Epsom Conservatives

First win in campaign against parking charges

2011-03-28T22:02:00.004+01:00

Epsom & Ewell Conservatives have secured an important concession in the County’s consultation on parking charges in the Borough.

We lobbied the leader of the council behind the scenes in frank exchanges. The result has been the announcement that the county’s default position for villages and small shopping parades will be a half hour period of free parking.

The consultation hasn’t even started, but we’ve already secured an important win for our Borough. We still oppose these charges in principle as they are impractical here, would damage small businesses and not generate any additional income. We will use the consultation when it begins in the Autumn to see off these proposals completely.”

It’s true to say these charges are wanted in some parts of the County, particularly in big town centres and around Gatwick airport, but they are not wanted here. By lobbying behind the scenes rather than engaging in political posturing we’ve created a safety net for our Borough with the free half hour and have a great starting point for opposing these proposals in full. We have secured a commitment from the leader of the county council that nothing will be done to damage small businesses.

Any revenue raised from parking charges can only be spent on road improvements such as repairing pot holes. However in last week’s budget the Chancellor gave £4 million to the county council for Surrey’s highways. This means less will now have to be raised through parking charges.

RA sexual confusion

2011-03-13T20:42:00.003Z

Reading this week's Epsom Guardian was a little more surprising than usual as it revealed RA councillor Neil Dallen's recent conversion to the attractions of a local strip club called Stir on East Street in Epsom.

Cllr Dallen is quoted as saying, "all credit to Stir for turning it around and running a very good establishment with minimal trouble."

This positive attitude to strip clubs somewhat contrasts with fellow RA councillor Eber Kington who has stated, "many residents would have moral objections to such premises" and "I believe that premises catering for adult entertainment will increase the likelihood of outsiders coming into Epsom and creating problems for the local community."

Rather contrary views. I've not had any complaints about the venue, but then again I don't represent that area. What concerns me is that Cllr Dallen appears to have based his view that everyone approves of the venue on the grounds that no one responded to the RA newsletter he circulated about it. Firstly, I suspect few people read, let alone respond to, RA newsletters in Epsom given the mess they've made of our town centre. Secondly, I have already had a local resident contact me saying they've never received any communication from Cllr Dallen and it seems from the Epsom Guardian's web site that she is not alone. The whole thing all seems rather unscientific to me.

It is also indicative of the lack of focus the Residents' Associations have in relation to our town centre. Do they want these sort of venues or not? Do they want more blocks of flats or not? Do they want more pound shops and kebab shops or not? The answer is they don't know because they have no plan and no leadership, and Epsom continues to suffer as they faff and disagree with one another.

So how are Eber and Neil to reconcile their bitterly conflicting views? Maybe a trip to the venue itself chaps? Now that would make a fine picture for the Epsom Guardian!

Health warning!

2011-03-05T18:43:00.005Z

I rather liked this image (from Conservative Home).

Finally council opens its books to the public

2011-02-28T22:46:00.003Z

Finally, with great reticence and after a great deal of pressure, the Residents' Associations have published all council expenditure over £500.

The RAs have been forced to release this data by the government. They were among the last few councils in the country to publish it and despite promising to put it out in October made sure they held it back until after the February budget meeting. They clearly don't want people looking at this, therefore I hope as many residents as possible do.

I will be examining the data carefully, but already it is of note how much the RAs spend on consultants' fees across a number of budget headings. Shame on them for hiding this information for so long. No wonder they haven't even bothered to press release the availability of this material. A perfect indication of the RAs lack of commitment to transparency in local government.

The new information can be found here.

A thoroughly unmodern council

2011-02-19T00:40:00.003Z

At this week's full council meeting an entirely sensible suggestion was made - shouldn't the council be using twitter to advertise its activities and communicate with its residents?

No difficulty there you might think. Plenty of councils do it already. Good idea, no?

Not when you're a Luddite RA councillor. Step forward Keith Mann, RA Chairman of our Strategy & Resources committee. Keith was having none of it. He couldn't possibly have the council taking on such a significant financial burden as twitter. Given the current financial situation one would normally admire such economic caution. However Cllr Mann's answer simply exposed in general terms the reactionary nature of the RAs and specifically their ignorance of modern technology.

Twitter would not cost one additional taxpayer's penny. Any council account could simply publicise new additions to the web site and would be monitored within the council's communications unit. If the council wanted to be particularly engaging then queries coming in from the public could simply be transferred so as to be dealt with by the staff in our contact centre.

Despite twitter being within Cllr Mann's sphere of responsibility I suspect he didn't even bother to research how it works. However, perhaps I'm being a little too harsh on dear Keith. Perhaps he knows more than appearances suggest. Perhaps he knows exactly how twitter works and that's why he won't allow the council to use it.

When RA councillors are being so heavily criticised by our residents why on Earth would the RA group allow them an additional means by which to lambast them?

Remember you can follow me on twitter: @EpsomSean

Council tax freeze delivered by Conservatives

2011-02-03T16:11:00.003Z

For decades the Residents' Associations have raised our council tax every single year. That is all about to change. Not because the RAs have seen the error of their ways, but because the Conservatives in government have delivered on their manifesto promise to make council tax freezes available across the country. This is why Epsom & Ewell residents will see no increase in their council tax over the next year.

In recent council meetings RA councillors have been so critical of the coalition government that one would imagine they would prefer to see Gordon Brown and the Labour Party back in power. Perhaps they should be grateful for the Conservatives being in government, otherwise the RAs would simply continue their tradition of forcing unattractive, unfair, unjustified and unpopular council tax increases upon Epsom & Ewell's already hard-pressed residents.

What does the council have to hide?

2011-02-02T22:19:00.003Z

At full council back in July of last year I proposed that the council should publish every item of expenditure over £500 so that such information could be scrutinised by local residents. Numerous, mainly Conservative, councils had already taken this step in response to the government's wish to see greater transparency and accountability in local government.

In response to my motion I was told that the council planned to publish this data by October 2010. October came and went without this being done. I was then told, upon raising the issue again, that the council would do this by the end of January 2011. Well that deadline has passed and still the council has not published. The January date is important because it was the date that the Secretary of State responsible for local government, Eric Pickles, said was the final point by which councils should get this done.

This exercise will not cost the council any money other than the time it takes to collate this information. That, of course, should cost nothing as this data should already be readily available if the council's senior officer's are to do their jobs properly. How can the council pretend to be careful with our money if they cannot easily show where it is being spent?

It is estimated that 90% of councils have published this financial information, so why hasn't Epsom & Ewell. This delay can only lead us to suspect that the council has something to hide. There are elections for our local council once every four years. The next election is in three months time. Are the Residents' Associations holding back on this information because they know it will not serve them well if it's released before the elections? It is simply not acceptable for the public to have to vote on the record of this Residents' Association council when this information is being held back from them. If it's good enough for nine out of ten councils then it's good enough for us. Come on Epsom & Ewell - show us where our money is spent!

