The Epsom Protection Society Newsletter 104 - Summer 2005

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The Chairman's Commentary

Geoffrey Stone

       

At the Annual General Meeting on the 22nd April 2005, the Chairman and members of the Committee reported on various matters with which the Society is concerned. The substance of these reports follows.

In taking the chair for a third year may I thank you all for the support you continue to give to the Society. Membership of over 1500 provides a good basis for the ability to bring influence to bear on the planning of the future of Epsom. I would also like to thank the members of the Executive Committee who have been re-appointed, together with co-opted members, for the many ways in which they contribute to the Society's aims and the help they have given me. They are a splendid, hard working team who work well together. However they are stretched and we all have limitations on the effort we can extend. As I have explained before, we do need more help. May I appeal once more for help specifically in the planning/architecture area and in our ability to project the activities of the Society to a wider audience. Please either write to me or phone if you would like to help us.

Planning

Alan Baker

There are three major cases referred to in the Annual Report and two other items currently in the news.

Capitol House, Chruch Street: This comprises Capitol House itself, with Allied Carpets on the ground floor, and the adjoining garage. The proposal is for basement parking, four retail units and 152 flats on four upper floors; it is grouped round an inner courtyard with access from Church Street and extends through to face the rear of the Town Hall where a future Town Hall Square is in mind. We saw no objection in principle and thought it would improve this untidy part of the town centre but commented on the excessive height, the unimpressive design and the possible conflict of traffic. A number of improvements were made in a revised scheme and permission was granted at the December Planning Committee.

Epsom Station: On this site, and at Emperor House opposite, permission had been given some years ago for offices but these were not built because of the failing market and in both cases it is now proposed to build flats. We saw no objection to this change and welcomed the initiative to improve the area. At the Station the scheme involves new station facilities including canopies, booking hall, improved entrance, subway and platforms, and new passenger lifts; shops in the booking hall and on the corner of Waterloo Road; and five floors of flats. The station entrance is described as a "dominant element emphasised by a soaring portico" a storey higher than the rest.

We saw much merit in the scheme and liked the better emphasis on the station entrance, but complained again about the height, asked for better landscaping and drew attention to the vital aspect of the effect on houses north of the railway. Officers said the height was in general consistent with the earlier approved scheme, and permission was granted at the January Planning Committee.

Emperor House: This is the derelict site opposite the Station, and includes the skeleton car park built as part of the previous permission. Following refusal of an application last summer we were pleased that the developers asked for a meeting and presented their revisions to us and listened to our comments. This scheme is another mixed development involving retail on the Waterloo Road corner, parking in the existing position and 111 flats on mainly five upper floors. We again complained about the height but officers claimed that it did not in general exceed the earlier scheme except for a seven storey tower at the corner of Waterloo Road justified as marking the entrance to the town centre.

We were especially pleased that a footway, with proper lighting, CCTV cameras and a featured entrance, links Station Approach with the High Street, replacing Station Way which this Society had worked so hard to preserve some years ago. This application was approved at the February Planning Committee.

40-52 Upper High Street: This site between Homewater House and the car park, and including Allam Motors and Iceland, received planning permission on appeal last year for a development of a car dealership, retail and flats. It included part of the car park in the Council's ownership and as the Council had opposed the application they were clearly unhappy. We understand that the site has been sold to a new developer who has a different scheme in mind. Newspaper reports indicated that this might include a major supermarket. (After the AGM and at the time of going to press, we can say that a new planning application has been made, and once again the developers have asked to come and present their plans to us. It is very gratifying that our status as a local amenity group is being recognised in this way, and we shall be speaking to the developers before making formal comments on the new scheme.)

South Hatch Stables, Burgh Heath Road: These old stables in the Green Belt have been the subject of two applications, both of which have been refused. They are outdated and the owner wants to build new state of the art stables on a site more discreetly located further into the Green Belt. To provide the capital for this venture he wanted to build new housing on the old site, in the first case 50 flats in ten blocks and secondly eight five bedroom houses. We have given support for the improvement of racing stables but found the enabling development totally unacceptable and suggested that, in return for using the new Green Belt site, he should return the old site to open land. As we hoped, the Planning Committee agreed unanimously. The first case has been appealed and we are making our views known.

Generally: These cases illustrate two of our main subjects of concern - protection of the Green Belt and the protection of Epsom from buildings of excessive height. The Local Plan includes a policy limiting buildings to three storeys in residential areas and four storeys in the Town Centre, but this is being treated with excessive "flexibility". We shall continue to press for these concerns to be recognised.

