Planning Application for Social Housing on the Greenway

Raven Housing Trust have applied for permission to build 4 houses and 6 flats in and around the large carpark on the Greenway. This development will provide much needed housing capcity in Hurst Green. Although there will be some loss of parking provision, the car park is, in my experience, currently under used and hopefully the provision of homes in that space will help reduce the likelihood of anti-social behaviour.

However, local residents with concerns, objections or comments should contact the Council within the next 3 weeks by one of the following mechanisms.

* On the website using planning online and searching for the application you are interested in. (The application number is 2008/563)
* By e-mail separately to comaps@tandridge.gov.uk.
* By fax to 01883 732888.
* By letter to the Council Offices, Station Road East, Oxted, Surrey RH8 OBT.

I would also be interested in your comments, so please let me know your thoughts. My email address is accessible via the 'View my complete profile' link on the right hand side of this page.

East Surrey Hospital to Get out of Debt

Some news which on the face of it seems very good - East Surrey hopsital is to repay the £56mn it owes government within 3 years, instead of the 25 years originally planned. This appear to demonstrate that the trust has finally managed to get its finances under control, which bears well for the future.

However the big unanswered questions is how much have patient services had to be cut to achieve this?

Final Furlong

Just 4 days left of campaigning until 1 May. In Oxted South although there are five candidates standing past history suggests it will be a battle between Labour and Conservatives. I am not sure how many local residents have been hit by Brown's 10p tax blunder, but I hope it gives us all yet another reason to vote for a Conservative candidate on Thursday.

* In years to come I hope that the best reason to vote in a local election will be because it will make a difference locally, but until real power is given back from Whitehall, one of the best reasons will be to hasten the end of this centralising, bureaucratic and incompetent government.

Last Council of the Year

It was the last Full Council before the elections last night. We said goodbye to the Chairman of the Council, Steve Altria, the Deputy Leader, Richard Allen and also to John Orrick. 11 of the rest hope to be back after the elections on 1 May joining at least 3 new members and the 28 of us who do not face election this year.

The subject that got the most discussion was the recent assult on Councillor Longhurst in the Council Chamber following a Development Control Committee meeting followed by a more serious attack on member of the public outside. Members agreed that it weas important to ensure that people do not feel threatened by participating in the democratic process, and as a starting point those members of the public who attend Committees will be asked to sign in.

Vote Conservative on May 1st

With the Conservative Party 18 points ahead in opinion polls, Labour rebels forcing government U Turns left right and centre and a summer of discontent on the cards, are we finally seeing the end of this Labour Government? I would truly hope so, but I have a feeling that Gordon, knowing that he faces defeat whenever he goes to the polls, will hold out to the last possible moment in 2010.

However, those of us in areas with elections on May 1 can all help to pile on the pressure, by voting Conservative. Not only will electing a Conservative Councillor (or in London, Boris as Mayor) show discontent with Brown it will also help to deliver Greener, Cleaner and Safer Districts, Boroughs and Cities and lower Council Taxes for residents to boot.

So when considering how to vote, or whether to vote at all next week, think about which party offers hope for the future and which has its lost drive, direction and competence.

Canvassing - Week 5 Round-up

Due to an attack of gout in my left foot, I have not been able to go out over the past couple of weeks with the team so I am not able to give a first hand update, but they continue to report that the response on the doorstep to Liz's candidacy remains very positive.

With the election a week today we are now entering the end game - with all parties having identified supporters we will all be working to ensure that these are translated to people turning out on the day. And of course some may have already made their decision as those voters who have postal votes may well (like me) have voted already.

Core Strategy Update

On Monday evening the Local Development Framework Steering Group met to consider how to respond to the Planning Inspector's letter which said he was happy to continue with the process, but warned that he still had some serious concerns.

Members considered that the alternative to proceeding, essentially going back to square one, was unacceptable. It was therefore agreed that the Council would continue to fight to get the current draft Core Strategy which protects the local environment from over development and reflects the views of local residents adopted.

However, in order to comply with the regulations that govern this process the Council is now obliged to consult on the sites that objectors to the Core Strategy have suggested. The Inspector has made it clear that the Core Strategy is not about specific sites; however he has a duty to consider any sites suggested to him. He has said that he cannot envisage any situation where he would be able to recommend the inclusion of such sites but nevertheless he must consider them.

A Notice will be appearing in the Surrey Mirror, letters will be sent to individuals and bodies (including Parish Councils) on the Council’s mailing list. In addition letters will be sent to addresses of properties adjoining those sites where there is a clear site boundary already identified by the respondent.

TDC's press release with more details can be found here

Annual Parish Assembly

Thursday night saw the meeting of the Annual Parish Assembly to review life in Oxted (North and South) over the previous 12 months.

