Press: Ashtead & Leather Local Article

Leatherhead, blue, yellow and (faded) brick red!

The good news first: several kingfishers have been seen on the River Mole between the Town Bridge and Thorncroft Bridge. This welcome piece of information was given out at the Leatherhead Residents’ Association social evening last Monday. There had been a lot of worry over these birds while the River Path and an adjacent office block were being built.

Sometime in the New Year, however, many of the town’s roads are due for yellow paint, some for a considerable amount of yellow paint. In some cases this will be extremely welcome – the Epsom Road must be an example of this, but in other cases many residents are unhappy with the proposals. However, the numbers actually writing in to object were not sufficient for the council to alter the plans. Conversely, it was noted that even when virtually the whole road wrote in to request one plan, because it was not one of the council’s recommended solutions, it was not accepted. It will be very interesting, on Day 1, to see how quickly the other, neighbouring roads fill up. Homelands, Fortyfoot, Melvinshaw, Daymerslea Ridge, Oaks Close all look set to receive unprecedented numbers of early visitors. Being early will be the key factor in obtaining a free parking place; after 6.30 am it will almost certainly be impossible. Residents of Kingston Road, Park Rise and Windfield are going to have to be extremely careful and remove their cars during the “Forbidden Hour” or they are likely to find summonses attached the windscreens of their own cars right outside their own homes.

Lastly, hopes for a third lane the whole length of Station Approach between the bridges have been dashed. This would have involved the dismantling of the old staircase access and a costly road widening scheme. Instead, just the scaffolding is to be removed revealing the old brick retaining wall.

C. Brown of the Leatherhead Residents’ Association