February at The Cumberland Hotel.London & Quadrant Housing Association, who bought the Tower for £1, failed in their bid to gain planning permission late last year and now appear to want to capitalise on the building. A planning permission given some years ago is about to expire, but these proposals cannot be built anyway because of the more recent development around the Tower.

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The long-awaited Planning Application for the West Park site on the hospital cluster has at last been registered with the council. A total of 369 new homes are proposed, though two parts of the site would still be retained by the NHS.

The main application 09/00971/RES comprises 369 new residential dwellings, of which 149 would be “affordable” dwellings intended either for rental through a Housing Association or for shared equity schemes. In addition a separate application 09/00969/LBA proposes to convert the listed water tower into 4 dwellings, with a third application 09/00968/CAC covering demolition of existing buildings.

These documents can all be inspected between 8.50am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday either at the Town Hall or Bourne Hall, between 9.00am and 3.00pm on Saturdays at Bourne Hall and until 7.00pm on Thursdays 25 February and 25 March at the Town Hall.

Comments should be sent to Mr Jacy Yates in the Planning Department at the Town Hall, preferably to reach him by 19 February. The date when these applications will be considered by the Planning Committee is not yet known.

The Liberal Democrats have announced a major funding commitment that would boost education in Surrey. Nick Clegg has given a Liberal Democrat manifesto commitment for a Pupil Premium that would mean investing around £ 25m of extra cash in Surrey schools, raising the funding for disadvantaged pupils to private school levels.

I am delighted with this announcement. In one of the most prosperous areas of the country it’s nothing short of a scandal that children in Surrey have continued to lose out under Labour. Some of the schools here receive significantly less money than the national average and something must be done.

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This week I was at the Manor Park Residents Meeting where we discussed the adoption. “The adoption of Manor Park is getting closer”. Now there is a phrase that I have used a lot over the last few years. For over 10 years we have been waiting for the adoption of Manor Park by Surrey County Council. It has been one frustration after the other but it does seem to be getting closer - at last.

However it is not all good news. To secure the adoption as proposed by the developer (Charles Church) our Tory controlled County Council have given in. According to a letter from Charles Church:

Surrey County Council have confirmed acceptance of the proposals that we have forward in relation to the bus land and it is therefore out intention to work up the final detailed design.

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I attended the Wells Police Panel tonight as the Council representative. It was a good turnout where we were able to consider and act on the views of the local residents. There were two short presentations from Mid Surrey Mediation Project and from the Environment Department at the borough council.The meeting was hosted by PC Campbell who was assisted by myself.

The next meeting is 17th May 2010, 8pm at the Wells Centre if you would like to attend.

If you would like to know any further information then do email me.

A special meeting of the council has awarded the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment the Freedom of the Borough of Epsom & Ewell.

The meeting was only convened after opposition councillors outnumbered RA councillors in a vote to hold the meeting and after the latter had been subjected to widespread criticism in the national and local press for their failure to “honour” the Regiment.

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I was in Manor Park on Saturday afternoon with Cllrs Taylor and Pavey, talking to local residents about their local concerns. Issues raised stretched from the on-going frustration of the adoption to some streets where there are no pavements, however the majority of residents were happy.

In regards to the adoption one of the issues is that the Tory controlled County Council have failed to adopt the land after 10 years! The developers have not prepared the site to the condition that it needs to be in for the adoption and the County have given them too much ’slack’ in what they have accepted. We now find ourselves in a position where we are 10 years down the line, no adoption and the latest proposal in regards to the bus lane, from the developer, is a ‘dumbing down’ of the original proposals, as it saves money.

My concern as somebody that used to live on the estate for 6 years is that these ‘cheaper’ plans could have serious safety implications!

As councillors we are trying to ensure that safety is not affected.

The two main outstanding issues preventing adoption are the bus lane and the water / sewage systems.

It is quite wrong of local Conservatives to accuse our Council of not honouring our Armed Forces by not allowing them to march through our streets. In fact the Armed Forces have not actually asked to do so. Read the rest of this entry.