Christmas Morning

Thorncroft Bridge

The Mansion Gardens

"Bah!" said Scrooge, "Humbug!"

I have in mind writing a pantomime in 5 acts.   Here is the draft ......

ACT I - FIRST HUMBUG
Once upon a time many moons ago when five traveller families wished their temporary residence on 4.7 hectares of green belt to be be made permanent, a certain councillor opposed this because that councillor was a "passionate defender of the green belt."
Several moons later the same councillor opposed the recommendation of the Council Officers and voted to allow some 83 hectares of green belt to be developed as an exclusive golf course with luxury hotel and spa facilities.

ACT 2 - SECOND HUMBUG
When the application for the exclusive golf course was referred to the Secretary of State, Eric Pickles, as it was a departure from the approved development plan, our MP asked Mr Pickles not to call the application in for public enquiry. Mr Pickles agreed, saying that the issue "was not of national importance and should be considered locally."
When the traveller families applied to take their application to appeal, our MP asked Mr Pickles to call the application in for public enquiry.  Mr Pickles did so.  
So five traveller families on 4.7 hectares really are of national importance but a 83 hectare exclusive golf club isn't!

ACT 3 - THIRD HUMBUG
Mr Pickles said the five traveller families could not remain where they were permanently because their occupation of 4.7 hectares was causing "substantial harm to the green belt."
Our wise councillors propose to create up to1000 dwellings on 23.8 hectares. 
Thinks: 
- 5 families on 4.7 hectares = substantial damage to the green belt.
- up to 1000 dwellings on 23.8 hectares = ???

ACT 4 - THE THREE SPIRITS
Like Mr Scrooge, the Mole Valley councillors are visited by three spirits.  They are:

• the Ghost of Planning Past, who shows councillors the results of their past decisions;
• the Ghost of Planning Present, who shows the councillors the results of their current decisions and what people are saying about them;
• the Ghost of Planning To Come, who shows what substantial harm to the green belt really means.

ACT 5 - THE COUNCILLORS REPENT

Also like Mr scrooge, our councillors repent and are changed persons after their visitations.  They call upon their fellow councillors in Reigate & Banstead, in Guildford Borough and, indeed, throughout Surrey to resist mounting pressure from the Government and from developers, crying: 
"Hands off the green Belt! Enough is enough! Surrey is full!"

........................................................

Sorry, dear readers, I must stop.  

The pigs are getting restless and flapping their wings ........

People are worried. Are our councillors listening?

What a fine turn-out for the meeting on the 2nd December!  The room was packed and and we ran out of chairs.  Was it the thought of mulled wine and Christmas fare to follow that brought in the crowds?   I think not; it has not had that effect in previous years.

So what drew people there?  The answer was very clear - the Green Belt.  Or rather the threat to the Green Belt both around Leatherhead and throughout Surrey.   Guilford Borough's proposal to remove Green Status from 16 of its villages is very worrying, especially with MVDC's proposals to "fill in" the gap each side of Junction 9.  Apparently the M25 is deemed sufficient to separate Leatherhead and Ashtead - no green belt is needed.   If all this goes ahead we'll finish up with urban development in a continuous strip from Guildford to Epsom and on into London.  Greater London will get still greater.

Mr Roland McKinney and Mrs Irene Seifert gave us stark warnings and encouraged us to work together with other similar groups both in Mole Valley and throughout Surrey.   We heard also from Poors Allotment holders whom MVDC are still trying push out in order to attract a housing developer to the Green Belt area by Junction 9.

The message is clear: people are worried and concerned at the present attack on the Green Belt.  So were our councillors there to hear their constituents' concerns?  Well, no, not exactly.  County Councillor Tim Hall was there (and I thank him for that), but planning is a MVDC matter.  Cllrs Philippa Shimmin & Bridget Lewis-Carr sent their apologies; and Cllr Lewis-Carr did manage to get there in time to mix and talk with people during the eats and drinks after the main meeting.  But where were our other district councillors?

In last Thursday's Leatherhead Advertiser Raymond Brown asked "How long before Surrey is covered in houses and golf courses, and the Metropolitan Green Belt is a dream of the past?"  Two weeks before, Andy Smith of CPRE had written that Surrey was already full as far as housing is concerned.  So it is.  We need to protect our green spaces while we still have them.  London has already swallowed up the whole north-east of the former county of Surrey.  Don't let the rest of Surrey be swallowed up by London, as the old county of Middlesex has been.

