Notes from Langley Bottom Farm – Michael Jelley

Posted on December 18, 2023 by admin

For those that don’t know me, I have lived and worked on Langley Bottom Farm since 1983 when I started working as an apprentice tractor driver.  We have seen many changes over the last forty years, the greatest of which was when the Woodland Trust purchased the majority of the land and planted what had been a working farm with trees. We have subsequently worked extremely closely with the Woodland Trust and graze our flock of herdwick ewes on their ‘open spaces’ as part of their conservation policy.

As well as the sheep, we are also arable farmers. We grow 107 acres at Langley Bottom Farm, along with a further 350 acres at Perrotts Farm, Burgh Heath. In order to minimise the build-up of disease and weeds and to maximise yields we rotate different crops around the entire acreage. Last year we grew field beans at Langley Bottom Farm, which were sold as a protein source for pet foods. Field beans naturally collect nitrogen from the atmosphere and fix it into the soil for the following crop. Nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth. This year we are growing wheat, which was sown in September, will be harvested next August and hopefully sold for bread making.  The arable side of the business calms down in November, but work starts for our rams, Reggie and Ralph. They will be visiting the ewes and hopefully in mid-April we will see the arrival of next years lambs. Over to you boys!!!!!

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New Arts, Heritage and Culture Strategy

Posted on December 18, 2023 by admin

The Council has recently adopted a new Arts, Heritage and Culture Strategy – the first of its kind. Epsom & Ewell is certainly not short of cultural history and boasts over 400 listed buildings and this strategy will celebrate these assets.  A Digital Heritage App is already live!  and can be downloaded from the free Bloomberg Connects app. You will be able to access information about points of interest and history whilst walking around Nonsuch Park, with more tours to be added One Community Wall Mural Project is already complete and the artwork can be seen on an empty council building in the Upper High Street.  If you would like to more about the Arts, Heritage and Culture Strategy please go to:

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December Planning Updates

Posted on December 18, 2023 by admin

Langley Bottom Farm

Many residents, including especially those of you living in Langley Vale, will be interested to know what is happening with the Langley Bottom Farm site. This you may recall was regrettably granted on appeal by a Government appointed Inspector last year for a residential estate despite being in the midst of the Green Belt.

WERS is keeping a very careful eye on this site and our suspicions that the developer may seek to reduce the quality of the scheme and trim costs now that it has won permission are seemingly being realised.

Two applications have now been received to vary the conditions attached to the planning permission allowed at appeal.  The amended proposals are far less attractive and less in keeping with the rural environment which the site is located within and are more akin to a conventional housing estate development.  We have submitted an objection as we consider the amendments are contrary to the national planning guidance that the quality of approved developments should not be materially diminished between permission and completion.

Bucknills Close residential scheme

WERS supported local residents in objecting to an application for a residential redevelopment comprising 6 houses on land between Whitehorse Drive and Bucknills Close, near to Dorking Road. WERS was concerned in particular at the sub-standard access arrangements which were considered to provide unsafe conditions especially for pedestrians. These concerns were reiterated by the County Highways Officer and the application has been refused.

Woodcote Grove (Chalk Lane) residential development

WERS, have been heavily involved in raising construction problems and non-compliance with planning conditions relating to this large residential scheme on the former Atkins site between Ashley Road and Chalk Lane. This is now being pursued by the Council’s Enforcement Officer and we will be continuing to monitor the site to ensure the necessary remedial works are undertaken.

WERS also objected to the unnecessary felling of an old established yew tree within one of the new garden curtilages as this was considered to have high amenity value within the Chalk Lane Conservation Area. We are pleased that the application to fell the protected tree was refused

Epsom Hospital Guild Living site on Woodcote Green Road

This site is an utter eyesore! The roof was taken off the buildings to allegedly avoid paying Council Tax with no consideration to the impact on the local amenity. WERS had previously been advised by Legal and General, who we understand are still the owners of the site, that demolition of the semi-derelict buildings would commence by the end of June. As you will know this has not happened.  This is a completely unacceptable and shameful situation and WERS will be pursuing action via Council officers to require the landowner to improve the appearance of the site as redevelopment is now probably some years away. The scandal is that the former nursing accommodation could have been used for housing some of the homeless people in this borough and saved the Council hundreds of thousand pounds in putting families up in Bed and Breakfast accommodation.

Concerns about start of work on the hospital Multi Storey Car Park

We have raised concerns that there are a number of outstanding pre-commencement conditions that need to be submitted and approved before any work can commence on the new multi-storey car park for Epsom Hospital. We have asked that affected residents should be consulted on any important details relating to the materials to be used, managing site traffic and the arrangements for displaced carparking whilst the building works are underway.

