Make Sure You Can Have Your Say

It only takes a couple of minutes to do, but if you don't do you will not have a say in who runs, Tandridge, Surrey or the UK.

The Register of Electors annual canvass takes place in Tandridge from the end of August. A form which shows all the details the Council has about households on the current electoral register will be delivered to all 34,500 residential properties in the district.

Letting TDC know whether the information is correct (by phone or internet) or if not (by post) will not take more than a few minutes and by doing so will ensure that come election day all adults in a household can vote

The information from the canvass is used to create the register which will be printed on 1 December.

Floods and Holidays

The floods go on. Fellow residents have been in touch to report their experiences and while not on the scale of those seen in he west of England and along the Thames corridor, it still is distressing for those impacted, especially when resources have to be focused on those most affected.

But to me the main lesson appears to be that we are not able to quickly deal with any prolonged and widespread impact on our infrastructure. If, as the scientific advice indicates, we are to experience more of these extreme weather events over the next thirty years as part of the climate change process we will need to adapt and invest in our crisis management infrastructure. This will need to be done at both a national and a local level. Flexibility will be required

I am going on holiday tomorrow to the Lake District for a week, road conditions allowing, so please excuse the lack of posts.

Fire, Fire, Pour on Water

Given the recent fire at the Ajax site in Hurst Green I was please to see today two initiatives from Surrey County Council to reduce the risk to Oxted South residents.

A brand new state of the art fire engine has just been delivered to the Surrey Fire and Rescuse Service at Godstone. The new appliance boasts new technology which is both more effective at fighting fires, uses less water, causes less water damage and is better for the environment.

The County Council have also lauched an anti arson campaign at teenagers. I think it is vital that this message gets across. Last month's fire mercifully involved no injuries, but so easily could have done, if the gas cyclinders found on site had not been old and empty So well done Surrey for working to deal with these risks.

Healthy Tandridge

I received yesterday the 2007 Health Profile for Tandridge, which makes interesting reading.

The good news, and it is mostly good news, is that life expectancy is above the average for England and it is increasing. Early deaths from cancer, strokes and heart disease is lower and people tend to live healthier lifestyles than on average.

However there are still challenges. The proportion of the over 65s is greater than elsewhere, 1 in 5 adults are classed as obsese and 1 in 7 binge drink. And it is still the case that 4,100 people live in low income households. This includes 1,300 children.

Looking specifically at Oxted South, life expectancy is 81 for men, 83 for women and the number of low income households about average for the district.

Click here if you'd like to read more details.