Weekly COVID-19 update from your LibDem councillors - Friday 24th April

Will, at least the sun is shining although I appreciate this may be no comfort to those with no garden. Here is our weekly update:

Council and health services:

• Car parks at Grandstand Road closed due to police concern over social distancing
• Council has delayed the process for community bidding on local infrstructure projects that uses developers funds (the CIL15% process). Julie & David did have some potential bids around Alexandra Park and Rifle Butts Alley which we will return to.
• Increased meals on wheels using council facilities, 1017 meals delivered in week, while 50 people using shopping service per week.
• We continue to call potentially vulnerable people and have follow-ups with those at risk (see latest Epsom Guardian), with "runners" knocking on doors of those Vulnerable we've not been able to speak to.
• Headley Court is about to become a temporary local community hospital to address Covid-19. There is now a call out for staff, which we've been asked to help promote (admin roles are now all taken) - see the link here.
• Community recycling centres remain closed for foreseeable future.
• Cemetery reopening between 9-3 on Saturday and Sundays for visiting graves of loved ones.

Other local issues:

• Homelessness - local hotel chain not helping so Council is having to use those further away.
• The local Age Concern have telephoned 5,500 clients. Carried out Shopping and collection of prescriptions for over 300 residents and are telephone befriending - 70 residents.
• The response to the appeal by the Foodbank has been great. Deliveries have ramped up although still hard to reach as many people as when we had the 5 centres running.

Wider issues:

• For gardeners looking for plants, try this: https://bit.ly/2xHMEmO with the relevant site being here: plantsavers.co.uk
• You may have seen the LibDems calling for frontline staff to be paid additional daily amount as happens in the army.
• An interesting suggestion from one of our readers: why don't pedestrians indicate they are about to emerge from an alley or go round a blind corner y saying loudly: 'Dingalingling' thereby notifying unseen others of the need to keep 2m distance from the junction/bend.
• Calling all those who can sew! There is a huge local effort going on, with people making scrubs, laundry bags and other items (fabric is being donated), and collecting Nivea and handcreams. This has largely been focused on supplying our local hospitals but is now going to include care homes. As at today (24th) they have a distribution bottleneck but please send us your email and we will put you on the circulation list.

• B&Q opened some of its stores on Wednesday and more on Thursday this week, including Sutton and New Malden. Social distancing will be in place. Check individual websites for more details.

Take care, Julie & David