Agenda for Open Meeting 2 Dec 7.30 In the Institute

1. Welcome to visitors and to current members who have volunteered for extra duties.

2. Apologies for absence

3. Minutes of the last Open Meeting on 4 Nov to be approved.   (Can be viewed on our Website)

4. Matters arising - most will be dealt with in full under AOB.

5. Correspondence - mostly emails on the 4 above and will be discussed under AOB

6. Highlights from Reports from sub-groups:

       a. Highways Report

       b. Environment Report    Including remarks on Norbury Park, The Rivers Mole and Ryebrook and the Waterworks.

      c.Planning Report

      d. The Chairman will add some remarks concerning LAP and BLeAF, if not mentioned earlier.

7.    AOB At least 3 people have kindly agreed to explain one or most aspects of the Green Belt Review and  its likely impact on the MV in general.    If MV has made known any decisions by the time of our meeting, then one of the speakers below will announce them.

     a. Mr. Roland McKinney will be speaking about those (many) areas in Surrey which stand to lose some of their  non-developed parts.    He will also mention the type of Consultation being offered by Guildford and by MV and what we, the general public, can do to help or hinder.

     b. As a microcosm of Surrey in general, Leatherhead's position will be explained by Mrs. Irene Seifert of "Save South Leatherhead."

      c. Mrs. Flip Cargill will try to push the search for unnoticed brown field sites.

MVDC: MV Magazine

Dear Resident Association,

We are pleased to introduce a new and exciting way for you and residents in your village/town to view and interact with the Council's publication, MV Magazine. This latest edition, Issue 26, has been produced using online flip book technology, although a limited number of hardcopy versions are available from the council's Pippbrook offices, the HelpShop in Leatherhead, Dorking Halls, the Dorking Sports Centre, the Leatherhead Leisure Centre, the Fairfield Centre in Leatherhead and local libraries.

This edition replaces the March hardcopy version posted to all residential properties in previous years. The next edition (summer/autumn) is due to be published around June/July 2014.

We hope you and residents in your village/town enjoy this edition in its new interactive format. Simply click on page numbers, web and email links to move around the magazine or open up the relevant website. This winter/spring edition is packed full of content including: free parking over Christmas, the new season at Dorking Halls, our garden waste collection service, the latest community news and news of an exciting new start for Dorking Sports Centre.

To view the magazine using flip book technology, simply follow this link or visit our websitewww.molevalley.gov.uk. You can do so using your PC, tablet, iphone or android device. You may be prompted to update or install Flash to be able to view the magazine in this format. Alternatively you can view this edition as a PDF. To do so, please follow this link.

We would very much welcome your feedback and experiences of accessing the magazine using this online technology. Please let us have your views by emailing mvnews@molevalley.gov.uk.  If you would like to receive a limited number of hardcopy versions for distribution purposes, please let us know.    

Kind Regards,

MV Magazine Team
Mole Valley District Council
Tel: 01306 885001www.molevalley.gov.uk
Follow us on Twitter: @molevalleydc

LRA Winter Social.

We shall be meeting as usual in G6 in the Institute at 7.30 on Monday, 2 December. There will be a main meeting which is scheduled to last an hour and light refreshments will be available afterwards. Our subject will be the Green Belt Review and active people from other parts of Mole Valley have been asked to explain and discuss certain problems. Everyone is welcome. 

The Agenda is on the Blog.

Caroline Brown, Sec.

Credit Card Fraud

Dear Resident,

Surrey police are asking people to be vigilant against a growing problem whereby people, mainly elderly, are becoming the victims of a scam to obtain money from their bank accounts.

The idea behind the scam is that a person will receive a telephone call from someone stating they are calling from their bank and that their account has some fraudulent entries on it.  The person on the phone seems to know a lot about the person they are phoning and sound very convincing.  They then ask the victim to call them back to confirm that they are from their bank.  The line is left open from the callers end so that even if the victim hangs up the phone the line will still remain open and as soon as the victim redials their bank they get straight back through to the person they originally spoke to.  The victim is then asked to key their PIN number into the phone and told that a courier will be sent to the home to collect their card.  Once the scammer has the PIN number and the card they can use this to get cash or make online transfers.

