Your Monthly update from your LibDem Borough Councillors - for December 2021
Dear friends, with best wishes for a peaceful Christmas and healthy New Year, here is our last Update for 2021 covering events during December (well, up to 23rd December, hoping all is quiet over the holidays).
Borough Council updates:
- We have no further robust news on the Chalk Pit. There still seems to be "buck passing" going on but we are doing all we can to get the Borough to use their powers to stop some of the worst excesses.
- The Planning Committee on 9th December voted to Reject the application for the tower block on the corner of West Street and Station Approach. The meeting then ran out of time to consider the application for the new development at Clayhill Lodge, which will return in January.
- At full Council on 7th December we proposed a Motion to investigate having walking tours around the Borough to promote our heritage (and make a little bit of money). The Motion was not discussed but instead referred to a Committee to consider.
- There continue to be a very high number of vacancies within the Council (we have the precise number but not sure if it is public so we are being careful!).
- The external consultants brought in to help tackle the backlog of planning applications are making some headway, but the delays are likely to continue for a few more months.
- A reminder that, the refuse collection over Christmas and New Year should be on your bin, if not please see here.
- You may have received a leaflet from the Conservatives with some statements on the Council's finances. The content was pathetically wrong, either because the authors do not understand the issues, or because they wanted to deliberately mislead the reader. A more balanced version of the situations mentioned in the leaflet was provided by the Chair of the Strategy & Resources Committee at the Council meeting, pages 6 and 7 of this document.
Other Borough news:
- An "Employment Hub" has opened with collaboration across the Council, NESCOT, Go Epsom (local businesses) with the aim to help support young residents claiming Universal Credit, by giving them access to a range of additional support
- The local Foodbank has been incredibly busy these last few weeks. Many thanks to so many of you who have made very generous donations.
- If you know of any vulnerable neighbours please find out if they have registered with the Priority Services Register which aims to ensure speedy response to those dependent on electrical equipment at home such as hoists, refrigeration for insulin etc. Full information can be found via the link here https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/getting-extra-help-priority-services-register
County issues:
- SCC had to cancel their planned Council meeting in December because of the inability to host a safe in-person meeting, and the government is not allowing local councils to hold meetings virtually (as we did during the lock-down).
National issues:
If we had to choose two words to capture the essence of the last month at the National level then they would be:
NORTH SHROPSHIRE !!!
Well done to Helen Morgan and the incredible local and national team of campaigners who secured such a stunning swing and victory. Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel.
If you would like to get more involved with the local community and/or the local LibDems please let us know.
Julie and David
Wishing you, your families and friends a very happy Christmas and a healthy New Year
Thursday 23 December 2021
- Encourage others to subscribe to these Updates at https://epsom-ewell-libdems.org.uk/en/subscribe-by-email, andfollow us on our website, Facebook or Twitter,