Borough to honour local regiment this summer

2011-02-02T03:17:00.003Z

News arrives that the council will formally grant the Freedom of the Borough to the Princess of Wales's Regiment in June.

The decision to grant this honour was made at the beginning of last year, but has not been capable of being bestowed because of the regiment's operational duties.

The ceremony will be all the more satisfying because the fight to hold it was hard won. It was myself and Conservative colleagues who proposed the motion to grant this honour. RA and Liberal Democrat councillors initially opposed us until there was a local and national outcry. This u-turn was somewhat begrudging with RA councillors describing the award as "inappropriate" and suggesting that those who supported it were behaving like the BNP!

I very much hope that come June Epsom & Ewell's residents will show just how out of touch their RA and Lib Dem councillors were by giving our local regiment the warm welcome they so richly deserve.

Crime mapping comes to Epsom

2011-02-01T23:05:00.003Z

I've come across a useful and interesting web site which clearly sets out the crime mapping of the whole of Surrey. It provides information about your local neighbourhood police team and gives details of the types of crimes committed in particular areas. The site allows you to compare changes in recorded crime to the previous year and with other areas. Residents of Woodcote and Langley Vale should note that they fall within the Epsom South area for the purposes of this exercise.

The site, provided by Surrey Police, can be found here.

National Conservatives delivering for local residents

2011-01-30T20:33:00.005Z

Residents' Association councillors are by definition parochial in their outlook. They have very little to say on national political issues except where they seek to use something national government is doing to attack their political opponents locally. Indeed their slogan is "Keep national politics out of local government." Such political narrow-mindedness means the council lacks leadership and focus. Why? Because as local politicians we need to engage in national politics so as to best represent our residents. The RAs were unforgivably slow to react to previous threats to Epsom Hospital because they initially did not see it as a "local" issue. Chris Grayling MP and local Conservatives instinctively responded by leading the campaign. When the Labour government was outrageously underfunding local government in Surrey so that they could flood their northern strongholds with cash the Residents' Associations had nothing to say and had no influence in fighting against the Labour Party.

Despite their inability to engage or exert influence where national politics impacts upon local residents perhaps the coming to power of the coalition government will lead the Residents' Associations to a more sensible approach. National Conservatives have been leading a quiet revolution in local government. I will be highlighting some of their most welcome initiatives on this blog in the near future and begin now with measures giving councillors the freedom to campaign, the freedom to debate matters with our residents and the freedom to make clear what we think about issues without being accused of closing our minds on those matters.

Importantly this will mean that councillors can let residents know where they stand on important planning applications before a vote on the local planning committee comes along. Councillors will still need to listen to all the arguments and weigh them up, but they will not get in trouble for expressing a view earlier in proceedings, a view that any engaged councillor will obviously possess. Crucially if there is a big planning issue in an area just before an election then candidates will be able to publicise their stance without excluding themselves from voting on the application if elected.

This is a good, common sense change brought about not by the RAs but instead national politics which the RAs so wrong-headedly tell up should be kept out of local government. Long may it continue.

RIP - Roy Richmond

2011-01-30T00:01:00.003Z

I was sad to hear the news of Roy Richmond's passing. The Epsom Guardian's front page referring to him as Mr Epsom was a fitting tribute (article here). Through Epsom Coaches Roy was a successful local businessman. He and his wife Nancy carried out much charitable work together. His achievements were appropriately recognised by his being made a Freeman of the Borough and, more recently, a local road being renamed Roy Richmond Way. As residents of Woodcote I was pleased to chat with him and Nancy at a recent civic event.

My thoughts are with Nancy and their family at this time.

More RA internal conflict

2010-12-20T22:33:00.006Z

It's now the turn of Ewell Village RA to express its disapproval of the way RA councillors are running our Borough.

The Winter edition of their newsletter criticises RA councillors for removing the first hour of free parking at Bourne Hall. It states they "got it very wrong and just do not understand the essential role this car park plays in Ewell Village affairs".

They promise to "harass" these councillors so as to regain the free hour.

So yet another RA learns that the RA group of councillors are less in tune with the needs of local residents than they previously banked on.

Other upset and jilted RAs are evidenced here and here.

Grit bins

2010-12-10T08:20:00.003Z

Surrey County Council have produced a useful guide to their approach to grit bins after the recent snow.

The web page can be found here.

I have been informed that the recent snow means that a refill of bins will be carried out. If you feel a grit close to you has been missed or that a location near you would be well served by a bin and that we should make a request for one then please get in touch with me.

Lord Halifax rejected once again

2010-12-07T22:55:00.004Z

The historic riding school at the Durdans

In early 2009 Lord Halifax, owner of the Durdans stables, failed in an attempt to get planning permission to convert the site from its historic equestrian use to a mixed residential and commercial use. We were told at the time of that application that the need to change use was because the site was no longer fit for equestrian purposes. His lordship produced thick, glossy and no doubt very expensive reports from "professional experts" backing up this contention which was bitterly contested by opponents of that application who included myself.

It was therefore ironic that rather soon after the application was rejected that the remarketing of the site produced a Mr. Buckman who has taken on a 125 lease for equestrian purposes namely race horse training and livery.

Yesterday evening two separate applications relating to the site came before the borough's planning committee. For the first time in my council career I was sitting as a member of that committee. The first application was from Mr. Buckman seeking permission for various changes that would allow him to operate a modern equestrian business on this historic site. This application was agreed with some enthusiasm as for the first time in a long time we can see the prospect of a successful equestrian use being made of the site.

The second application came from Lord Halifax. His lordship had excluded part of the site from the lease agreement with Mr. Buckman and last night proposed to demolish stables on it and build houses. I spoke and voted against this application. The Borough has planning policies protecting equestrian land and there seemed no good reason why that protection shouldn't apply in this case. In fact the only reason advanced for this application seemed to be to allow Lord Halifax to make more money than he otherwise would. Not a valid planning reason. This land is within the Chalk Lane conservation area and a change of use would clearly change the ambience of the area. Indeed the council in a planning document back in January this year described similar developments in the past as "regrettable". Moreover the proposed housing was unattractively close to neighbouring properties.

This land can still be used for equestrian purposes. The papers for last night's meeting suggest that there is increased demand partly due to the Olympics. Perhaps it would be best for Lord Halifax to put aside any thoughts of future residential development and concentrate on what is possible.

Pothole progress

2010-12-05T18:48:00.002Z

There has been a noticeable improvement in the repair of potholes since May of this year. In particular it was fantastic to see Woodcote Green Road in my ward completely resurfaced.