I would be grateful if you could pass this message onto everyone that you know regardless of their age so that nobody falls prey to this kind of scam.

If anyone has ben a victim of this type of scam or if you receive this type of call please telephone Surrey police on 101.

THE MAIN THING TO BEAR IN MIND IS THAT IF YOU DO NOT TRUST, OR KNOW THE PERSON WHO IS ON THE TELEPHONE DO NOT GIVE OUT ANY PERSONAL DETAILS.

Thank you.

If you need to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us on Email: 12774@surrey.pnn.police.uk Tel: 101

MVDC: Cashless Parking

Dear Parish Councils and Residents Associations

 

Yesterday we issued the attached press release about the introduction of RingGo, a new service that allows motorists to pay for their parking by phone, app or online, using their credit or debit card. It’s a quick and secure alternative to paying with coins.

 

RingGo will be offered in all our car parks from Monday 2 December.

 

I was wondering if you'd mind sharing the news in any way you can. I'm also attaching a poster and leaflet about RingGo, which you're welcome to display or disseminate. Or if you'd rather I'd be happy to print some copies off for you.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

Kind regards

Sally

 

Sally Horsburgh

Communications and Marketing Officer

Mole Valley District Council

Tel: 01306 879269

www.molevalley.gov.uk

A fool returneth to his folly [Proverbs 26:11]

Yesterday evening (13th November) an Extraordinary Meeting of MVDC was held at which Cllr David Preedy moved:
"This Council calls on the Executive to withdraw the Council's appeal against the decision of the Judicial Review into the Cherkley Court planning application."
 
This was defeated by 19 votes to 14.
So MVDC remains committed to gambling public money on a double or quits venture.
 
During the debate there was an erroneous comparison made with the Council's support in the case of appeal over the proposed Tesco store in Ashtead! The cases are not the same. The Tesco one was an appeal made by the developer to the Planning Inspectorate; the Cherkley case is an appeal in the Court of Appeal against the ruling of a High Court judge. One is worried when some councillors, it seemed to me, did not appreciate this distinction.
 
Indeed, I have said more than once before that if councillors had been sensible on 4th April 2012 they would have accepted their own Officers' recommendation to reject Longshot's application and let Longshot appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
 
So folly now follows folly. Much was made by some that the judge who allowed this to proceed to the Court of Appeal said that the appeal had a good chance of succeeding. Well, he would say that, wouldn't he? It needs to be balanced against the High Court Judge's opinion that any appeal must fail. For the appeal to succeed all three grounds on which Justice Haddon-Cave found against MVDC have to be overturned, not just one of them.
The appeal is a gamble.

Agenda for Open Meeting on 2nd November 2013

at 7.30 promptly in the Institute.

1. Apologies

2. Minutes of 4th September meeting

3. Matters arising

4. Correspondence: 
       1. From Barratt Homes
       2.Any other correspondence

5. Meetings attended and to be attended
       1. Norbury Park Liaison Committee  (short summary)
       2. Leatherhead and District Forum (short summary)
       3. CPRE question and answer evening meeting.
       4. Any further meetings

6. Highlights from sub-committee reports
       1. Highways:  Sub-contracting - ideas put forward
       2. Environment - additions to report attached to Sept. Minute
       3. Planning

8 pm An Address and question and answer session by

 Mr. David Searle, Chairman of the MVHA.

Brighter Leatherhead Awards 2013

As you may have read on page 12 of the LRA Autumn Newsletter, the Environmental Subcommittee is recognizing the efforts of the Thai Pinto, our four town centre pubs and the Running Horse to contribute to the attractiveness of our town. Certificates were awarded to them on the evening of Tuesday, 22nd October.
     The Chair of the Environmental Subcommittee has asked me to display copies of these certificates on this Blog, and I am happy to do so. I congratulate these businesses and hope they continue to enhance the attractiveness of our town. You will, of course, see the originals framed when you visit any of them.