Ashtead Park Garden Centre, Wilmerhatch Lane

WERS has supported local residents in objecting to Mole Valley Borough Council who are responsible for determining the planning application for redeveloping the site to a residential estate comprising 23 dwellings. This site lies within an important part of the Green Belt that separates Ashtead from Epsom which would be undermined by residential development. We hope that Mole Valley refuses the application but even if they do we know from bitter experience with Langley Bottom Farm that a Government appointed Inspector may totally disregard the wishes of the local community if it were to go to appeal.

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Have Your Say on Epsom Town Centre’s Future

Posted on November 25, 2023 by admin

The future of Epsom town centre is important for all residents of the Borough and WERS is especially keen that residents in Woodcote & Langley Vale ward make their views known on whether they support the guiding principles set out in the Masterplan for development of the town centre up to the year 2040. It includes guidelines for developers, investors and infrastructure providers about specific major development sites and suggested highways and public space improvements.

The draft Town Centre Masterplan is available for public consultation for a period of four weeks up to Friday 22 December 2023. You can respond to the consultation questions via the Councils online consultation portal by using the following link:

Epsom Town Centre Masterplan – Epsom and Ewell Borough Council Consultations (inconsult.uk)

If you have particular views that you wish to feedback to WERS that would also be helpful in enabling WERS to submit a response on behalf of all Woodcote & Langley Vale residents.

John Mumford, Chair Woodcote (Epsom) Residents Society Committee

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Maintenance on Epsom and Walton Downs

Posted on October 21, 2023 by admin

At the meeting of the Epsom and Walton Downs Consultative Committee last Monday we raised resident’s concerns about the need for a better balance between mowing and cutting long grass and providing space for wildflowers and nature to help biodiversity and tackle pollution.

A new habitat management plan has now been finalised and can be found here

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Local Hospital Updates

Posted on October 16, 2023 by admin

Development of Epsom Hospital Car Park

It has been confirmed that there is not yet a planned start date for this work. There are many pre-commencement planning conditions that have still to be submitted for approval including interim parking arrangements.

We will be keeping a careful eye on this and will be pressing for a public consultation on anything that will impact on residents.

Implications of ULEZ on visiting St Helier Hospital

St Helier Hospital is now within the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). It operates 24 hours a day 7 days week. This means that if you choose to drive to your appointment or to visit someone in hospital, or are driven by a family member or friend, you car will need to meet the ULEZ emissions standards or you will have to pay a £12.50 daily charge.

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Do you have a community project that you need funding for?

Posted on October 16, 2023 by admin

Did you know there is funding available for community projects?

Your Fund Surrey (YFS) has funding for projects for all shapes and sizes in your area

You can find out more about how you can make in happen in your area here

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View from the Chair

Posted on September 7, 2023 by admin

A plea for Government leadership on planning and housing

Planning and housing delivery across the UK is in a woeful state at the moment and this I’m afraid is mainly down to Government ineptitude. Many of you may not be surprised about this. The Government has after all hardly shown a clear sense of direction and purpose on the economy or with health and social care so why should planning or housing policy be any different?   

National planning policy has been characterised by stop-start reform over recent years. None of which has been implemented. We’ve seen a bewildering number of different housing ministers every few months and a Government that doesn’t seem capable of making up its mind about what kind of local planning system it wants or how to grapple with the desperate need for better, affordable housing.

The latest hiatus has been caused by the Government capitulating to Conservative backbenchers’ concerns over the prospect of development taking place in their constituencies. Last December this resulted in further suggested planning reforms including seemingly an embargo on Green Belt development. Sensible you may think? Well perhaps, except we are still waiting some 9 months later for the Government to confirm whether this will, in fact, be new national planning policy. This delay has caused complete confusion and uncertainty among local authorities about what their local plans should be delivering on housing. Developers don’t know whether they’re coming or going either.  Dozens of Councils have now paused their local plans including, as many of you probably know, Epsom and Ewell Borough Council. This is at the very time when we need policy certainty to enable the right kind of development and investment to be encouraged.

There isn’t just confusion over the Green Belt though.  A key concern for Epsom and Ewell, and other Councils, is the amount of new housing the Government requires to be provided in each area, otherwise known as ‘the objectively assessed local housing need.’  Without trying to get too technical this is based on a national formula or algorithm called the Standard Method. The problem is it is still based on 2014 data. There is more up to date and reliable 2018 based data and we will shortly have actual 2021 census data rather than just using household projections. Why does any of this matter?  Well; the 2014 based household projections were a high-water mark in household projections and grossly inflate the apparent housing figures required. In Epsom & Ewell’s case the 2014 based projections result in a 30% growth in households by 2040 compared to a 8% growth using the 2018 based projections. 