Further good news arrives from the county council. As of the end of April next year the council's road maintenance contract will transfer from Ringway and Carillion to May Gurney. This involves a commendable £60 million investment over six years and importantly a stark improvement in service. May Gurney are committed under the contract to the repair of 30,000 potholes within 24 hours of their being reported. The current contractors achieve the repair of 19,000 potholes within a seven day deadline. Therefore we should hope to see yet another significant improvement.

Baby it's cold outside

2010-12-05T17:53:00.005Z

Well it's been an interesting and difficult week in Epsom. Surrey was one of the worst hit places in the country when it came to snow and Epsom was one of the worst hit places in Surrey.

Reports of 5-9 hour journeys to cover relatively short commutes home have been common. The inconvenience and frustration caused has been huge. The burden on our emergency services and local authorities has been massive and their staff have performed commendably.

There is no doubt that the whole country needs to sharpen up its act in relation to extreme winter weather, but the improvements in response this year are to be applauded.

Surrey County Council managed to regularly salt a network of 4,000 miles of priority roads. In Epsom this involved not only those roads designated priority 1, but also those at priority 2. Some difficulty was encountered with grit trucks or snow ploughs struggling to get past abandoned vehicles and heavy traffic, but the routes were covered.

One problem was the sheer amount of snow that fell which meant that roads that had been gritted simply got completely covered giving people the impression that they had never been gritted in the first place.

Another difficulty arose when local sections of motorway were closed by the Highways Agency and Surrey Police because of multiple incidents. This, of course, then put intolerable pressure on smaller roads.

Epsom & Ewell Borough Council had to cancel many services, but kept residents informed of disruption caused and will no doubt be working hard to catch up with services such as waste collection over the coming week.

If anyone in Woodcote and Langley Vale has any particular concerns about the way the snow was dealt with in their area then please let me know.

Newsflash - success at 2 Pine Hill

2010-11-29T01:32:00.003Z

News arrives that the owner of 2 Pine Hill on the Woodcote Estate, Mr. Neville True, has been convicted at Redhill Magistrates' Court of breaching a planning enforcement order in relation to the property.

Mr. True has made himself a nuisance to neighbours at a number of addresses around Epsom. In Pine Hill he has regularly parked over 12 vehicles on and around his property creating an eye sore and affecting his neighbours' enjoyment of their own homes. After complaints from local residents and pressure from myself the council finally agreed to issue an enforcement order to limit the number of vehicles Mr. True is allowed to keep on his land. The figure the council came to was a maximum of seven. This in my view is still much too high. Mr. True is clearly storing and trading in cars from a residential property and there is no evidence to suggest that he needs up to seven cars on the land for residential purposes. I will continue to press the council to reduce this number. Further action is required as to the parking of cars on land to the side of the property that does not appear to be covered by the original notice.

Mr. True had a pop at me in the Epsom Guardian when I dared suggest that he simply get on and tidy up his land. He denied he has committed any criminal offence and has suggested that the council is bullying him. He got a mate to write in (without disclosing their connection) to accuse me of attacking the principle of an Englishman's home being his castle.

Well Mr. True's protestations don't come to much now that he has entered a guilty plea. Just to be clear, as a Conservative, I am a great fan of property rights. This does though include the rights of others to enjoy their properties and not to have to suffer at the hands of inconsiderate and selfish people like Mr. True.

Mr. True's lack of neighbourliness has cost him dearly. He now has a criminal conviction. He is to pay a £2,000 fine and £600 costs. One has to hope that he has learnt his lesson. If he hasn't I fear he may find this all a rather costly business because if he persists with his actions I will ensure that we will go back to court as many times as is necessary for him to learn the error of his ways.

Leave us free to tweet!

2010-11-21T13:53:00.003Z

Senior RA councillors have made complaints to the Chief Executive about councillors tweeting from council meetings. It seems that these fuddy duddies find such activity "disruptive". Twitter is a useful social networking and micro-blogging tool that a number of opposition councillors, including myself, use.

As one of the councillors who tweets from meetings I cannot see anything objectionable about it. I use twitter to alert my followers to what is happening on the council. Given, unlike other authorities such as Surrey, Epsom & Ewell don't webcast their meetings I imagine this is useful to local residents who can't make it to meetings themselves. Why would we won't to deprive local residents of this sort of information? Unless the RAs don't want what takes place in meetings advertised which is understandable given some of their awful policy decisions recently.

In any event the Chief Executive seems much more up to date and open than certain crusty RA councillors and has even suggested that a council officer could tweet from council meetings. Hurrah for her! Three cheers for all of those who seek to defend the right to tweet.

And if you want to follow me on twitter just go to the side bar on this page and follow the link.

Last chance for public loos

2010-11-02T08:55:00.002Z

An extraordinary meeting of the council has been called for this evening in a last ditch attempt to reopen our borough's public toilets.

I am proposing the motion and am hoping that a number of RA members have realised what a terrible mistake it was to close these three facilities across the borough.

It disturbs me that there is still waste and inefficiency present within the council's budget and yet instead of tackling this the RAs chose to cut important services to the public. Unfortunately first indications are that the leadership of the RA group of councillors is going to oppose my motion. Cllr Robert Leach has misleadingly suggested that one of the sites is no longer owned by the council. What he doesn't make clear is that the council had not owned it for a number of years, council officers having neglected to renew the lease, but that the legal owners have absolutely no problem with the site being leased at a peppercorn rent for the purpose of being run as a public toilet.

Cllr Jean Smith has sought to dismiss the strength of public feeling on this issue. She has suggested on local radio that that the 130 people who attended the public demonstration at the Stoneleigh public toilets (pictured above) were in fact not local but instead "bussed in" by local political parties. This has been described as a "pack of lies" by the local RA ward chairman. It's unfortunate that instead of dealing with the merits of the argument for public conveniences within the borough these councillors seek to mislead so as to protect their position.

Tonight's vote will be very close and I very much hope that, just as they did with their opposition to granting our local regiment the freedom of the borough, that RA will admit their mistake and do a u-turn. It is important that tonight they represent the interests of their residents and not the interests of the RA group of councillors.

RA magazines: fact or fiction

2010-10-23T19:25:00.004+01:00

Residents' Association magazines have always had a relaxed attitude to the truth. Recently we've seen various RA ward chairmen valiantly try to defend the actions of their out of touch group of RA councillors. They desperately seek to persuade their residents that the budget cuts aimed at the most vulnerable in our borough are the only option even when RA councillors refuse to make the council leaner and more efficient in the numerous ways open to it that wouldn't hit the vulnerable.

