Conservatives running Surrey County Council dismissed calls by the Lib Dems to roll out 20 mph zones in residential roads and outside schools across Surrey at yesterday's Full Council meeting.

Surrey Lib Dems put forward a motion calling for a bigger and bolder programme of schemes to implement 20 mph zones using signs only, in a bid to facilitate better conditions for walking and cycling; improve road safety; tackle climate change and to allow residents to enjoy the resulting wider health benefits.

The Lib Dems have exposed an almost £50 million loss of value in just two commercial properties owned by Surrey County Council.

In 2017, Surrey County Council's property company Halsey Garton, purchased Malvern Retail Park for £75m and the Debenhams store in Winchester for £15.8m. However, in response to a question from Lib Dem Group Leader Will Forster, the County Council confirmed that the Malvern Retail Park is now only valued at £35m and the Debenhams site in Winchester is only worth £6.25m.

Surrey Lib Dems are coming out in support of commuters across the county who are facing more uncertainty following South Western Railways' decision to introduce a new reduced timetable effective next week.

SWR are citing reasons of reduced passenger numbers and staff shortages due to a high number of Omicron infections. The timeframe for reinstating normal services has been left open adding to the insecurity of key workers, school pupils and those unable to work from home and who have no choice, but to travel by train.

We hope you all enjoyed a relaxing festive period.

2022 will be an essential year for the Green Liberal Democrats, the party, and the wider environmental movement.

Our Annual General Meeting is scheduled for 4PM on Saturday the 29th January.

Add the event to your Google Calendar here

The AGM provides a platform to elect our officers and executive and agree on a shared direction of travel in this most vital year.

Surrey Lib Dems back "Robin Hood tax" on energy giants to support families with heating bills

Surrey Liberal Democrats have written to the Secretary of State for Energy Kwasi Kwarteng demanding that he backs the party's call for a "Robin Hood" tax on the super-profits of oil and gas firms, to raise money to support local families facing soaring energy costs.

Surrey Lib Dems are challenging Surrey County Council to roll out a bigger and bolder programme of schemes to implement 20 mph zones using signs only, in a bid to facilitate better conditions for walking and cycling and improve road safety. The Lib Dems group is bringing a motion to the Council meeting on 18 January 2022. It will press the Council to follow many other highways authorities such as Lancashire, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire to radically change their approach to the introduction of 20 mph speed limits in areas where it is currently 30mph. This would affect all roads in Surrey with a 30 mph limit unless there is a good reason to leave the speed limit at 30 mph, and would include roads outside schools, residential areas and busy pedestrian streets.

Dear friends, with best wishes for a peaceful Christmas and healthy New Year, here is our last Update for 2021 covering events during December (well, up to 23^rd December, hoping all is quiet over the holidays).

Borough Council updates:

• We have no further robust news on the Chalk Pit. There still seems to be "buck passing" going on but we are doing all we can to get the Borough to use their powers to stop some of the worst excesses.
• The Planning Committee on 9^th December voted to Reject the application for the tower block on the corner of West Street and Station Approach. The meeting then ran out of time to consider the application for the new development at Clayhill Lodge, which will return in January.
• At full Council on 7^th December we proposed a Motion to investigate having walking tours around the Borough to promote our heritage (and make a little bit of money). The Motion was not discussed but instead referred to a Committee to consider.
• There continue to be a very high number of vacancies within the Council (we have the precise number but not sure if it is public so we are being careful!).
• The external consultants brought in to help tackle the backlog of planning applications are making some headway, but the delays are likely to continue for a few more months.
• A reminder that, the refuse collection over Christmas and New Year should be on your bin, if not please see here.
• You may have received a leaflet from the Conservatives with some statements on the Council's finances. The content was pathetically wrong, either because the authors do not understand the issues, or because they wanted to deliberately mislead the reader. A more balanced version of the situations mentioned in the leaflet was provided by the Chair of the Strategy & Resources Committee at the Council meeting, pages 6 and 7 of this document.

WELCOME GREAT NEWS FROM THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

Welcome to my first Blog specially to keep you up to date with what I am doing as the Climate Change Member for Mole Valley. I am very privileged to have this position and take my work very seriously. So much so, I have gone back to Uni. as a mature student and am studying Sustainable Development and Environment. Here are some of the things we have been moving forward with.

https://www.munira.org.uk/news/plan-b-covid-restrictions

It's been a great week to be a Liberal Democrat. Green Liberal Democrat Accredited Candidate Helen Morgan defied the odds. Meanwhile, a hard-fought victory for Suzanne Fairless-Aitken in Hexham East took Northumberland County Council out of Conservative control.