Your Monthly update from your LibDem Borough Councillors - for November 2021

Dear friends, welcome to our Update covering events during November.

Borough Council updates:

• The latest development on the Chalk Pit was a meeting with residents on 23rd November when all three organisations responsible (EEBC, Surrey County Council and the Environment Agency) came in for some well-argued criticism from residents for the way in which the issue has been managed. Despite the strong evidence that SCC does not have all the necessary information on which to make a decision, the SCC officers present insisted that a decision on the site will be made at the SCC Planning Committee on 8 December. However, this meeting now appears to have been cancelled, so we hope they have seen sense and will wait for more evidence of the noise and air pollution the site is causing.
• The Audit Committee received an update on the projected revenue outcome for 2021/22, which is now expected to be £2.8m worse than originally budgeted for, due to the impact of COVID on the Council's income and outgo. The shortfall will be met by a mixture of use of reserves, planned contingency and central government grants.
• The Planning Policy Committee agreed that SCC (which has special funding for the purpose) should review our Local Listings. These are generally buildings of special interest which are afforded some protection/conservation by being in a Local List. The final decision on any additions/deletions from this List will remain with the Borough Council. 5 other boroughs in Surrey have also signed up to this service.
• In other recent Committee meetings, it was confirmed to us that an officer dedicated to working on our Climate Action Plan will be starting in January, and that a hospitality partner is being sought to run the venue at Ewell Court House.
• The usual free car parking on the 3 Sundays before Christmas will be in operation in Council owned car parks.
• A Planning Committee on 9^th December will be considering the tower block on the corner of West Hill and Station Approach, as well as the Clayhill Lodge site.
• Finally, the refuse collection over Christmas and New Year should be on your bin, if not please see here.

Other Borough news:

• There is continued frustration with the lack of tree planting across the Borough, with once again different agencies seeming to be working to different agendas.
• The local Foodbank is opening a "Food Pantry" on South Street in the New Year. This will offer a small range of food at low prices to those eligible.
• The new Epsom Repair Café will also be opening in January. You will need to book an appointment, but volunteers are on hand to assess your broken household items and will help you decide whether they can be repaired. You may have to pay for new parts but the labour is free.
• Don't forget the café at Alexandra Rec now has an indoors bit! Please support this local business.

County issues:

• SCC has carried out an evaluation of how the booking system for the Blenheim Road recycling centre worked during the lockdown. Opinion seems to vary on whether the system worked or not and we would welcome your thoughts.
• There are expected to be changes in how our waste and recycling will be managed in the next year or so. SCC is currently working out the implications of the government's new requirements (which are still vague). In the meantime this document shows what happened to our waste in 2019/20.
• The government's Green Home Grant was particularly ineffective in Surrey, with just 165 low-income households helped by the scheme before it was scrapped. Details are here.

National issues:

What grabbed our particular attention in the past month of a new COVID variant, Peppa Pig, a disappointing COP26 and continued Brexit failures….

• The fall-out from the dinner Johnson attended in London to get his instructions from his Telegraph paymasters, rather than contribute at COP26, continues with some interesting gossip reported here.
• The independent Office for Budget Responsibility has confirmed its expectation that Brexit will be twice as damaging to the economy as COVID.
• The Stamp Duty holiday cost £6bn in lost revenue (consider the support for nurses and teachers that could have given) and mainly helped those buying large houses.
• For those that are confused about the changes in the government's proposals on social care, this article might help explain the difference between what was originally announced and the actual Bill in Parliament.
• The Prime Minister's shambolic speech to the CBI with his impersonation of a car, losing his place and rambling on about Peppa Pig can be seen in this Sky News clip here .

If you would like to get more involved with the local community and/or the local LibDems please let us know.

Julie and David

Stay safe

Wednesday 1^st December 2021

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