The Epsom Protection Society Newsletter 103 - Spring 2005

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The Chairman's Commentary

Geoffrey Stone

       

This is the time of year when we are all urged to adopt a "Resolution" to be achieved in the coming months. Could I encourage each of you to support the Society and resolve to recruit one new member in the year ahead; you are after all our best ambassadors. We have been conducting a recruitment drive over the last year by better publicity, by public displays and by canvassing individuals in the Hospital Cluster estates. This has enabled the Society to maintain membership at around 1,500 in spite of inevitable losses. I would like to acknowledge and thank members who have been very successful in enrolling new people. However, it is clear that the Society needs a continuing and steady input of new and, hopefully, younger members if it is to maintain the present level of its membership which underpins its influence. Will you please help? Brochures are available from committee members to give to your friends.

I understand that the South East England Regional Assembly have decided to put the S E Plan out for public consultation starting in mid-January and running to next April. It will seek views on three levels of housing growth in the next 20 years and here new development should be directed. As well as consulting local bodies, a questionnaire will be sent to every household in the region, MORI opinion polls conducted, radio and newspaper campaigns mounted and focus groups formed. You have been warned!

Planning

Alan Baker

Progress has been made with the three major developments mentioned in the last Newsletter. Two - Epsom Station and Capitol House - have now received planning permission and the third - Emperor House - is nearing the final stages of discussion. Our main comments have been about height. The Local Plan specifies that in central business and shopping areas the maximum height should be four storeys. This sets a style for the town and we have argued in favour of continuing such a restriction. However, past permissions have treated the policy somewhat flexibly, and it has to be accepted that circumstances such as varying ground levels can affect the issue; a given height building can also provide more floors of flats than of offices. The whole thing is therefore a little fluid but we feel that the present overall height of buildings in the town centre should not be exceeded and we take a view against unreasonably high development that does not suit the character of adjoining buildings. We see no objection to housing on these sites, which will together produce 379 units in town centre locations. This sounds a lot and we shall be keeping this figure well in mind when considering the Regional Planning Authority's suggestions for Epsom's housing contribution in the new Local Development Framework, which rumour puts at more than ten times as much.

Epsom Station: Planning permission was granted in 2001 for the demolition of the ticket hall and adjoining buildings, and for the construction of new station facilities, retail units and offices, which would occupy the whole of the land on the north side of Station Approach between Waterloo Road and the traffic roundabout. This was not built because of the reduced demand for offices, and the current application is for 116 flats, parking and retail together with the modernisation and upgrading of the station. In our comments we said we had long regarded the station and its immediate surroundings as a major gateway to the town and we welcomed this new initiative to improve the present rundown area. The site slopes towards Waterloo Road and the building therefore appears higher at that end. There are four floors of flats plus a set-back penthouse floor and parking and retail on the ground floor. A slightly higher "landmark" portico tower emphasises the entrance to the station and there is a lower section at each end. It is stated that overall the height does not substantially exceed that permitted in the office scheme. We commented on height and on the effect on the houses to the north of the railway and also emphasised the need for the best available transport interchange. Permission was granted after a substantial debate at the January Planning Committee.

Capitol House and 4 Church Street: In our comments on the revised scheme for this redevelopment our main concern here was also about height. We said that in our view a tunnel effect in Church Street should be avoided and that the rear part should be no higher than the Town Hall. The December Planning Committee approved the revised scheme comprising 152 flats, basement parking and ground floor retail units. Whilst,still having reservations about height, we think the development will improve this corner of the Town Centre and hopefully provide some interesting shopping space.

Emperor House, Station Approach: The revised application for 111 flats and retail has now been submitted and will probably go to the February Planning Committee. In conjunction with the station development opposite, it will be a much needed improvement for the important area around the station. The appearance of the building is much better but we are still concerned about the height, particularly a tower at the corner of Waterloo Road. As with the station scheme itself, we believe that the height of the previously approved office scheme should be the maximum. The design includes a footway to replace Station Way - leading from Station Approach to the High Street - and the entrance is now strongly featured and should be clearly visible from the station. You will remember that the Society has for many years been pressing for this access to be reinstated. We have said that it should be open at all times, with adequate lighting and security, and that the section leading to the High Street should be improved.

