Epsom & Ewell Liberal Democrats

1. Epsom & Ewell local plan consultation

Due to continual changes in government guidance, Epsom & Ewell's local plan approved in 2007 needs to be updated by 2018.

The current housing target is 181 homes, 63 affordable and 118 market. An average of 260 have been built in the last 10 years, with an average of 82 affordable over the last 8 years.

Liberal Democrat county councillors have expressed disappointment after Conservatives in Surrey voted to rubber stamp their unpopular cuts to Community Recycling Centres across the county.

Cllr Stephen Cooksey, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson, tabled a "call-in" request alongside other opposition councillors which, if successful, would have forced the Conservative Cabinet to consider the matter again.

Liberal Democrat county councillors have condemned a decision by Conservative-run Surrey County Council to award a £400 thousand grant to an art gallery which has £38 million of funds and an income of £1.2 million a year.

The Watts Gallery in Compton, Guildford, was awarded the money following a decision by the Leader of the Council at a meeting on 12th September 2017. In the papers produced, the County Council's Chief Finance Officer warns that the County Council's financial position is extremely serious, that the proposed expenditure has not been budgeted for and that the gallery was already "financially viable".

Opposition county councillors can today reveal that Surrey County Council is in the process of planning housing and development across dozens of sites in a secret deal that could be worth over £1bn with a private sector partner.

The County Council is in the process of tendering a contract for a "Joint Property Joint Venture Partner", which is described as "a unique opportunity to offer development delivery and service expertise across a raft of property development projects". The project would see Surrey County Council, along with a large number of public sector partners, releasing land and vacant sites currently owned by the County Council and others into the Joint Vehicle. The value of the project is estimated to be between £250m and £1.5bn, over a 15 year period with 32 sites currently identified but with potentially 100 more under consideration. The procurement document goes on to state that "The Council aims to secure delivery expertise, and bring capacity and pace to a development programme that ensures optimal performance and returns from investment activities".

Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council are calling on the Conservative administration at County Hall to stop further investment in commercial property outside of Surrey and to instead prioritise County Council owned vacant buildings to either be used to provide services or to be sold or let.

Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, said today:

Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have expressed their disappointment following a decision today by the Conservative Cabinet to slash the opening hours of Community Recycling Centres across the county and increase charges for residents.

The decision will see 10 Community Recycling Centres close for an extra 20 days a week (see Note 1), as well as an end to the free daily allowance. The Cabinet decision follows a petition handed in by Liberal Democrat campaigners of 3,245 signatures, plus an enormous response to the county council's own consultation of 13,637 people.

Gordon Brown's government announced the smart meter implementation program (SMIP) in 2006 - every home will have one by 2020, the biggest infrastructure change since natural gas in 1974. Eleven years later we have not seen much progress. True about 25% are installed, but these are only compatible with a single energy supplier. When you change, the meter becomes dumb and needs to be replaced. At £250 a pop, and 10% churn, that's a cost of £25 per household per annum, greater than the £18 savings from being "in control". Not very smart according to recent papers by the Institute of Directors (IoD), Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) and several BBC broadcasts.

Liberal Democrat county councillors have welcomed the decision by the Conservative Cabinet in Surrey to drop its plans to close four Community Recycling Centres after an outcry from thousands of Surrey residents. However, the County Council confirmed that it will proceed with its plans to reduce the opening hours of all the Centres across the county as well as dropping the daily free waste allowance which residents currently enjoy. The proposals are scheduled to be confirmed at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 26th September.

Liberal Democrat county councillors have today welcomed the announcement that the County Council has extended the public consultation on the future of the Surrey Performing Arts Library to four weeks up to 1st October 2017. The Conservative-administration had previously only offered two weeks for library users to respond to the County Council's plans, which include closing the library in order to make savings of £180,000.

Thousands of Surrey residents have responded to the County Council's consultation on whether to close four Community Recycling Centres, as well as slashing opening hours and increasing charges at those Centres which remain. The consultation generated 13,637 responses, one of the biggest ever, and now proceeds to the Conservative Cabinet who will make a decision at a meeting on 26th September.