In attendance, at the new Oxted Community Hall, were the leaders of Tandridge and Surrey County Councils, the Vice Chairman of TDC, all 6 ward Councillors, 11 of the 12 Parish Councillors and even a couple of members of the public!

The keynote speeches were given by Bob Evans, Director of Planning at TDC and Lesley Robinson, Manager of the Oxted CAB.

The conclusion was that apart from a lack of long-term parking in Oxted residents were broadly happy with life. The contribution from Mrs Robinson was the most concerning. She stated that debt is the biggest issue the CAB faces with an increasing number of cases, including very worryingly amongst Pensioners, going to bankruptcy. A lot of their other issues (divorce, unemplyment, illness) relate in some way to debt. Apparently the situation is now as bad as the early 1990s. More evidence that tough times could be on their way.

Hurst Green Police Panel

Not a lot to report from Wednesday night's meeting.

The Police updated on the jewellers raid in Oxted last week (where all the suspects had been apprehended) and mentioned their forthcoming move to Caterham.

Residents reported that further sightings of people riding mini motor bikes on roads had been seen and a request for a speeding on Mill Lane to be tackled. There were also mentions of poor behaviour near the Wednesday night youth bus and near the Infants school. However, other than a small spate of car thefts, for whom there is a suspect, there were no recent incidents of note in Hurst Green.

The Police promised to continue to crack down on cars and builders blocking the pavement on Pollards Wood Road/Red Lane.

Goodbye Police Station

In eight weeks time Police will move out of the Police Station on East Hill Road in preparation for its partial demolition and replacement with 22 flats.

The building is crumbling and too big for the needs of the small neighbourhood policing team based there, but this move, which follows the Police Authority winning planning permission on appeal, is both a shame for the character of the area and concerning as to the impact this will have on local policing.

The intention is that one of the units constructed on the site will act as a temporary police station at which our 2 PCs and 2 PCSOs will be based, but while construction work takes place they are decamping to Caterham which is nowhere near as convenient as Oxted an must therefore have some impact on the time they will be able to spend on the beat. This is acceptable as a short term arrangement, but what we must be on our guard for is another 'X-Ray' fiasco whereby having 'temporarily' left Oxted they never manage to return.

Canvassing - Week 4 Round-up

There has continued to be a very positive reaction from residents in Oxted South, where the issue of the week has been the Council's defence of the green belt. This has been brought to the fore by the widespread local press coverage of a developer's attempt to convince the Government Planning Inspector that the Council's Core Strategy which plans to restrict such development is unsound. Residents I have spoken to are all very supportive of the Council's position to resist such plans.

Our canvassing has also confirmed the level of widespread disaffection with Labour on the doorstep. This largely reflects the national picture, but the lack of a high local profile for their candidate also appears to be impacting their support.

Oxygen of Publicity

There was some discussion earlier in the week about whether it would have been better for the London Mayoral candidates to not meet together to condemn the BNP, the argument being that to ignore them would have been better. I think there is some truth in this - Margaret Hodge's warning in an earlier election about the risk of large number of BNP candidates being elected in Dagenham certainly elevated the discussion onto Front Pages and main news bulletins and possibly resulted in more votes for them.

Up until today I think I would have said ignore them (and I certainly don't intend to say much more), but flicking through this week's County Border News which dropped onto the doormat earlier today I found an advert entitled 'People Like You Voting BNP' illustrated by a family picture. My immediate feeling was one of absolute revulsion and to start with I began to question the editorial judgement in allowing it to be included.

However, in my opinion, it is far too dangerous in a liberal democracy to start saying which political parties should or should not be allowed to campaign (for there are others like the ironically named Respect, other far left parties and some militant 'Islamic' organisations who are just as bad). But given this I do think it is right to go on record to condemn their policies.

I am not standing for re-election this year, and in any event the advert was misdirected, aimed at voters in London for the Assembly elections not at Tandridge, but if I were I would plea with voters to vote for any other party on the ballot, or none at all rather than BNP.

Cardboard Recycling

One of the limitations with the generally excellent weekly curbside recycling collections we have in Oxted South is that due to the capacity of the lorries they cannot take large amounts of cardboard, otherwise they would get full far too quickly. One solution open to residents is to call Biffa on 01883 712333 to arrange a separate collection.

However for Hurst Green residents there is also another, as today I noticed that the Recycling Bank in the car park by the Holland Sports and Social club at Mill Lane now includes a skip for cardboard and mixed paper. This was a particularly useful development for me as I have just acquired a box that needed getting rid of!