In a way this is to be expected. RA chairmen are but political activists for the registered political party that is the Residents' Associations of Epsom & Ewell.

The honourable exception has been Bill Slaughter who has led Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents' Association (SARA) in a brave campaign against the RA councillors' decision to close the borough's public toilets. On this issue they have put their residents' interests before that of the political party they support. It is clear that RA councillors have lost the confidence of their supporters in Stoneleigh and Auriol.

It is therefore unfortunate that SARA's own magazine cannot escape inaccurate reporting of what is happening on the council. The culprit in this instance is the leader of the RA councillors, Robert Leach. Cllr Leach tries terribly hard to persuade his residents of the merit of his unpopular approach to the budget. As an example of the wonderful savings he and his colleagues are making he tells us that the Mayor's chauffeur "leaves in August". True, the Mayor's chauffeur has retired, but why doesn't Cllr Leach tells his residents that he has simply employed a new chauffeur at taxpayer's expense! Does he not think this is a relevant piece of information or is he simply practicing to deceive.

Cllr Leach writes about all the great staff savings he has made (a nonsense contention in and of itself), but doesn't tell his residents that his group sought to create a brand new climate change officer at significant expense until I questioned how this fitted in with the council's plans for staff savings.

Cllr Leach suggests that RA councillors accepted a small reduction in their allowances. What he doesn't mention is that he and his colleagues increased their allowances by 14% after the last elections in 2007 and the reduction he mentions was one councillors had no choice about accepting as it came about because of a decrease in inflation (and was only 0.4% if I remember correctly).

Perhaps this is all just another example of how desperate a position RA councillors are in. Clearly out of touch with their residents they now resort to blatantly disingenuous comments to justify their position. This cannot continue and one suspects that for Cllr Leach, if the RAs have any sense, it won't be allowed to for much longer.

Bogus calls warning

2010-10-15T22:25:00.003+01:00

Epsom & Ewell Borough Council is warning local residents of bogus callers pretending to be council employees. The ruse is to ask for bank details in order to repay a council tax overpayment.

The council does not make calls of this sort. Never hand over your bank details in such circumstances. If you receive such a call then contact the police on 0845 125 2222.

Not a good year for the roses

2010-10-03T13:22:00.005+01:00

I have previously posted about the dire state of the rose beds in Rosebery Park. I raised the problem with council officers and this is part of the response I received:

There are two separate types of bed - flower beds and rose beds.

Flower Beds: When the two main flower beds on the Dorking Road were
planted there was a period of about a week or so before it was completed
and so it might have appeared that we had left gaps. This coincided
with the driest part of the summer and watering the plants was a real
challenge. After completing the planting around 200 plants were stolen
from these beds and we had to replace them. They are due to be
replanted in October.

Rose beds: The rose beds are in a poor state. A project was approved in
2009 to remove the rose beds and replace them with a sensory garden and
undertake other improvements in the park using S106 monies. In the
meantime a bedding working group was set up to undertake an evaluation
of the bedding in general and it did not seem sensible to start any new
work whilst reviewing the existing provision.

This review has now been completed and plans for the replacement of the
roses are being re-thought and will be submitted to Leisure Committee in
November. It does not seem sensible to create new features which will
require significant revenue expenses to maintain to a good standard.

Unfortunately once roses fail it is not possible to just replant to gap
up the beds. Considerable work has to be done and in the current
financial climate it is thought more appropriate to remove these very
old, unsightly beds and to grass them over.

I will ask Operational Services to tend to any weeding that needs to be
done to improve the visual appearance in the interim.

I'm glad that work will be done to weed the beds and lets hope the council gets on and comes up with a sensible and attractive alternative soon.

RA civil war continues

2010-09-28T13:51:00.005+01:00

The massive internal divisions within the Epsom & Ewell's Residents' Association movement have been highlighted once again as a senior Residents' Association official has come out and publicly criticised the RA group of councillors.

Mark Walter, Chairman of College Ward Residents' Association (CWRA), has written to the 2,500 households in College ward stating:

"CWRA strongly objected to the blue badge charging scheme but the decision was taken mainly by Ewell RA councillors who do not understand the logistical problems of Epsom residents - had we some RA Councillors in the Epsom wards the result might have been different."

Mr Walter presents a rather selective version of events. There are three Residents' Association councillors from Epsom. Cllr Neil Dallen (Town) voted in favour of charging the disabled for their parking. Cllr Mike Richardson (Woodcote) also voted in favour. Cllr Teresa Cass (Woodcote) didn't bother to turn up to the meeting. The vote was 16-14 in favour of charges. The vote was won for the RAs by Epsom RA councillors. So Mr Walters saying the result "might" have been different with more Epsom RA councillors is, of course, right. The majority in favour of charges would have been even greater!

So Epsom's RA councillors all voted for the scheme that CWRA so bitterly opposes. Mr Walter should face reality - if he wants to reverse the Blue Badge charges he needs to campaign against the RA councillors who brought them in and work to get them kicked out at May's elections.

Perhaps of greater interest than Mr Walters' tortured logic is that he is willing to openly criticise the RA group of councillors. He is in good company in doing so as Bill Slaughter, Chairman of Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents Association, has stated in public:

"the Residents' Association group has hit hardest at the most disadvantaged in our society - the disabled, the elderly and the very young."

How can local residents be expected to vote for RA councillors when their own party activists no longer support them?

Taking on inconsiderate neighbours

2010-09-23T22:34:00.007+01:00

This week's Epsom Guardian covers my work on behalf of residents of the Woodcote Estate in tackling the anti-social storage and parking of vehicles at 2 Pine Hill. Over the last week I have delivered a letter to residents in the affected area. Already I have had a steady flow of responses. Local residents agree with me that the owner of this property is playing the system. He is using his property for both the storage and sale of vehicles and this simply is not acceptable in a residential area like the Woodcote Estate.

The council needs to take a firm line. Not only does the current court order need to be enforced but we also need to reduce the number of vehicles he is allowed to keep under the current order as many of them are clearly being kept for illegitimate purposes.

Openness and transparency

2010-09-22T21:28:00.003+01:00

The new government has been encouraging local councils to publish all expenditure over £500 so that it can be scrutinised by the public. This was first done by a number of Conservative councils and is rightly thought to be a jolly good idea.

I therefore submitted a simple motion to the council requiring such financial disclosure from Epsom & Ewell Borough Council. It's supremely cheering to learn from the report written by officers in response to my motion that the good sense of this move is conceded and this material will be made available to the public in an accessible format at some point in October.

That being the case how about publishing the number and job descriptions of council employees earning above £50,000 in an easily accessible place? Why not include councillors' allowances which are not easily found on the Borough's web site? Openness and transparency are good things. It's time that the council welcomed them with open arms.

