Second Consultation on the Future of Upper High Street

Following a public consultation exercise earlier in the year, a draft Development Brief has been prepared for the Upper High Street, Depot Road and Church Street development site. Comments are welcome until 5.00pm on Friday 13th July.

These sites provide a development opportunity on the eastern side of the town centre and when adopted the Development Brief will be a valuable planning tool. There are various landowners on the site, including Rosebery Housing, the council itself and Tesco Stores Ltd. This is not a council-funded development and planning applications are likely to be submitted over several years.

Liberal Democrat councillors have already made their views known. The policy is to support a small-sized food store or a single retail outlet fronting Upper High Street (UHS). It must become a key attraction so that people will be encouraged to use other shops in UHS and on the eastern side of town. The store must be limited in size so that it is not directly opposite the houses and with Tesco currently owning part of the site the best chance of a food store lies with them. Potentially they could choose to sit on the land for years, thereby blighting the whole scheme. Also, there must be no "through road" between Church Street and UHS to preserve the residential amenity of the area - and no multi-storey car parks.

To view the document and comment on-line, follow the link on the Council Website or download the comments form and email the completed paperwork to LDF@epsom-ewell.gov.uk.

For further information contact Colin Taylor or Alison Kelly.