Robbery Update

Courtesy of the BBC:

Four men have been charged in connection with a foiled robbery at a jeweller's shop in Surrey. The group, from London, was arrested on Wednesday morning at Decorus jewellers in Station Road, Oxted. They are Stephen Noel, 47, and Darren Welch, 35, both of Lewisham, Rohan Smith, 42, of Bromley, and Lloyd Brook, 35, of Greenwich. They have been charged with conspiracy to rob and will appear at South East Surrey Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Oxted Robbery Prevented

The BBC are reporting (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/surrey/7340026.stm) that Surrey Police thwarted a robbery from taking place at the Decorus jewellers shop on Wednesday morning. Sounds like a job well done by the Force.

Wards to watch

Having posted about Oxted South yesterday, I thought I would pick out the most interesting battlegrounds elsewhere in Tandridge for election night. Out of the 14 I think three are most at risk of an upset.

In Queens Park, Councillor Orrick (Lib Dem) is standing down. This is a split ward with the other seat held by the Conservative Matt Groves. So without the advantage of a sitting candidate this is a potential Conservative gain.

In Valley Ward Peter Longhurst is defending his seat as an Independent. Peter resigned from the Labour Party during the past year and is having to defend it against 4 challengers including a Labour Party candidate. The situation is complicated by the fact that the other seat in the ward is held by a Lib dem (Jill Caudle) and the last time it was up the Conservatives came second. Given the strength of Councillor Longhurst's personal vote it will be tough to call as to who will win this one.

Finally, in Warlingham East the Lib Dem's majority in 2007 was only 17 over the Conservatives, so everything is up for grabs.

Station Road East Post Office

The Post Office has annouced that despite a high level of local opposition to their plans that they are to go ahead and close the Post Office inside Paydens on Station road East. The Station Road West and Holland Post Offices will remain open. This is clearly a blow to all local residents who will have to travel further and queue for much longer when they get there.

The full text of the Post Office decision is below:

'Respondents’ main concerns related to the ability of alternative branches to cope with the expected additional customer levels resulting from the closure of this branch. Respondents were also concerned that parking was insufficient at the alternative branches and that the journey to each alternative branch was difficult.

The two closest alternative branches are located within one mile of Station Road East Oxted, the closest alternative being Oxted Post Office which is located approximately half a mile away. Oxtedbranch has more serving positions, offers a wider range of products, including motor vehicle licensing,and has ramp access to help customers in wheelchairs or with buggies. There is a regular bus service toboth Oxted and Limpsfield Post Office branches from Station Road East Oxted branch and both bus services offer free off-peak travel for senior citizens and disabled passengers. Low-level floors are
provided on some buses to assist passengers. Approximately 86% of local households own a car or van and parking is available near both suggested alternative branches for customers who have accessto private transport.

Post Office Limited has carefully considered all the feedback received during the local public consultation relating to this branch, including two petitions as well as correspondence from the local MP, Peter Ainsworth, Oxted Parish Council and the Oxted Chamber of Commerce.

Having regard to these and all other relevant factors, Post Office Limited has decided to proceed with the closure of this branch.'

Statement as to Persons Nominated

As promised the list of candidates nominated for Oxted South is as follows:

Marjory Broughton - Labour
Michaela O'Brien - Green
Liz Parker - Conservative
Tony Stone - UKIP
Robert Wingate - Lib Dem.

On reading this list two things immediately jumped out at me.

1. Democracy is alive and well in Oxted South with 5 candidates including all three major parties. Very few other wards in the country, let alone Tandridge will be this hotly contested.

2. However, neither Labour nor the Lib Dems could field a candidate who lives in the ward. For the Lib Dems, this is excusable - their candidate lives in a neighbouring ward and they do not hold out any hope of winning the seat. But the Labour candidate doesn't even live in Surrey (according to the Offical Statement on the TDC website)! For a party that had a councillor representing the ward up until last year, not to field a candidate who live in nearby area seems to indicate an acceptance that they have no serious hope of winning here again.

Canvassing - Week 3 Round Up

A somewhat short and passive report from me, as a nasty attack of gout has prevented me from getting out onto the doorsteps this week. But speaking to our candidate this morning she reported getting a lot of positive feedback during the week.

We will get formal confirmation later this week who is standing against Liz Parker in Oxted South. We already know the identities of the Green and Liberal Democrat candidates, but the name of the Labour candidate is a bit of a mystery . However it does appear that neither Robin nor Barbara Harling will be standing this year, which for Labour in Oxted South will be an end of an era. I will post the full list of 'runners' when it comes out on Tuesday.

Tandridge Residents have until 16 April to get their name onto the electoral register or apply for a postal vote.

Snow

I thought Hurst Green looked picturesque this morning. There is nothing like untrodden snow to bring out the best in a place and it seemed a good six inches deep in part. Although it is mostly melted now, I see the weather forecast is for more on Tuesday.

No new houses for Oxted (yet)

As promised here is my report of Thursday's meeting in Oxted.