26-28 Waterloo Road: For some time we have been concerned about these two listed cottages opposite the end of Station Approach. They have been unoccupied and seemed to offer a temptation for a developer. We were therefore relieved to learn that they had been bought by a small property company which wished to refurbish them for occupation as cottages. A planning application was received and we said we were very pleased to see proposals for repair and improvement and would raise no objection on condition that all the work was to the entire satisfaction of the Conservation Officer. Regrettably this was not the case and permission was refused because important parts of the historic fabric would be removed, seriously harming the architectural and historic character of the building. We hope that these difficulties can be overcome and the cottages brought back into residential use.

7-9 Windmill Lane: As expected, a further application was made for ten flats and this was unanimously refused at the January Planning Committee.

Site of Epsom Downs Infant School, Grosvenor Road: The December Planning Committee approved the latest application, so - with the two successful appeals - the developer now has three versions of his scheme to choose from.

Local Development Framework

Malcolm Boyd

I wrote in the previous Newsletter about the early consultation stages in the preparation of the Local Development Framework in what amounts to a new Epsom Town Plan. The Society sub-group dealing with this has been preparing a brief which, after approval by the full committee, will be used in consultation with Andrew Drummond the Planing Officer in the Borough Council. It is hoped that by doing this the Borough Council will be appraised of the Society's hopes and aspirations for the future of Epsom within the next ten to twenty years. We will keep members informed of developments.

Mr. Trees reports

Mike Ford

Although I retired last year from the Society's committee after twenty years' service, I have not retired from caring for the trees of the Borough and I am still chairman of the Tree Advisory Board. We have been in existence now for ten years, and to mark our 10th anniversary last July we planted ten trees in the newly formed Long Grove Park, formerly the playing fields of Horton Hospital. On 17th July we also planted one lime, one oak and eight Scots pine which all came from my garden tree nursery. The Mayor attended and he proved to be an enthusiastic planter. Now planting in the summer is not something which I would usually do, but the trees were container grown and I made sure that they were well watered in the dry weather; and luckily we had some good downpours last autumn. Anyway they all took well and look good for the coming season.

National Tree Week (24th November - 3rd December): We planted on three sites during National Tree Week. The first was Epsom Cemetery where we replaced a large cedar which had to be felled last year. This must have been about 150 to 200 years old but unfortunately it had been badly wind damaged and was looking rather unstable. The replacement cedar was about six feet high and had been grown from seed collected when the two cedars in Church Street were blown down in the storm of 1987. Secondly, we went to Elizabeth Welchman Gardens and planted a lovely field maple which will take the place of the existing large field maple; this will not last much longer as it has some large cavities in the trunk. Finally, we planted five horse chestnuts (from my nursery) and a liquidamber in Alexandra Recreation Ground. So I was very pleased with our day of tree planting and very exhausted! Thanks to Jeremy Young our tree officer and all those who helped.

Planning concerns (trees): I am still very concerned that we might lose the lime tree in Upper High Street car park that the Society's members generously sponsored in 1984. The re-development plans for 40 - 52 Upper High Street were approved on appeal, but the scheme will depend on the Council selling part of the car park frontage. So I just hope they will not sell and plans will be reconsidered and our lovely tree will survive.

Another worry to me is the lack of landscaping at the Rubbing House on Epsom Downs. In the original planning application a wonderful planting scheme was drawn up and many shrubs and trees were promised along with hedges and low level planting. This scheme convinced me not to oppose the application so I intend to keep following this up.

A lot of people are concerned about the health of the large oak trees around the Hospital Cluster as many seem to be showing signs of stress and are looking quite sickly. We are seeking to find out what, if anything, went wrong with their care during development and if procedures need to be changed. A large number of new highway trees have been planted, but their after care has been very unsatisfactory with many being damaged by strimmers and beginning to be strangled by tree ties. I hope to have this rectified soon.