THE THAI PINTO
THE DUKE'S HEAD
The LRA Chairman, Hubert Carr, and Secretary, Caroline Brown, present the staff of the Duke's Head with the certficate
THE EDMUND TYLNEY
	The LRA Chairman, Hubert Carr, and Secretary, Caroline Brown, present the staff of the Edmund Tylney with the certificate.
THE PENNY BLACK
The LRA Chairman, Hubert Carr, and Secretary, Caroline Brown, present the staff of the Penny Black with the certificate.
THE RUNNING HORSE
	The LRA Chairman, Hubert Carr, and Secretary, Caroline Brown, present the staff of the Running Horse with the certificate; also in the photograph is Cheryl Allen, Chair of the Environmental Subcommittee.

Kingston Road - Temporary road closure Anticipated - 1st November 2013 - 08:00 to 17:00 - for three days.

A245 Kingston Road, Leatherhead, Plough Roundabout to Randalls Road 

 View location on Surrey CC GIS Maps

Temporary road closure
Anticipated - 1^st November 2013 - 08:00 to 17:00 - for three days.

Installation of a new gas supply. 

Access maintained for
pedestrians, residents, emergency vehicles and businesses. 

Diversions 
Northbound 
        Leatherhead By Pass Road, Knoll Roundabout, Leret Way, Bull Hill,
        Kingston Road or this route in reverse order 
Northbound 
        The Crescent traffic will be diverted via The Crescent, Epsom Road 
        and Leatherhead By-Pass or this route in reverse order.
South bound 
        Kingston Road, Bull Hill, Leret Way, Epsom Road and 
        Leatherhead By-Pass Road or this route in reverse order.
Eastbound 
        Randalls Road Bull Hill, Leret Way, Epsom Road, Knoll Roundabout,
        Leatherhead By-Pass and Leatherhead By-Pass or this route in reverse order.
Westbound
        Leatherhead Road, Knoll Roundabout, Epsom Road, Leret Way, Bull Hill 
        and Kingston Road or this route in reverse order. 


Quite staggering that this section of road was recently resurfaced.  It'll be back to the usual Surrey standard following this work.

Call for Articles for MV Magazine

Dear All

 

Further to my email of 23 September, this is a 'last call' for articles for our new online MV Magazine due to go online on our website at the end of November.

 

This year, we are moving online and will host a 16 page magazine on our website www.molevalley.gov.uk in late November 2013 as a trial of some new 'flip-book' technology. We would still like to include a Community News page and would therefore welcome some short snippets of news (50 words or less) from you, this time relating to Christmas or New Year activities or something more general. Going online means we can make our magazine interactive by incorporating 'live' links, so if you would like to refer readers to your website, then you can. Readers will be able to read your article and then click on the link to read more.

 

Please send your articles to Matt Blake at matt.blake@molevalley.gov.uk by 12 noon on 14 October.

 

I would also like to add your email addresses to our subscription database for the magazine please. Do let me know if you prefer NOT to receive this (we expect the magazine to be issued twice a year if our November trial goes well)

 

We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Thanks

Louise

 

Louise Bircher
Customer Service and Communications Manager
Mole Valley District Council
Tel: 01306 879155
www.molevalley.gov.uk
Follow us on Twitter @molevalleydc

Surrey Cycling Strategy

Dear All

 

I wanted to make you aware of a debate taking place on 23 October relating to the County Council's proposed cycling strategy.

 

Surrey County Council is working with BBC Surrey to arrange and broadcast a live debate about cycling and its issues for the county. The debate will involve a panel of representatives from Surrey Police, the cycling charity Sustrans, British Cycling and the county's parish councils. It will be aired in front of a live audience, who will be able to ask questions of the panellists, while BBC Surrey radio listeners can participate by phoning in or tweeting their questions and comments. Key topics to be covered include: cycling safety, cycle lanes, training and major sporting events.

 

The debate is part of a wider consultation with residents to help shape a cycling strategy to encourage people to cycle more safely. To take part in the consultation survey, and to find out more about the debate, which takes place at Surrey University in Guildford on Wednesday 23 October from 7pm, visit www.surreycc.gov.uk/cyclingstrategy. Copies of the draft cycling strategy and the survey are also available from Surrey libraries or you can call 03456 009 009 to request a copy. The two links to the survey itself are as follows:

 

• If you are an individual https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Individual-Consulation
• If you are representing an organisation https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Organisation-Consultation

 

In addition a 'Feature' has been added to the home page of our website at www.molevalley.gov.uk relating to the consultation which closes on Friday 1 November.