Why on earth is the Government still requiring local plans and housing needs to be based on out-of-date data that grossly exaggerate the local housing need? A cynical view, shared by many professionals in the field, is that it is all predicated on the Government’s manifesto commitment to build 300,000 dwellings per annum: a political target, not having any current demographic basis. The more recent data sets give lower numbers, with the sum total of all Council’s housing need figures way below the Government’s 300,000 target.  Any method must surely be based on the latest data – to do otherwise undermines the methodology. Is it any wonder that Councils such as Epsom & Ewell are delaying their local plans if they are based on excessive housing targets arising out of political ideology? To make matters worse the inevitable consequence of the Green Belt uncertainty is that these huge housing targets (in Epsom’s case 10,268 dwellings for the period 2022-2040) are now seemingly expected to be built only within the existing urban areas.  We must surely resist the worst excesses of high-density, high-rise development. But this seems to be what the Government, either by design or incompetence, is trying to foist onto Epsom.       

I sincerely hope that common sense prevails. The Government needs to pull its finger out and provide clear and up to date policy guidance. The development of brownfield sites should certainly be prioritised and incentivised, and the Green Belt should be protected except for where it does not fulfil its strategic role of preventing urban sprawl. Regrettably, the Government’s planning reforms in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill currently going through parliament seem unlikely to achieve what is so desperately required, including fixing the housing affordability crisis.

So please don’t blame Epsom and Ewell Borough Council for pausing its Local Plan. Blame Government incompetence. Hopefully, Epsom and Ewell’s Draft Local Plan can be restarted once we know what is expected of us. 

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July News Update: Open Meeting Report

Posted on July 14, 2023 by admin

Derby day, downs maintenance, road verges, school safety, village hall, more ……

Residents gather for Woodcote(Epsom) Residents Society meeting

Derby Day – Thank You to Residents

John Mumford, Chair WERS and Simon Durrant

Tuesday was an important milestone. It was the first face-to-face Committee meeting since before the pandemic and it was great to have so many local residents give up their evening to come and talk to us.  We were delighted to be joined by Simon Durrant.  He was responsible for ensuring the Derby could take place safely and without disruption.  

Simon opened by saying how pleased he was to have the opportunity to talk to residents about the Derby. He apologized that it had not been possible to let residents know in advance about the different arrangements the racecourse had to put in place to deliver a safe race and avoid it being disrupted.

Challenges

He thanked us for our understanding and took on board comments about simple changes that would have made a difference for residents. Simon gave us a fascinating insight into the challenges they faced this year and the actions they took to mitigate the risks as they arose in the lead-up to race day. Among them was a discussion with Animal Rising to try to stop them disrupting the world-famous race.  He also confirmed the cost of all the additional security had been met by the Jockey Club.

We then had a very lively debate reflecting the national discussion about whether disrupting events and people’s everyday lives was the only way to get attention for urgent changes to the way we live.

Simon also explained changes to entertainments on race days in recent years. The cost and availability of bands post-Brexit and the pandemic meant it was no longer viable to host live bands.

Residents thanked Simon for attending the meeting and for his excellent and really informative presentation. They welcomed, in particular, the Jockey Club’s commitment to working in partnership with local communities.

Management of Downs and Verges

The meeting moved on to discuss management of the Downs and roadside verges. There was agreement on the need to balance mowing and cutting long grass with providing space for wildflowers and nature to help biodiversity and tackle pollution.

In response Cllr Steve McCormick acknowledged that Surrey County Council hadn’t got that balance right this year and would be making changes for the future. As Chair of the Epsom and Walton Downs Conservators he also committed to discuss the feedback about the maintenance of the Downs at their next meeting.

Council Business

There were then short updates from Cllr Bernice Froud and Cllr McCormick.

They thanked residents for their support in getting them re-elected as Councillors for a further term. They could often get quicker answers or solutions to residents’ problems with Council matters. They wanted residents to keep in touch about concerns and contact them about issues they couldn’t resolve.

Cllr Froud highlighted the huge number of initiatives being led by the Community and Wellbeing Committee to reduce the high levels of homelessness in the area.  Private rented accommodation is at a premium and temporary accommodation for families is among the biggest threats to a sustainable Council Budget.  She also said the borough currently has the highest suicide rate in Surrey and the committee was focused on ways to reduce this.

Cllr McCormick talked briefly about his Borough and Council remits and his roles in relation to licensing and planning and in particular the local plan.

Residents’ questions

The meeting then turned to residents’ questions. They were many and various including:

  • problems with brown bin collections
  • potholes
  • getting football pitch lines painted at the recreation ground
  • useful green and energy efficiency advice on the Epsom Citizens Advice website
  • getting planning restrictions on listed buildings reduced to allow sustainability measures such as PV panels.
  • work in hand to improve road safety in the village and particularly around the school
  • grants available for improvements to community buildings; and
  • fears about losing the Village Hall following a decision by the Vale Primary School to set up a nursery from September.

Residents also urged the Society to prioritise ways to engage and support young people living in the ward.

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Cllr Liz Frost – July 2023 Update

Posted on July 11, 2023 by admin

Post Election Council News Update from Cllr Liz Frost on her Council roles including Environment Committee, Allotments Working Group, Health Liaison Panel and more.

Read Liz’s update

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