Not so blooming marvellous

2010-09-19T14:42:00.005+01:00

On Tuesday evening, in the rain, I took a quick walk around Rosebery Park after a complaint from a local resident about the state of the flower beds near Dorking Road. All seven flower beds in that area are a mess. They consist of dead roses, large weeds and significant gaps. The local resident is a regular user of the park and has not ever seen them in such a state.

The council recently took the decision to discontinue certain flower beds across the Borough as a cost saving exercise. I don't understand these to be amongst their number and in any event any former flower beds would need to be turfed over or otherwise tidied up rather than simply left to the weeds. I fear that these beds have simply been neglected by the council longer than they should have been.

I have raised the issue with the council's Head of Operations and I will update this post with his response once I receive it.

Mass RA resignations

2010-08-20T00:43:00.004+01:00

Yesterday's Epsom Guardian carried a letter from Mr & Mrs Beeken, residents of Auriol ward. It reads as follows:

I have today informed Councillor Leach that my wife and myself no longer wish to
be members of the Residents' Association due to his efforts against the
disabled. This is not about money but more the treatment of people who are in a
far worse position than us. In next year's elections we will both be voting for
one of the main party candidates and we urge others to do the same. My wife
Marian and I have lived at this address for more than 30 years.

So even the RAs own members don't agree with their current path under the leadership of Councillor Robert Leach. It seems that Mr & Mrs Beeken are not alone. An examination of the statement of accounts submitted to the Electoral Commission by Stoneleigh & Auriol RA shows that between 2008-2009 that particular RA lost over 400 members. A massive drop.

At that last election the RAs secured, for the first time ever, less than 50% of the vote. It seems their decline continues.

RA internal warfare continues

2010-08-17T17:52:00.003+01:00

It seems that the domestic strife the RA movement is currently suffering is set to continue, with much dirty linen being aired in public. Bill Slaughter has to be commended from standing up to RA councillors when other local RA chairmen keep quiet and therefore implicitly give their support to what RA councillors are doing.

The letter below was sent by Bill to the Epsom Guardian. If RA councillors won't listen to the pleas of their own activists what chance do local residents have of having a listening council?

RA hypocrisy at County Hall

2010-07-30T23:42:00.002+01:00

Campaiging for the Surrey County Council elections last year was a difficult experience. The campaign coincided with the fallout from the expenses scandal and many people were quite understandably angry and disillusioned with our political system.

In our part of Epsom the RA candidate sought to take advantage of the situation by pointing out that the Conservative Group at County Hall employed a political assistant and that RA councillors disapproved of public money being used in such a way and would never do such a thing themselves.

Political assistants are widely employed across local government providing research and administrative support to councillors. With 54 out of 80 seats there's no surprise that Surrey Conservatives make use of one. However news arrives that the RA group, consisting of only ten councillors, is to have its own political assistant. So much for principled campaigning from the RAs. Will County Councillor Chris Frost be resigning from the group in disgust at this inappropriate use of public money? Thought not.

Our only truly independent councillor

2010-07-27T19:56:00.003+01:00

For decades the Residents' Association group of councillors have told local residents that they are a grouping of independents. They are, of course, no such thing. The RAs are a local political party and whip their councillors into following the party line. The party line has proved terribly unpopular recently with budget cuts that have hit the most vulnerable rather than targetting excess, waste and inefficiency.

Christine Howells was elected in 2005 as a Residents' Association councillor. Until earlier this year she sat as a member of their group. When the RAs pushed through plans to abolish free parking for blue badge holders she resigned from the group and became an independent.

At last week's council meeting she proved what a true independent she is. In a moving speech Christine attacked the RA group's policies. Expressing real sadness at the direction they had chosen to take she pointed out that there were many areas of waste and subsidy that should be targetted before introducing cuts that hit the vulnerable. Christine stated that RA councillors had failed to listen to residents and that her former colleagues should not be acting as if they were proud of themselves, they should be ashamed.

It just so happened that I was called to speak after Christine. I commended her for her brave and intelligent comments. I have no doubt that it is a difficult and unpleasant experience having to leave one's political group. Christine has shown that it can be done with true intergrity and dignity. Whatever the RAs may say she is the council's only true independent and I look forward to her future contributions in the council chamber.

National coverage of RA councillors?

2010-07-27T01:12:00.002+01:00

Simon Heffer wrote in the Telegraph last Monday:

Despite it being led by a monomaniacal sociopath with
all the charm of a septic tank and the communication skills of a stoat, and despite having engaged in the worst acts of economic mismanagement in 80 years...

Many Telegraph readers in Epsom & Ewell will have assumed that Mr. Heffer was referring to our own Residents' Association council and its leader, Cllr. Robert Leach. Further reading however revealed that the author's focus was Gordon Brown and the Labour Party.

Come to think of it, the similarities are startling.

RAs abolish free parking for the disabled

2010-07-27T00:36:00.004+01:00

Free parking for blue badge holders was abolished by Residents' Association councillors at last week's full council meeting. RA councillors had previously backed this move as part of a package of cuts hitting the most vulnerable in the borough at the council's last budget. Last week saw the RA group force through the Traffic Order required to impose fees by a vote of 16 to 14.

I described the cuts as a "fundamentally pernicious decision" during the debate and Conservative councillors voted against them. I also decided to tackle directly the erroneous and sometimes outrageous arguments being put forward by RA councillors.

Cllr Jean Smith stated that there is no correlation between disability and poverty. A statement so blatantly unsupported by evidence one had to wonder what the real motivation was of her making it.

Cllr Pamela Bradley said the move was necessary in the current financial climate, but then failed to explain why the council was making cuts that hit the vulnerable whilst not making cuts to councillors allowances or abolishing the council's propaganda magazine or the Mayor's chauffeur driven car.

Robert Leach, leader of the RA group of councillors, saved the best until last. He claimed that the consultation the council conducted (which took place after the decision had been made to impose charges) showed that over half of blue badge holders supported charging. This was deliberately misleading. I pointed out in debate that the question "do you support the introduction of fees?" Instead, without being asked, over 40% of those replying stated they were opposed to charging in principle. This blatant dishonesty was later described by Geoff Jelly, a local disabled rights campaigner, as "disgusting and low".

I will examine various aspects of this decision in future posts. One thing is certain. The RA group has lost touch with the residents of our Borough. Whilst squandering money elsewhere they have taken money from the most vulnerable. Have no doubt that they will be back for more by the time of the next council budget in February.

676 safe under Conservatives

2010-07-18T12:59:00.002+01:00

I have written to every household in Langley Vale to cofirm that the 676 bus service is safe under the Conservatives at Surrey County Council. What a stark contrast to our Residents' Association Borough council that continues to slash services for the most vulnerable in our community. The letter is copied below:

We are pleased to confirm that the 676 bus service from Walton on the Hill to Therfield School will continue to run for the benefit of Langley Vale residents.

