Dear Members
Firstly, I am pleased to announce that our 2025 AGM will take place on Monday 27th October at 7.30 in the Leatherhead Methodist Church. There will be quite a full business agenda, including a number of announcements regarding changes to our Board. We also hope to have secured a speaker to follow on from the formal part of the meeting.
As to local issues you should be aware of, could I direct you to the consultation that our Council is currently conducting as to whether the reported noise and anti-social behaviour of some road-users on the A24 requires Council intervention? The section of road concerned is that between Denbies roundabout and the Givons Grove roundabout. The consultation is open for Residents’ comments until 31st October and can be found on-line at https://www.molevalley.gov.uk/a24/ or in hard copy at the Council offices in Dorking or at Dorking Halls.
And now for some good news: I have just heard that our local Poors Allotments has been on the National Television and in the newspapers after a young couple, who only started on their allotment this year, grew two giant pumpkins “the size of three baby elephants” according to the Daily Telegraph! Their largest exhibit in the national competition achieved third prize, no small feat! Hopefully, following the announcement that they will donate bulbs to local worthy groups, Squires Garden Centres might donate a large bag of bulbs to increase the beauty of the Poors site for its many users and admirers?
I understand that, for a week, from 1st September, our Council via their contractors, Amey LG Ltd., was offering free removal of graffiti from walls or fences. Did you or your neighbour benefit from this? If so, let me know and I will report your gratitude to MVDC. Maybe next year Amey will repeat the initiative if they know it was appreciated!
We have been hearing a lot about possible changes in Local Government – is Surrey to be divided into two or three Unitary Authorities when the existing County Council and District Councils are disbanded? And will those Unitary Authorities have close enough contact with local communities or is there a need for very local representation? If so, should this be Parish Councils, Community Forums or even enhanced Residents Associations? Mole Valley has published a very useful document called Community Governance Review, which provides much information and seeks your views on the options. You can find it on-line at https://www.molevalley.gov.uk/cgr/ and you have until 17 October to complete the survey.
Turning now to the ever-present subject of Transform Leatherhead, we still await the Leret Partnership’s planning Application. The hope, albeit perhaps not the expectation, is that as far as Bull Hill at least is concerned, it will be more harmonious and sympathetic to the existing fabric of our Town than the proposal put out for consultation. In that, 450 or more flats in tower blocks up to 12 storeys high, a monolith multi-storey car park and a 10-storey office building made our current central Park look more like Goodwyns in Dorking or Central Sutton or Croydon. LRA Director, Steve Preston, made these points when he recently appeared on Dave Smiths Sunday morning show on Surrey Hills Radio.
In the meantime, the approx. 1600 subscribers to the petition against the Bull Hill consultation proposals have formalised themselves into a group known as Save Bull Hill, (SBH). They are raising funds through crowd-funding and intend to hire a consultant Town Planner to assess the proposals that form the planning application and make a representation as to any unacceptable features to the Planning Department. They have a web-site (just google “Save Bull Hill”) and there is a link to their “Gofundme” account where you can make a donation. The LRA are working with SBH and have contributed to their finances.
I will finish by reminding you of the Arts Alive Festival which starts on 27 September and continues to 3 November.
With all my best wishes for the next few weeks and I very much hope to see as many of you as possible at our AGM on 27th October, which will be my last meeting as Chairman of the LRA.
With all best wishes
Caroline (Brown)
Chair of the Leatherhead Residents’ Association