It had been hoped that the controversial planning application to develop part of Priest Hill for housing might be considered at the next meeting of the Planning Committee on 9 March, but this has had to be deferred until the Planners receive all the information they require.
The Developers have now submitted their revised application and the plans should now be available for inspection on request at the Town Hall and at Bourne Hall. The revised application number is 05/01263/FUL.
This weekend the Epsom & Ewell Liberal Democrats have announced that Julie Morris will be their candidate for the Town ward by-election. The date of this by-election is not yet known, but is expected to be in late March. Lindsey Fisk, the retiring councillor, said: "I'd like to introduce our excellent candidate to you: Julie Morris was a councillor for nearly six years until she lost her seat by three votes in 2003. She is an experienced campaigner and utterly dedicated to the needs of local residents and to the well-being of our borough.Town ward will do no better than to elect Julie to serve alongside my colleagues Colin Taylor and Charles Wood."
This year's round of Council Tax rises look like coming out at twice the inflation rate. Following last week's 5% rise by Surrey County Council, the Surrey Police Authority have now confirmed a 5.8% increase in their share of the total tax burden. Next week Epsom & Ewell Borough Council will be considering a recommended increase of 4.9%, which if approved will bring the overall tax rise for residents to almost 5.1% compared to last year. This is double the current inflation rate of around 2.5%.
Liberal Democrat campaigner Julie Morris is outraged that the service cuts proposed under Tory-controlled Surrey County Council's Business Delivery Review (BDR) include not only Ewell Court Library, but also the Yo-Yo "drop-in" centre for young people in Epsom town centre. She said: "I simply cannot believe they are considering this as an option. Youth services are already under-funded and they should be improving things rather than making cuts. Epsom town centre is already full of young people with nothing to do in the evenings. Do we want more on the streets bored, involved in misdemeanours and taking up police time?"
Sadly we have to report that Councillor Lindsey Fisk has decided to stand down as a councillor for Town ward with immediate effect. Addressing Town ward residents through their Focus newsletter, she says: "I have taken the difficult decision to resign as your local councillor. Unfortunately, I feel I am no longer able to put the time, energy and commitment into the work that is required and I am a person who never wants to do a job half-heartedly! May I just add a personal thank you to all those who have sent me their good wishes during this time. I hope that I may be able to return as your councillor at some time in the future".
A Liberal Democrat motion to Surrey County Council on energy efficiency tabled in October 2001, is now about to yield action and substantial savings to Surrey's taxpayers. These savings should amount to £250,000 or £300,000 per year, out of an annual spending of the order of £6.5 million.
A Community Services Task group has been set up to examine the work and development of Connexions. It is worrying that 40% of Surrey's resources for young people are already committed by the Tory administration to Connexions, yet another quango, and they are aiming for 80%. To make matters worse, we still do not know details of requirements for Connexions Centres, i.e. what is a Connexions Centre and how should it be planned? Also many operational issues are unresolved.
Surrey County Council's Conservative Executive has decided to press ahead with their cuts to bus services, contrary to the recommendation from the Council's own Transportation Select Committee and despite strong opposition from Surrey residents and the Liberal Democrats.
The Liberal Democrats are pressing for key worker housing initiatives to tackle the shortages of key workers such as teachers, social workers and youth workers, that adversely affect services to the public and increase costs to the Council, for example by increasing spending on agency staff. The shortages of key workers are worsened by the high property prices in the County.
After much pressure from the Lib Dems, the Tory chairman of the council's Transportation Select Committee agreed to call a special meeting on 19th September to comment on the proposed reduction of Sunday and evening services, due to be re-considered by the Executive on 30th September.
In December 2001, Surrey County Council's Planning and Regulatory Committee met to decide on three of the most controversial Planning Applications for many years - the 3 so-called "Energy from Waste" Incinerators in Redhill, Guildford and Capel, south of Dorking. The large attendance by the public was catered for by a video link to the sports hall.