The County Council is obliged to review all spending given current financial pressures. A review of bus services has been conducted so as to ensure that we as taxpayers are receiving value for money. That review has sensibly cancelled bus routes that were serving schools outside of the county of Surrey and services that were significantly underused.

Therefore the 676 service was never under threat as it is both heavily used and runs within the county. When we heard that villagers were concerned that the 676 might be at risk we immediately spoke with our Conservative colleagues at Surrey County Council and received the assurance that the 676 would keep on running and it was always intended that it would keep on running. Moreover, after the arguments we made, the 676 is being deemed an “essential” service by the County Council which we hope means its future is safeguarded well into the future.

We understand that Residents’ Association councillors have suggested the 676 was under threat when a simple phone call to the relevant County Councillor would have confirmed this wasn’t the case. We know that sometimes local politics is tough, but we hope from now on that local politicians will not suggest that a service which isn’t under threat is under threat just so that they can pretend they have saved it. We very much appreciate that residents of Langley Vale face different needs to those who live in the rest of the Borough. We’re therefore pleased to have played our part in confirming the future of this important service for the local community.

Yours sincerely

Councillor Sean Sullivan Tina Mountain

RA councillors beware!

2010-07-03T00:26:00.003+01:00

Many Auriol residents want to have to opportunity to kick out unpopular RA councillor Robert Leach - but will he even get on the ballot to allow them to do so?

How to save £45,000 of taxpayers' money - call in a Conservative

2010-07-02T23:44:00.003+01:00

Last Tuesday evening brought the delights of the council's Strategy & Resources committee. One item on the agenda proposed that the council employ a part-time climate change officer over two years at a cost of £45,000.

This would have been an entirely new position and I was somewhat surprised. These are tough financial times - Residents' Association councillors have forced through deeply unpopular cuts like closing public toilets and abolishing free parking for Blue Badge holders. Moreover the RAs have had to freeze council staff pay. So, however important the issue of climate change may be, why would we want to be creating new positions at this particular point in time?

RA councillors had not bothered to check where this money had come from and with what conditions. I discovered that it came from a grant which was not ring fenced. It therefore could be used to fund work the council already does thereby saving the taxpayer £45,000 instead of saying us absolutely nothing.

When I pointed this out the RA Chairman of the committee, Eber Kington, quickly realised the error of his ways, but miserably couldn't persuade his own group to make such an obvious saving. It really is amazing that with tough decisions to be made the RAs aren't bothering to check whether every vacancy needs to be filled and whether any proposed new role is necessary. More than that though when us Conservatives show them the light they struggle to find their way to the right decision. Not very inspiring behaviour from the ruling group on the council, simply adding to the terrible repututation they have in relation to the Borough's finances.

Toilet trouble for RA councillors

2010-06-21T00:21:00.005+01:00

On Saturday afternoon I was pleased to join over 100 local residents in a demonstration against the decision of Residents' Association councillors to close the public toilets in Stoneleigh. Ironically the campaign is being led by the Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents' Association (SARA).

One has to wonder how the residents of Epsom & Ewell are meant to place any confidence in their RA councillors when the largest residents' association in the borough is openly contemptuous of and angry with their representatives?

You only have to look at the SARA web site to see the extent of the betrayal felt by once loyal RA activists. The secretary of SARA, Mike Sampson, has described Robert Leach, RA councillor for Auriol and Chairman of the RA group of councillors, as being "inaccurate and misleading" in relation to comments made about the toilets.

Bill Slaughter, Chairman of SARA, has come out in the local press and stated "the RA councillors who control Epsom & Ewell Borough Council are refusing to listen to and act in accordance with the wishes of residents." One hell of a statement from the most influential RA chairman in the Borough. If I was Robert Leach I wouldn't be betting on being able to run as an RA candidate in the 2011 local elections.

Let's remember that the closure of all three public conveniences in the Borough (the other two are on the Upper High Street in Epsom and in Ewell Village) was part of sweeping budget cuts pushed through by RA councillors this year. These included the closure of Cox Lane day centre for the elderly and, quite dsigracefully, scrapping free parking for Blue Badge holders. In the budget debate I put forward how money could be saved without attacking services for the most vulnerable in our community, but us Conservatives were voted down.

It must be galling for residents of Stoneleigh and Auriol that they lose their public toilet (which only cost £7,000 per year), but the RA Mayor of the Borough still gets driven around in a chauffeur driven car, RA councillors have refused to reduce their allowances which they increased by 14% after the last election and the council continues to produce a glossy propaganda magazine for every household a number of times a year. What, they must be asking themselves, is the point of electing an RA council?

SARA appear to have made a financial offer to the RA group of councillors to assist in keeping the loos open. It was stated on Saturday that this was rejected and one councillor described it as a bribe! It makes me wonder whether the RA group has lost all sense. They state they are here to represent the best interests of their residents through the Residents' Association movement, yet when their own local residents' association points out where they have gone wrong they stick two fingers up at them.

If Stoneleigh & Auriol RA councillors will not stand up for their own residents then us Conservative councillors will have to instead. I can promise the residents of Stoneleigh & Auriol that we will fight to reopen their loos.

Congratulations Chris Grayling MP

2010-06-09T16:48:00.002+01:00

The general election in Epsom & Ewell saw Chris Grayling returned for a third term as our Member of Parliament. Chris polled 30,868 votes which was an increase of 3,722 on his 2005 tally. He gained a spectacular 56.2% of the total vote, an increase of 1.8% on the last election. In doing so Chris secured the best result for the Conservatives in the constituency since 1992.

It's no suprise that after nine years as our hard working member of parliament that Chris gained such a thumping endorsement from his constituents. I wish him all the best in his new role as Minister of State within the Department of Work and Pensions.

How they voted on Freedom for PWRR

2009-12-16T17:47:00.003Z

At yesterday evening's Full Council we debated giving the Freedom of the Borough to our local regiment the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. We were debating whether we should send the matter to a Special Council meeting (the only place where the decision to confer the Freedom can be made). Quite brilliantly we won the vote by 16 to 13. I commend the Liberals and rebel members of the RA group who made that possible. I list how everyone voted below. Those who voted against being against granting the Freedom.

For:

Bradley (RA, Ewell), Buxton (Lib, Court), Carlson (Lab, Court), Jones (Lib, College), Keen (Con, Ruxley), Kelly (Lib, Town), Lees (Lib, Stamford), Morgan (Lib, Court), Morris (Lib, College), Pavey (Lib, Stamford), Petrie (Con, Nonsuch), Pontin (Con, Ruxley), Sanger (RA, Stoneleigh), Sullivan (Con, Woodcote), Taylor (Lib, Stamford) and C. Wood (Lib, Town).