Cherry Orchard: Next to Nonsuch Park is Cherry Orchard, a former Council nursery site, which used to have glass houses for the rearing of plants of all descriptions and a large stock of trees for planting in the Borough. After many years lying idle, the possibility of public access might now become a reality. Many trees are left on the site so the Council have conducted a survey to establish their species and to see what work needs to be done to make the area safe for public access. The funding for safety work and the laying down of paths, etc. would come from the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Board which receives grants from Epsom and Ewell and Sutton Councils.

Trafalgar Bicentenary: After trees my other interest is Horatio Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar. On 21st October 1805, 27 British ships of the line fought 33 Spanish and French warships. We were victorious but Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson was killed in the battle. There is a link with trees because the Woodland Trust is acquiring land to establish 27 woods and planting them with 1,805 oak trees. The first wood, in Kent, is of some 347 acres and is being named Victory Wood after Nelson' flagship. Other woods will have wonderful names such a Royal Sovereign, Agamemnon, Temeraire and Britannia Wood. If you would like to contribute to this ambitious project, contact the Woodland Trust on 0800 026 9650.

Iraq Date Palms: We all know about the war in Iraq, but how many people know about Iraqi date palms ? Iraq once had the largest collection of date palms in the world and was the biggest producer and exporter of dates. Dates were the country's second largest export after oil. In the 1960s and 1970s there were 30 million date palms and an annual production of 578,000 tons. The best dates come from the Basra area.

The number of trees has now fallen to 13 million due to the Iran/Iraq war in the 1980s, the 1991 Gulf War and more than 12 years of sanctions, and the destructive agricultural policies of Saddam Hussein's regime. During the Iran/Iraq war the Southern Rasal-Bisha grove of five million trees was destroyed; others were lost when Saddam's regime drained the south-east marches to oust insurgents.

Yields for the surviving trees may have tripled, but Iraq now trails behind the United Arab Emirates and Iran in date production. It is to be hoped that with a return of peace millions more date palms may be planted to boost Iraq's economy.

Events

Joy Furness

Second Talk: This talk is due to take place on 24th February 2005. At the time of writing there are still a few tickets left; the application form was in the last Newsletter.

Third Talk: The third and last talk in this series will be held on Thursday 7th April 2005 at 8 pm in the Myers Studio at the Epsom Playhouse. The talk, entitled 'The Value of Conservation Areas in Epsom', will be given by Mr Anthony Evans Principal Planning Officer (Design and Conservation) for Epsom and Ewell Borough Council. Tickets are £3.00 each. Please apply with a SAE to Joy Furness, 37 Woodcote Hurst, Epsom;

Dates for your diary

Sunday 26th June 2005 Ian West's Annual Walk
Friday 14th October 2005 Buffet Supper Party.

Social Outings

Brian Gee

Liars Tour - 27th January:
I am writing this piece before this event and knowing that by the time you read it we will have had our "night out". At the moment the numbers are disappointing so I am hoping that the next event will have more support.

Next Outing - Thursday 12th May 2005 - Salisbury and Wilton House.
The coach leaves at 8 am from the Car Park Opposite the Fire Station In Church Road, Epsom. We go direct to Salisbury where everyone can do as they please, i.e. visit the Cathedral, go shopping or generally sight seeing. The coach will pick us up at 1.30 pm for the short trip to Wilton House where you can view the house at your leisure and explore the gardens. Wilton House has been described as "one of the Treasure Houses of England". It is the home of the Earls of Pembroke.

The cost is £25 (which includes coach, entry to Wilton House, cream tea and tips). It does NOT include lunch which can be taken in Salisbury. Depending on traffic, we should be back in Epsom between 6.30 and 7 pm. Note: This event is three months away, but this notice is dictated by the timing of the Newsletter. Tickets will not be issued until it is certain that there is sufficient interest, so please be patient if you do not hear for a month or so.

Epsom Protection Society Website: www.epsomprotectionsociety.co.uk

Editor: Paul Fifoot Zebrato, Lynwood Avenue Epsom KT18 7LR

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