 

Please would you consider completing the survey on behalf of your organisation, and also encourage your residents to fill it in as individuals? Thank you.

 

 

Kind regards

 

Louise

 

Louise Bircher
Customer Service and Communications Manager
Mole Valley District Council
Tel: 01306 879155
www.molevalley.gov.uk
Follow us on Twitter @molevalleydc

Surrey Cycling Strategy & Ride London

To Local Community Associations,

MVDC wanted to draw your attention to a couple of pieces of work being undertaken by Surrey County Council and given the impact that cycling has on the local communities within Mole Valley we wanted to encourage your associations to respond.

Surrey Cycling Strategy

Mole Valley District Council and Surrey County Council are keen to promote the health and environmental benefits of cycling for all ages, and they are keen to engage local communities in developing a local cycling strategy and action plan for Mole Valley. It is hoped that the action plan will consist of hard measures such as improved cycling infrastructure, as well as soft measures to raise awareness of safe and considerate cycling. Through the action plan, the Council hopes to support those who want to cycle to school, work or the shops, as well as those who enjoy cycling for social or leisure purposes. The Councils are also acutely aware that the growth in road cycling, particularly at the weekends, and the large annual events are having detrimental effects on some communities. The strategy and action plan aim to lessen those impacts and seek ways to support those communities worse affected. In order to develop a strategy that takes into account the views of local communities, the draft county-wide strategy document is available to view on-line. The County Council are keen to get your views during the consultation period which ends on 1st November and available here: www.surreycc.gov.uk/cyclingstrategy

The development of the local Mole Valley action plan will be informed by the consultation. Work on that document will continue through the winter, and will involve engagement with local Councillors, Parish Councils, and local interest groups.

RideLondon community feedback

In addition to the Strategy consultation, Surrey County Council are also seeking feedback from communities regarding the RideLondon event in August. A template form is available for organisations, such as resident associations, to complete (attached), and can be returned to events@surreycc.gov.uk SCC have extended the feedback period until 11th October. The event is organised by RideLondon and Mole Valley District Council are working to ensure that the views of our residents are taken into consideration by the County Council and the event organisers. Therefore, if you want to send your comments to MVDC so they can continue to represent the views of local residents at appropriate meetings with the County Council and the event organisers, please cc your responses to lucy.o'connell@molevalley.gov.uk   

Mole Valley District Council are grateful for your help in shaping appropriate cycling provision for the area and welcome your views.

Please do not hesitate to contact me further if you require any further information.

With kind regards

Lucy

Lucy O'Connell

Strategic Projects Officer

Mole Valley District Council

Tel: 01306 879191

www.molevalley.gov.uk

Time for transparency - not more perversity!

In last Thursday's edition of the Leatherhead Advertiser (19th Sept.) we had the now well-established arguments for and against the Longshot development of the Chirkley estate rehearsed yet again.   Once again Longshot trotted out their "leading planning QC, Christopher Katkowski," claiming the Judge had reached a flawed decision.

But Martin Edwards, a specialist planning barrister, and John Martin, a planning law consultant, take quite the opposite view in an article in the Estates Gazette edition of 21st September.  They are of the view that the "local authority that approved the golf course neglected a series of key considerations in the process."  Their article concludes:
"It is difficult to summarise a 209-paragraph judgment and it is worthy of reading in full.  It is one of the best planning judgments for a long time, partly due to the issues discussed and partly to the fact that it is entirely readable.  For this judgment, the judge's scorecard should show a 'hole in one'."
[Italics are mine]

If you have not yet read Justice Haddon-Cave's judgment,  click here.

Also worth reading is this UK Human Rights Blog article.

Justice Haddon-Cave refused MVDC and Longshot leave to appeal because, in his opinion, any appeal was doomed to fail.    The planning specialist barrister and the planning law consultant named above clearly think Justice Haddon-Cave gave a sound and correct judgment.  So why, therefore, is MVDC asking the Court of Appeal leave to appeal against the judgment.?  Why are MVDC officers once again being asked to defend a decision that went against their recommendations?

Who took this decision to apply to appeal against the judgment?  Why cannot the residents of Mole Valley be given the wording of the external legal advice upon which it is taking this step?

