Woodcote (Epsom) Residents Society

There are two main events taking place in Epsom and Ewell to celebrate VE80.

The first is the proclamation at the Clock Tower on the Parade in Epsom at 0900. This will be a short civic event attended by the Mayor, standard bears of RBL and representatives of 135 Squadron. A local school choir will be singing I Vow to Thee My Country.

In the evening, starting at 1900 there will be entertainment and an exhibition at the Queens Stand at Epsom Racecourse before a Beacon lighting at 2130. There will be speeches before the Beacon lighting and various dignitaries will be attending.

Please come along and help mark this important day.

Please take a few minutes to have your say on how our local services like housing, education, roads, and social care will be run in the future, following the local government reorganisation.

The consultation is being run by the district and borough councils in Surrey and its open until 20 April 2025. This really matters so please take a couple of minutes to complete the questionnaire and give your opinion on the proposed future decision making structure.

“W(E)RS was represented at a meeting of the Epsom & Walton Downs Consultative Committee on 24 March.  The purpose of the Committee is for the Conservators to hear from the different users of the Downs about any concerns they have and consult their representatives on its management. The responsibility of the Conservators is to preserve the Downs as far as possible in their natural state of beauty and they aim to balance the interests of all the difference users and resolve any conflicts.

We were updated on work to maintain the different gallops and manage the grassland management including plans to reintroduce grazing on Juniper Hill. We were re-assured that the artwork for all the information boards was to be printed and installed shortly after a long delay.   There was an also update from the Epsom Downs Model Aircraft Club about their activities and events being planned. 

W(E)RS raised safety concerns about the number of horses now coming up and down all three of the roads in Langley Vale during peak morning hours and asked that the agreed arrangements be confirmed and communicated to residents and riders.   We also highlighted the impact of the number of horses and vehicles using the footpaths through Langley Vale Woods which had made them virtually unusable by pedestrians over the winter. The team was also asked to check all the footpaths were clear and any felled tree debris removed.”

Langley Vale Residents 2nd Meeting 13 December 2024

Report of the meeting

The purpose of this meeting was to discuss progress in addressing residents safety concerns.

The presentation from the meeting is here

40 Residents were at the Langley Vale Hall for the update on progress with the arrangements for the 2025 Derby Festival. Epsom & Ewell Borough Councillors Steven McCormick and Bernice Froud led the meeting.  We were also joined by Helen Maguire, our MP and Jim Allen, the new General Manager at Epsom Racecourse. The Borough Police Commander was unable to attend the meeting and had sent her apologies.

From January there will be monthly meetings leading up to Derby Week itself and Councillor McCormick is hopeful that the Borough Police Commander will attend all these meetings.

Most of the meeting was spent reporting progress on actions agreed in July.

Key points to note are:

1. Epsom & Ewell Borough Council has a consultation on a proposed Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).  It is open until 5 January 2025 and all residents are encouraged to respond to the consultation.   If implemented the PSPO would remove the need for a temporary dispersal order for Derby Week.  The consultation is here.
2. The Police have confirmed to Epsom Racecourse that Langley Vale will form part of their security plan for Derby Week in 2025.
3. The Racecourse General Manager and Steven McCormick have a meeting planned with representatives of the travelling community to discuss arrangements for Derby Week and build a shared understanding of the impact of recent incidents on Langley Vale Residents.

Further actions agreed included:

1. Borough Councillors exploring with Epsom Racecourse/Jockey Club responsibility for damage caused to residents’ property by members of the public attending the Derby.
2. The Residents Society liaising with other Residents Associations bordering the Downs in Reigate & Banstead borough to share intelligence/lessons learned and coordinate reporting.
3. Clarifying with the Police exactly what actions they were actually going to take to improve reporting of incidents (in particular involving firearms) and how they were going to provide better protection for residents and their properties in Derby week.
4. Ensuring coordination between the different Police forces in Surrey which support the Derby event.
5. Building relationships between the Police, the travelling community and Langley Vale Village.
6. Re-building relationships between the Police and Langley Vale residents

It was recognized that if the Derby is considered a World Class Event it required World Class support and resourcing.

Under AOB residents were encouraged to take part in Christmas Jumper Day on 21 December which will see many of the racing community, riders and trainers, getting in the Christmas spirit and wearing Christmas Jumpers and festive decorations. 

Councillor McCormick also updated on roadworks scheduled to Langley Vale Road and ongoing discussions with Falcon Buses about improving the frequency of the E5 bus (including introduction of a Sunday service).  He also agreed to look into the possibility of a scheme similar to Digital Demand Responsive Transport (DDRT) which has been implemented elsewhere in Surrey. 

The meeting was arranged and coordinated by the Woodcote Residents’ Society (WERS) with great support from Langley Vale Village Hall, Sean, Tom, and many others.  Thank you. 

Langley Vale Residents 1st meeting – 12 JULY 2024 at 7pm.

Here are the agenda and presentations and notes and actions from the meeting held on 12 July 2024:

Langley Vale Village Hall was full on Friday evening for a meeting with Inspector Clifton-Sinclair Borough Police Commander and Tom Sammes, General Manager at Epsom Racecourse about the serious public order incidents which occurred ahead of the 2024 Debry Festival and the arrangements for the 2025 event.

The meeting had been convened by the Woodcote (Epsom) Residents Society and the three Woodcote and Langley Vale Ward Councillors who are also members of the Epsom & Walton Downs Conservators – Bernice Froud, Liz Frost and Steven McCormick. The 5 of them were joined on the panel at the meeting by Helen Maguire, our new MP and Shanice Gladman, Nonsuch RA Councillor who is also Chair of the Crime and Disorder Committee.

The Borough Police Commander and Mr Sammes spent an hour and a half answering questions about what the residents’ saw as the failings of the police response to the serious incidents that took place and the security arrangements more generally for the 2024 Derby.  A question was also asked about what action the Conservators could take under the Act of Parliament to mitigate the risks to the local residents of the travellers encampment.  A number of suggestions were made about how the security arrangements could be tightened up and extended and everyone agreed that communication with the village needed to improve.

The Police, the Racecourse and the Epsom & Downs Conservators all committed to take account in their review of the 2024 Festival of the very real concerns of residents had about their safety and their requests for changes to the arrangements for 2025.

It was agreed there would be a further meeting with residents before the end of the year to consult on the proposed plans for 2025 before the arrangements were finalised and again in March/April 2025 ahead of the festival.