Local Development Framework

Malcolm Boyd

In the previous two Newsletters I have been updating members on the Society's role in the consultation process of the Local Development Framework (LDF). The brief prepared by the Sub-committee is attached to this Newsletter. When you read it please pay particular attention to the Key Development Principles at the end of the document as these represent your Committee's aspirations for Epsom Town for the foreseeable future. However, the Committee comprises a relatively small number of the Society's membership of some fifteen hundred and we always welcome comments from members who may agree or disagree with our views.

We have had two meetings with council officials using the brief as a starting point for discussion. The first was with Mr Andrew Drummond the Borough Council Officer charged with overseeing the LDF. The second was with Mr Martyn Williams the County Council Officer responsible for transportation issues within the Borough; see Norman Dempster's report below. The Borough Local Plan ceases in September 2007, but some of its policies will be saved for a further three years. The LDF, which will replace the Local Plan, is in fact a 'folder' in which will be placed a range of Development Documents. Consultation will play an important role as each development document draft is produced. There was significant agreement between our respective points of view, even though Mr Drummond is exposed to a variety of pressures. Regarding new building, he is particularly keen to encourage energy efficient buildings having high quality design and using good quality materials that are easy to clean. The racing industry is one of the most discussed policies and the developing and upgrading of the facilities and enhancing the quality of the racecourse needs very careful planning without jeopardising the Green Belt.

Subsequent to this useful meeting Andrew Drummond sent us details of projected dwellings to be built in the Borough. Major developments (i.e. over 100 dwellings) are Horton Hospital Site (441), St Ebba's (280), West Park (350), Highway House, Ewell (138), Thames Water Site, East Street (169), Capitol House Site (148), Epsom Station (116), Emperor House (111). Interestingly, of the total of 3000 dwellings allocated to the Borough in the Current Surrey Structure Plan there is a current shortfall of 42.

The South East England Regional Assembly may impose a much higher housing allocation that will put additional pressure on greenfield sites in the Borough and the Society will need to be very vigilant in monitoring any new figures. We have sent a copy of our brief to Councillor Nigel Petrie, who is a member of the Assembly, as our contribution to the public consultation taking place and we have also sought a meeting with him.

Finally as part of ongoing consultation, we have made a significant contribution to the Sustainability Appraisal Report of the LDF by suggesting that greater emphasis be placed on the built environment and the visual appearance of the townscape, issues that we felt were missing from the report.

Transportation Planning

Norman Dempster

Transportation Planning is an important element of the new Local Development Framework. As we developed our thinking in the Society as to how we saw the Epsom of the future it became clear that a number of transport factors would play an important role in the success or otherwise of the town's development.

Transportation is the responsibility of the County Council rather than the Borough Council and a meeting was therefore arranged with Martyn Williams who is the Local Transportation Director for services in Epsom & Ewell to obtain his views on the EPS brief attached to this Newsletter.

Our Borough Council aims to develop our Town Centre into a vibrant and viable place acting as a focal point for the area. However re-routing the A24 so that it does not pass through Epsom, and in particular our town centre, is not on the agenda for the next 20 years. There are no plans to relieve us of the growing congestion, noise and air pollution and the visual impact of the traffic. But it is our view that we must at least safeguard a corridor for a by-pass. Parts of the corridor from previous plans, such as Longmead Road, still exist and EPS will press to have a corridor in the new Local Development Framework.

On the brighter side the Transportation Manager is currently preparing a new traffic model for the area. This will allow the Planners to explore proposals for better access to the town centre and reasonable parking, rerouting including bus routes, changing lane usage, introducing new traffic management measures, etc.

With regard to parking in particular, after public consultation a Controlled Parking Zone was rejected and will only be reconsidered by public demand. A time scale of five years was suggested. Meanwhile EPS will continue to press that all new development will include off street parking, off road delivery facilities and if possible public parking.

In our discussions at both Borough and County level it became very clear how much both the officers and the elected members were frustrated and constrained in both budget and action by central policies and financial allocations. As an example it seemed to EPS that with re-development planned for both sides of Station Approach there was an ideal opportunity to redesign the approach to our station to make it more user friendly and attractive to passengers arriving in Epsom; but the lack of funding makes that impossible as we do not qualify as a 'Regional Hub' in Surrey: currently Guildford, Woking, Redhill/Reigate and Staines.