There has been enough perversity about this matter.  It is high time we had transparency!

Is this morally acceptable?

Please read this email I have recently received from Dr Patricia Wiltshire which I quote below with her permission. Look at the video clip and and consider her last paragraph very carefully.

If you are sympathetic to the fate of the landscape around you, please forward this message to as many of your contacts as possible.

I am sure that many are aware of the changes wrought at Cherkley Court by developers, Longshott. The planning team at Mole Valley District Council advised the Council to refuse planning permission for the construction of a golf course on the land, which is in an area of outstanding beauty, and has stunning views. There were many reasons for objecting to the development, but one major one was because the proposed golf course would destroy vast areas of chalk grassland which is rare ecosystem, both in national, and global terms. Furthermore, the proposed golf course would be virtually contiguous with an existing one, and there is a large number of courses in Surrey already. Longshott failed to demonstrate a need for another golf course in Surrey, and it was considered that local people were unlikely to gain sufficient benefit from its construction. The new course would only be available to the select few who could afford very high membership fees.

The Council ignored the advice of their own planning department and gave permission for the development. Developers have destroyed a huge area of grassland. Have a look at the short video (link below).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tpPifvwHCY

The Cherkley Campaign applied for a judicial review, and the judge ruled in their favour. He found that the decision to allow development was flawed. He denied Longshott the right to appeal against his decision. However, not only are they putting together an application for an appeal, the Chief Executive of Mole Valley District Council has announced that MVDC will also appeal against the decision (see attachments).

One must ask whether it is morally acceptable for MDVC to mount an appeal in favour of a planning application from an independent developer when its own planning department advised against it, and a judicial review has also found the decision to be unsound. Whether you care about the chalk grassland or not, one must also ask whether it is right for MVDC to use tax payers' money to do this.

Dr Patricia E.J. Wiltshire

So MVDC want to see this part of the Green Belt developed for the use of an exclusive few, and has recently expressed the desire to sacrifice Green Belt adjoining north Leatherhead to a housing developer. I find it difficult to believe that the Green Belt is safe under the current regime in the Mole Valley!

Attachments:
 
Associated articles:

http://lrassociation.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/cherkley-court-planning-permission.html

http://lrassociation.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/cherkley-now-forty-acre-field-is-at-risk.html

http://lrassociation.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/we-read-in-leatherhead-advertiser-today.html

http://lrassociation.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/and-now-we-wait.html

http://lrassociation.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/the-battle-continues.html

http://lrassociation.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/how-on-earth-did-this-get-through.html

http://lrassociation.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/looking-after-green-belt.html

Music on Thursdays and Wednesdays at Christ Church

Dear Friend,

Please click here for the full newsletter - which has links to all the concerts mentioned.

September's here and there is plenty of music planned for this Autumn, including this week's Music on Thursdays 12.30 lunchtime concert at Leatherhead Methodist Church. ACACIA Flute and Harp Duo bring MoT our first harp performances. Their lovely programme is on this link.

Working in the City ? Soprano Alice Bishop has delighted MoT audiences and can be heard in a lunchtime concert at Holborn Viaduct this Friday. Full info here.

Spectacles wearer ? Us too. You may have seen Peter on the front page of the Surrey Advertiser, or read the article in the Leatherhead Advertiser. We are harvesting unwanted spectacles for Vision Aid Overseas to recycle, so they can fund their Vision Centres in eight African countries.

The Methodist Church, Christ Church, and the Parish Church are all collection points, as are both independent opticians (Patricia Morgan and Donner), together with BFree, B@atitude, WA Truelove, and Fetcham's Symphony World Travel. So as the posters say : HAND 'EM IN ! (Bring them when you come to a concert or a service.)

In the newsletter you will also read about next week's MAIASTRA concert in Cobham, our own lunchtime Song Recital next Thursday by baritone Thomas Humphreys, and this Friday evening's Skampa String Quartet (from the Czech Republic) playing in St John's School Chapel.

We hope you will enjoy your music-making and your listening!

