Wednesday 2 July 2008

Tandridge - A Paradox

No Theatre/Arts Complex, McDonalds or Marks and Spencer and just a single screen cinema, but 9 railway stations (servicing 3 lines) two motorways and two airports (and a third - Gatwick just beyond our borders).

This is the paradox of Tandridge District - we have superb transport links to London, South East and for that matter the rest of the world, but have few bid attractions other than our beautiful countryside and charming towns and villages. But local residents do not miss having easy access to the West End of London for Culture, Crawley and Croydon for shopping and other leisure.

That's why the government's one size fits all approach often fails Tandridge residents. We have our own challenges, mainly preserving the character of the area for future generations, but these are palpably not the same as those larger more urban centres face. We need proper local decision making not the current central govermnment dictat to protect and enhance our district.