In summary the meeting reinforced my view that the threat to Tandridge as a desirable place to lives comes not primarily from developers, but from unelected officials who working within a highly bureaucratic framework imposed by Civil Servants in Westminster. The Inspector ruled out any housing developments in Oxted on the back of any decision he will take, but the risk that he either rejects the Core Strategy or changes it substantially remains and in that case developers may be better able to make the case for inappropriate housing development in the Oxted area.

The meeting was very well attended by local residents, so well attended that not all could make it into the Council Chamber and the Inspector had to spend the first two hours outlining what the purpose of the meeting was all about.

The Inspector made clear that he would NOT during the meeting allocate any individual sites, hear from any developers about sites they wished to develop, decide on any planning applications, remove land from the Green Belt, or hear public views about development in Tandridge. These words were an attempt to reassure residents that there was no immediate threat from developers in Oxted. He said that instead the purpose was to decide on whether the process to consider the Core Strategy would go forward.

The best news at the meeting was that the proposals from Village Developments for 650 homes in Oxted which they appended to their comments on the Strategy would not at any point be considered by this Inspector and were submitted completely inappropriately.

There then followed a series of very insightful questions from local residents about the process which made clear that there was still a longer term threat to the area should Core Strategy not be accepted as proposed. In response the Inspector conceded that he did have the power to change the Core Strategy (as agreed by elected councillors and reflecting the views of local people) and if he did so the the Council would have no real option to accept his changes as the alternative would be to go through an expensive and risky High Court challenge (with little chance of success) or to re-start the four year process (at great expense) needed to get to this point and (by implication - though the Inspector did not say so explicitly) that during the next four years Council's current development control policies would lose their effectiveness and risk more inappropriate developments being approved.

The changes he could make might include forcing the council to look for specific sites for housing quicker than in the plan requiring further consideration as to whether Green Belt boundaries may have to be changed.

The other slightly perverse area of discussion was about the level of consultation the Council had undertaken, with local residents (most of whom actually agreed with the Core Strategy's plans to resist inappropriate Housing Developments) saying they had not been appropriately consulted (and thus threatening the soundness of the process) while the developers present (who opposed the Core Strategy) supporting the Council in that consultation had been adequate.

The meeting then moved onto the formal agenda, where the objectors to the Core Strategy were asked to amplify on their written comments. The main objector was the Government Office for the South East (GOSE) whose objections mostly seemed to be on how the document was drafted rather than on the substance. However even GOSE conceded that that Government guidance did not really provide any solution for a district like Tandridge (which is 94% Green Belt) and despite objecting, did not offer a way out. The Inspector suggested to GOSE that they should be more helpful in their criticisms and suggest solutions rather than just the problems.

Following the meeting the Inspector issued his opinion which rather than summarise I have set out in full below:

'I still have deep concerns and reservations about certain aspects of the Core Strategy, to which I will return below. Nevertheless, I consider that I should continue with the Examination for two reasons. Firstly, because there seems to me to be a reasonable likelihood that further evidence, or the use of existing evidence that I have not yet considered, might resolve some of those concerns. And, secondly, because I detect a positive approach by your Council to the possibility of minor changes to the Core Strategy which might clear up some of my reservations.

Even so, your Council should be aware that continuing with the Examination is not a guarantee that I will ultimately find the Core Strategy to be sound. Your Council should still seriously consider the risk of the Core Strategy being found unsound if the Examination proceeds, with the consequent waste of resources both in time and money.

I agree with GOSE’s analysis at the end of the Meeting that the most credible threat to the Core Strategy is that too many changes might have to be made to make it sound. The danger is that cumulatively these changes would create a Plan so different from that submitted that its provisions would not have had the benefit of the public consultation and sustainability assessment that is required. I referred more colloquially to this possibility at the Meeting as “death by a thousand cuts”.

The main concerns and reservations that I still have are:

Housing windfalls – the lack of a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment means that the Core Strategy is perceived as being too reliant upon windfalls to meet the last five year part of its ten year housing land supply, contrary to the advice at paragraph 59 of Planning Policy Statement 3. Clearly, I must bear in mind and consider the constraints (e.g. Green Belt), the low housing requirement, and the validity of your Council’s argument in relation to windfall rates. In addition, there may also be evidence in the Housing Capacity Study on the prevalence of Large Sites which could be drawn out and brought to my attention.

Development management policies – their style and their placing with the Core Strategy mixed up with more important strategic policies. I welcome your Council’s positive approach to rethinking this aspect, perhaps in co-operation with GOSE.

Monitoring – I understand the realistic aims of your Council on this point, but I would welcome further consideration as to whether account has been fully taken of the advice in the Government’s LDF Monitoring: Good Practice Guide.'

In conclusion a goodish result, but one that carries a high degree of risk for Tandridge.

Today's meeting on Core Strategy

I mentioned this last week. See this link for my post.

Looks like it will be well attended as the BBC are now coverning this as well. I will report back on what was said.