Graham Davies & Peter Steadman

Music on Thursdays

An article for the Leatherhead and Ashtead Local

Dear Members,

The time is coming round for another article for the above magazine.   The closing date is the 9 Sept.   If YOU would like to write an article about something that concerns you in Leatherhead, or something you have seen or heard here, do please compose one and send it to me, the LRA secretary.   Although our town and its surrounding district is the common denominator, each person has a different slant on what goes on here and what could be interesting to others.   It needs to be between 500 and 550 words.    If this takes you by surprise and you are not quite ready now, the next deadline for me to receive something would be the 9 Oct.   I can be contacted directly from the Website (under Contacts) or you could put an article in our postbox at the Institute.

from Caroline Brown, Sec. to the LRA.

My apologies if yours is not the article chosen.

Cycle SMART campaign

Dear Parish Councils and Residents' Associations

 

With the increasing popularity of cycling in Mole Valley, we're aware of the need to encourage cyclists and drivers to be more aware of each other and cycle and drive safely on our roads. We're therefore helping to promote Surrey County Council and Surrey Police's new Cycle SMART campaign, which encourages cyclists and drivers to 'co-operate, not compete': http://www.drivesmartsurrey.org.uk/media-and-publicity-campaigns/cycle-smart/

 

We've put the details of the campaign, including simple road safety tips, on the Cycling section of our website: http://www.molevalley.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=14811

 

It's also front page news on our website, and we are supporting it via our social media accounts and on our staff intranet. We also have this eye-catching A3 poster, attached. We would really appreciate it if you could help spread this important message by putting some up. I also have some glossy hardcopy versions - do let me know if you would like me to send you some.

 

Kind regards

Sally  

 

Sally Horsburgh

Communications and Marketing Officer

Mole Valley District Council

Tel: 01306 879269

www.molevalley.gov.uk

 

Become a Friend of Dorking Halls for £28 per year and receive 4 complimentary cinema tickets and discounted tickets to live shows. For more details visit www.dorkinghalls.co.uk

 

 

Agenda For LRA meeting on 2nd September at 6.30 pm

Also, see the Blog underneath this announcement.   It explains what happened at the High Court.

(note time because our speaker will start at 7.30. Any unfinished business will have to be completed after his talk is over)


Agenda  For Meeting starting at 6.30 pm in the Abraham Dixon Hall
The Open Meeing for the Agenda below starts at 6.30, our Speaker starts at 7.30.

1. Apologies

2. Minutes of the last Open meeting on 1st July 2013.

3. Matters arising from the Minutes
             i Resignation of Press Officer because of over work.

4. Correspondence:  From Councillor Dickson and reply


5. Meetings attended

• Attendance at the High Court to hear to decision of the Judge on the Cherkley Court Planning Permission.
• Report from the Allotment Association (if there is one yet)
• Report from the Fortyfoot Road campaign.
• Any other meetings.

6. Reports from our normal sub-groups - Membership and Publicity, Environment and Planning.

7. Talk by Mr. Kevin Hurley, at 7.30.

Next year’s Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100

Good afternoon,

2014 Dates for Prudential RideLondon

Next year’s Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 will take place on Sunday 10 August 2014.

The exact routes for the 2014 events will be confirmed later this year after the post-event evaluation of this year’s event.

Stay up to date

Our Event HQ e-newsletter is the fastest way to stay in touch with all the latest news and announcements regarding the event. Sign up here.

You can also find updates at Facebook.com/RideLondon and on Twitter @RideLondon 

Take Part

If you wish to take part, or know somebody in your community that would like to participate, the online registration system for the ballot entry place is still open.

To apply for a place in the 2014 Prudential RideLondon-Surrey, visit www.PrudentialRideLondon.co.uk

The registration system will remain open until 6 January 2014 or until 80,000 registrations have been received; whichever is the earlier. 

Yours sincerely,

James Taylor | Community Engagement Manager | Prudential RideLondon | www.PrudentialRideLondon.co.uk

Tel: 0207 902 0200 ext. 203 | jamest@ridelondon.co.uk
London & Surrey Cycling Partnership | 115 Southwark Street | London | SE1 0JF | United Kingdom

Tour of Britain: Road Closure information

The Tour of Britain arrived in Leatherhead on 21st September 2013. 

There will be some disruption in the area, but according to the infomation below it will just be temporary:

http://www.gosurrey.info/tour-of-britain/road-closures-2/

http://www.gosurrey.info/assets/documents/2013-tour-map

Cherkley Court - Planning Permission Quashed!