Against:

Arthur (RA, Ewell), Dallen (RA, Town), Dudley (RA, Cuddington), Jay (RA, West Ewell), Leach (RA, Auriol), Long (RA, Auriol), Mann (RA, Cuddington), Reed (RA, Ewell Court), Richardson (RA, Woodcote), J. Smith (RA, Ewell Court), Smitheram (RA, West Ewell), Steer (RA, West Ewell), Woodbridge (RA, Ewell)

Abstain:

Foote (RA, Cuddington), Howells (RA, Nonsuch), R.Smith (RA, Stoneleigh), Winkworth (RA, Stoneleigh), D. Wood (RA, Nonsuch)

Not present:

Cass (RA, Woodcote), Key (Lib, College), Kington (RA, Ewell Court)

The Mayor Cllr Jan Mason (RA, Ruxley) excused herself from chairing the meeting as she considered herself to have a personal and prejudicial interest in that her son-in-law is a member of the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment.

Why should Epsom be the odd one out?

2009-11-28T17:02:00.003Z

What do all the following places have in common?

Arundel, Ashford, Barnet, Basingstoke & Dean, Belfast, Brighton & Hove, Bournemouth, Canterbury, Chichester, Crowborough, Eastbourne, Eastleigh, Folkestone, Guildford, Jersey, Kingston, Hastings, Lewes, Maidstone, Portsmouth, Ramsgate, Reigate & Banstead, Romsey, Rushmore, Southampton, Test Valley, Tonbridge & Malling, Winchester and Worthing.

All have granted their "Freedoms" to the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment. No quibbles at any of these about our local regiment not being local enough.

Why are residents of Epsom & Ewell going to be the odd ones odd in marking the service of our troops?

Petition to honour our troops

2009-11-15T10:23:00.008Z

Hundreds of signatures were collected in Epsom yesterday in support of granting our local regiment the Freedom of our Borough. There was very real anger at the council for snubbing our troops by saying they are not "local" enough to receive this honour and to allow them to march through our town centre.

We will continue to collect signatures on the streets of the Borough over the weeks to come before the final decision is made at the Special Council meeting on 15th December. However you can also show your support online: click here to support our troops.

Support our Troops!

2009-11-14T23:01:00.005Z

On Tuesday, the day before Armistice Day, the council's Strategy & Resources committee met to consider my motion to grant the Freedom of our Borough to our local regiment, the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment.

Frankly it is something the Borough should have done years ago and I very much hoped the motion could be agreed unanimously particularly as our troops are giving such brave and valued service at present.

Maybe I was naive, but I was shocked to discover that the committee was against me. Both Residents' Association and Liberal Democrat councillors opposed the motion saying that the Regiment is not "local" enough. Forget that they are our local regiment and that the Regiment is an almagamation of historic regiments including the East Surrey Regiment. Forget that they recruit from our area.

Anyway this petty, small-minded nonsense from these councillors means Epsom & Ewell is denying our troops the right to march through our town centre on their return from service overseas. Guildford so honours them, as does Reigate & Banstead but Epsom & Ewell seems intent to snub them.

The committee vote now goes to a Special Council meeting on 15th December. We will be campaigning hard to win that vote, and overturn this shameful decision in the weeks to come.

Let there be light

2009-03-28T01:04:00.003Z

Good news for residents of Leighton Way and Avenue Road. The street lamp on the junction of those two roads is now blazing bright after over a year of being out of action.

The fixing of broken lamps is the responsibilty of the County Council and therefore in Woodcote of our Residents' Association County Council. As a mere Borough Councillor I have no influence over such matters, but I was contacted by a local resident who had been let down by the Residents' Association Councillor who said nothing could be done about the light.

This turned out not to be true. A numner of calls to County later, including sorting out a confusion about whether repsonsibility lay with EDF or County and the engineers were out to mend the light. In the end it took a number of visits, but the light got fixed. So why were the Residents' Associations telling people it could not be fixed? The best advice I can give is if anyone has a similar problem in future just get straight in touch with the Conservatives.

Conservatives Gain Residents' Association seat

2009-03-17T18:31:00.007Z

Ruxley residents have rejected the Residents' Associations and returned William Keen as their Conservative Councillor. The seat had previously been held by the Residents' Associations.

The result was as follows:

William Keen 564 (51.3%, +13)

Residents' Association 363 (33%, -11.7)

Labour 73 (6.6%, -2.6)

Lib Dem 60 (5.5%, -2.2)

UKIP 40 (3.6, +3.6)

Swing from Residents' Association to Conservative of 12.4%.

This is a fantastic result which the Residents' Associations simply did not see coming. Prior to the by-election Ruxley had two RA councillors and one Conservative. It is a testament to Cllr. Stephen Pontin's hard work that we secured over half of all the votes cast, gaining the Conservatives first ever by-election victory in the Borough. All this bodes well for Ruxley going completely blue at the next Borough elections.

So in the space of a few months our Conservative group on the council has doubled in size. With a swing like the one in Ruxley there are a number of Residents' Association councillors who will be looking at their majorities in a most concerned fashion.

Congratulations to William Keen. William was the only Ruxley resident to stand in the election (despite the Residents' Associations trying to suggest otherwise). He will be a great councillor and indeed has already been doing sterling work for the Royal British Legion. I am very proud to have him as a member of our group.

Is the future of Epsom Hospital now secure?

2009-03-05T00:45:00.006Z

Yesterday evening I attended the public meeting held at Epsom Town Hall concerning the future of Epsom Hospital. We were not told what the future of the hospital was, instead we were told that there are two reviews going on. The first is a review of exactly what the local health trust wants to do with the site and what services it sees itself offering, this will take six months. The second is considering whether the local health trust should demerge (split St Helier and Epsom), divest (get other providers to run certain services) or maintain the status quo. This should be decided by the end of April.

Goodness knows why they don't already know these things after years of prevaricating, but at least the work is being done. Although I distrust what any health manager tells us about the future of Epsom Hospital there were some reassuring comments made.

Representatives of the Surrey NHS Trust indicated that they will require Epsom to provide a Consultant led maternity service and proper children's provision, including A&E.

Antony Tiernan, Director of Communications at Epsom & St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust made the following points:

Epsom Hospital will not close
It will continue to offer the services it offers now
It will be a local hospital supplying the services local residents expect, including A&E.
The Denbies Trust proposal will be looked at, but only as a general tender process once the plan for the hospital has been finalised. There will be no sell off of land and private/charitable assistance will only be taken up if it offers something more than the NHS is capable of offering.