This morning (22nd August 2013) at 10.30 in the Royal Court of justice in London the judge, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave, gave his long-awaited finding of the judicial review heard on 6th, 7th & 10 June. He upheld the challenge brought by the Queen on the application of Cherkley Campaign Limited and thereby quashed the grant of planning permission given to Longshot by MVDC on 21st September 2012 "on the grounds that the Council's decision was variously legally flawed, contrary to planning policy, failed to take account of material considerations, irrational and the Reasons given for it were inadequate" [paragraph 208 of the judge's judgment].

The judge was quite clear: all work must stop forthwith and all plant be removed from the site; the only concession made was that work may be done to secure the site and make it safe. We hope that this is all that Longshot does and that it does not continue any construction under the guise of making things secure and safe.

This is a clear signal not only to MVDC but to all other local councils that you cannot ignore your officers' recommendations, your planning policy and the advice of the experts (landscape consultants, CPRE, Surrey Hills Board, NT etc.) on the back of a lot of public relations puff.

The judgment is given in a 56 page document of 209 paragraphs. If you wish to read the document, click here. In paragraph 122, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave says: In any event, in my judgment, the Council majority’s decision to grant planning permission for further golf facilities at Cherkley was perverse." This I have maintained was so in my blogs. It will be recalled also that the LRA opposed the application strictly on planning considerations (see the Spring Newsletter 2012).

Will there be an appeal? We do not know*. Certainly the judge was quite firm in not allowing an appeal as, in his opinion, any appeal would fail. If either MVDC or Longshot wish to lodge an appeal against the judge's decision they must apply to the Court of Appeal within, I understand, 31 days.

The MVDC officers produced a substantial and well-reasoned document opposing the Longshot proposal; they were put in the awkward position, after the Council majority's decision, of having to defend what they had opposed. Will they be put in the even more bizarre position of having to appeal against this decision?

This victory must surely give a boost to the Save Barnett Wood Lane Allotments campaign. Is this really the only place in the whole of Mole Valley where 500 houses can be built? Is there really a need to turf people out of allotments they have been working on for decades? I wish the allotment campaign all success and hope our councillors can be more rational and less perverse in future planning decisions.

* Since writing the above, I have learnt that Longshot, at least, will be applying to the Court of Appeal.

Applications for grants from the London Marathon Charitable Trust

Dear Parish Councils and Resident Associations

Please see below an email from SCC regarding grants available from the London Marathon Charitable Trust. Apologies if you have received this already but we are trying to ensure that this is shared as widely as possible and ask that you share this with any local groups and clubs which might be interested in applying. 

The closing date for applications is 31^st August.

With kind regards

Lucy

Lucy O'Connell

Strategic Projects Officer

Mole Valley District Council

Tel: 01306 879191

www.molevalley.gov.uk

Prudential RideLondon – Surrey grants available from London Marathon Charitable Trust

Following the success of the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 2013, I have the pleasure of providing you details of the London Marathon Charitable Trust and the grants available to recreational projects in Surrey.

As you may know, Prudential RideLondon-Surrey is organised by London & Surrey Cycling Partnership LLP and one of the partners is The London Marathon Limited. All of the profits of The London Marathon Limited are passed to its parent company, the London Marathon Charitable Trust, a registered charity.

The Trust makes grants to recreational projects in areas in which events are held, as a tangible thank you for the support of those communities.  Since the London Marathon began, over £45m has been allocated by the London Marathon Charitable Trust to recreational projects.  
It is now able to make grants for projects in Surrey and although in the first year of the event there have been no profits, the Trustees will still consider making grants to qualifying projects.  Although funding is available for any qualifying projects throughout Surrey, priority will be given to those immediate areas close to the events.

Details of eligibility, criteria and how to apply can be found on the application form attached. More information can also be found here.

Address by the Surrey Commissioner for Police and Crime

Monday, 2nd September at 7.30 in the Letherhead Institute:

The LRA cordially invite all those interested to come and hear Mr Kevin Hurley describe his new job.   It is a brand new creation and  Mr Hurley is bound to have had unexpected hurdles to overcome as well as welcome surprises.   Come  and find out how Law and Order is being enforced in Surrey.

The Secretary.

Note: this presentation will follow the LRA meeting. See here.