Mr. Tiernan made a big point of stating he himself is a local resident and repeated the above assurances a number of times. I will do my best to hold him and his colleagues to these. Let's hope that in six months time we will see the future of our hospital secured for the future.

Public meeting: the future of Epsom Hospital

2009-03-02T14:32:00.001Z

Epsom & Ewell Borough Council is hosting a public meeting on the future of Epsom Hospital given the forthcoming release of proposals from local health trusts.

Date: Wednesday, 4th March 2009

Venue: Council Chamber, Epsom Town Hall, The Parade, Epsom

Time: 7:30pm

What's the point of the Residents' Associations if they don't put up a local resident for elections?

2009-02-24T15:01:00.001Z

Residents' Association campaigners in Ruxley have come unstuck for misleading local electors about whether their candidate lives in Ruxley.

A by-election is to be held in Ruxley ward this coming Thursday, the 26th February. The last election showed it to be a very close ward with a Conservative and two Residents' Association councillors elected. The Residents' Associations are petrified of losing this seat to the Conservatives. Unfortunately this has led to them saying some less than factual things in their literature and on the doorstep.

In the one and only leaflet we have seen the Residents' Associations put out in a seven week long campaign the following statement is made:
"support your RA candidate so that we can continue to have our unique and independent council manned by councillors who live locally 365 days a year, constantly in touch with you and your needs."

All very compelling stuff. Of course what it omits to mention is the RA candidate, Michael Guest, lives no where near Ruxley. As shown on the nominating papers he lives in the college area of Epsom. Also no mention that the only candidate who lives in Ruxley (William Keen of Poplar Crescent, off the Chessington Road) and therefore the one who will actually be able to keep constantly in touch with local residents and their needs, is the Conservative candidate.

To make matters worse when canvassing for William on Saturday we found that Residents' Association activists had gone before us telling residents that their candidate is the only one who lives in the ward. So not only an untruth about their candidate, but now combined with an untruth about William Keen.

I've always thought campaigning in Epsom & Ewell to be relatively civilised, but then it occurred to me that this is happening because the Residents' Associations really are in a pickle. What is the point of the Residents' Associations contesting local elections if they cannot even find a local resident to stand for them? They have resorted instead to trapsing to the other side of the Borough to find their candidate. No wonder they are deluding themselves into thinking their candidate is local when he is not, otherwise their entire reason for being disappears.

Unfortunately no sooner had the Residents' Associations started playing this rather distasteful game the Liberals joined in. Their leaflet announced that they had chosen a "local candidate". Of course they had done no such thing and had instead selected someone living in Worcester Park.

Ask anyone in Ruxley whether the Worcester Park or the college area of Epsom are local and they will say no, but hey the Residents' Associations and the Liberals have got an election to fight so what do they care. Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.

Senior Residents' Association Councillor joins Conservatives

2009-02-15T22:23:00.001Z

Nigel Petrie MBE, County Councillor for Epsom & Ewell North East and Borough Councillor for Nonsuch ward has joined the Conservatives.

This weekend thousands of leaflets were delivered across his county divison informing his residents of his decision.

Nigel has served on the Borough Council for 22 years and is a former Mayor of Epsom & Ewell. He has served on Surrey County Council for 8 years.

Nigel has commented, " I consider the best way for me to achieve the things we want for our community is as a member of the Conservative Party. It is vitally important that we challenge the Labour Party as it flounders over the economic crisis, and give a boost to the national campaign by backing the Conservatives."

Chris Grayling, our Member of Parliament, has commented that Nigel " has a long track record of public service in the area, and he will now be able to play a much more direct role in making sure that the County Council looks after the interests of Epsom & Ewell as part of its ruling group."

As the leader of our council group in Epsom & Ewell I am delighted that Nigel is joining us. He is the third most senior councillor in the Borough and he is a good common sense politician who cares deeply about the area he represents. Nigel, like so many in Epsom & Ewell, has come to the conclusion that the Conservatives, not the Residents' Associations, offer the best future for the Borough.

Durdans application defeated

2009-02-15T21:21:00.001Z

On 28th January the Planning Committee of Epsom & Ewell Borough Council rejected Lord Halifax's application to convert the historic Durdans stables into residential and office accommodation. One Residents' Association councillor voted in favour of the application.

This result was the culmination of a huge campaign in my ward and across the Borough against the plans. Local Resident Tina Mountain organised for a petition to be delivered to every household in Woodcote ward. The response was massive. Various petitions raised over 3,000 signatures.

With Tina I organised a public meeting at the Town Hall which was well attended and addressed by our Member of Parliament, Chris Grayling. As a result of that meeting Woodcote Conservatives delivered a note to every resident in the area encouraging them to write in objecting to the application and setting out the valid planning objections that could be made. Close to 300 letters were received.

I am not a member of the planning committee, but I attended the meeting and used my right to speak as a local councillor. I attacked Lord Halifax for allowing the property to fall into disrepair and then trying to use that as an excuse to abandon its equestrian usage. I mocked the transport survey that the applicant had presented as being entirely unbelievable to those who know the area.

The fight, unfortunately, is not over. Lord Halifax has the right to appeal and the council continues to refuse to use its enforcement powers in relation to the condition of the buildings. We will continue to keep a watchful eye over the site.

No council tax freeze for Epsom residents

2009-01-07T20:06:00.001Z

Residents' Association councillors will deny local residents the council tax freeze on offer from any future Conservative government.

The Conservatives have stated that if successful at the next General Election we will provide funds to any council that is able to restrict its proposed council tax increase to 2.5%. These funds, obtained by reducing the money central government spends on consultants, will allow participating councils to freeze council tax completely.

At December's Full Council meeting I asked the Residents' Association leadership to commit to being able to take advantage of these funds. They refused. The Residents' Associations are currently projecting that Epsom's council tax will increase by just under 5%, the maximum allowed, for the foreseeable future. They are not willing to run the council efficiently enough to offer a council tax freeze to our Residents.

The Residents' Associations have wasted our money in the good years so that they cannot make it easier for local residents in the hard years. That they are not even willing to try is the real shame of it all.

The Conservative Group on the council will continue to push for a council tax freeze.

Welcome!

2008-12-28T20:30:00.001Z

Welcome to my blog.

I have the pleasure of representing Woodcote in Epsom as its Councillor on Epsom & Ewell Borough Council.

Woodcote is a beautiful part of Epsom which I had the fortune to be born and raised in. I have served as its Councillor since May 2007.

Since then I have been working hard to represent the interests of my residents. I hope this blog will serve to keep you informed of the work I am doing and highlight some of the problems we face here in Epsom. I will also be examining some of the very many failings of our Residents' Association controlled council.