Membership

Ishbel Kenward

Our current membership is 1519 and being able to quote this does add weight to our opinions on planning matters. Recruitment is required all the time because we lose an average of 80 to 90 members each year; some do resign, but most have moved or passed away. The disappointing response from the leaflet drop at the Hospital estates last year does prove that personal contact is the best way to keep up our membership. We were successful at both Epsom Common Day and the Ashley Centre, recruiting 16 and 18 members respectively, and our leaflets in the Libraries bring in a few more. However, the majority of our new members join as a result of personal approach from current members. Thank you to those who have recruited new members. So I do ask you to think about neighbours, friends, family or work colleagues who may be interested in joining us and probably don't even know we exist. Contact me for leaflets as I find that it is helpful to give people something to read. Thank you too to the 56 Road Representatives and four Distributors without whom your Newsletters wouldn't reach you.

Planning: additional items

Alan Baker

The major items have been dealt with in the report of the AGM and little more remains to be said.

145 High Street, Epsom: There has been an application for change of use of the former bathroom shop to a recruitment agency. We said we regretted the loss of a retail use and that the extent to which it had been marketed should be checked. We also asked that the front of this listed building should be properly repaired. Permission for the change of use has now been given with a condition covering remedial work.

West Park Hospital: An outline application has been made for about 350 dwellings, hotel/conference centre and associated community buildings. This should accord with the agreed development brief, and is being studied.

Holywood Lodge

Malcolm Boyd

Since the disastrous fire Inventures, the owners of the building, have been striving to make it safe since parts of the building are unstable. A full structural survey needs to be done in order to ascertain whether the building can be salvaged and converted or whether demolition is the only option. The consultants have promised that if demolition is necessary, a replica building using the footprint of Hollywood House could be constructed.

Talk by Stephen Wallis, MD of Epsom Downs Racecourse, on 24 February 2005

Angela Clifford

Tony Smith welcomed Stephen Wallis and about 45 members to the second of our series of three winter talks on 24th February 2005. Mr. Wallis declared himself passionate about the Derby, the Downs, the importance of the continuation of racing to Epsom itself and the need to maintain the pre-eminence of the Derby in the Racing Calendar. He emphasised the important social aspect of race meetings and the Downs. The Downs are open to all: walkers, with or without dogs, riders, kite flying, model aircraft enthusiasts and cyclists, and he is keen to encourage their use while still enabling the training of race horses to take priority for some of the time.

However, racing in Epsom faces much more competition from local attractions - Bluewater for example - so he is working hard to ensure a thriving and stable racing industry here or the Downs may be lost. But much needs to be done if the Downs are to remain for us all in the long run. The Racecourse is now owned by the Racecourse Holding Trust which in turn is owned by The Jockey Club. There are no shareholders expecting dividends but the income has to provide prize money and maintain/improve facilities. The maximum number of racing days the turf can stand without deterioration is 13, so other means have to be found to increase income - this means updating the buildings and enabling other sources of income to be developed. There were several possibilities: improving the Grade II listed Prince's Stand, maybe incorporating an education facility - lottery funding might be a possibility for this; new grandstand buildings to complement the Queen's Stand; and replacing the tired buildings on the Paddock with a first class hotel. This would enable two day conferences and other events (product launches or filming contracts) to be offered. Pop concerts have already been started to attract younger people. Local opposition to some developments is anticipated but Mr. Wallis works closely with Town Hall officials and hopes agreement could be reached. The first target is thirty million pounds!

Looking back, the change from Wednesday to Saturday for the Derby was needed because of falling attendance. After a survey of focus groups locally (500 replies from 1142 participants, so far) Ladies Day will re-appear for The Oaks and special efforts be made to encourage groups to come by minibus - details on the web-site. The survey also showed the wish of race-goers to keep the formality of morning dress for Derby Day but accept jacket and tie for Ladies Day, so traditions are maintained. This year 80,000 are expected on the Hill alone and there will be four large screens erected on the site.

Talk by Anthony Evans, Chief Planning Officer, Design & Conservation on 7th April 2005

Margaret Rogers

This was a fascinating talk by Anthony Evans, the Borough's Chief Planning Officer, Design and Conservation, who obviously considers his work as much vocation as job! He spoke of our 21 Conservation Areas in some detail and the factors taken into account when the designation was granted - the styles and ages of buildings and whether or not 'Listed', the appearance and landscaping of the area, the architect, the builders, the materials used etc. Each Area differs from the others and each has a variety within itself - Epsom High Street and Ewell Village (the largest, together with Stamford Green) both have commercial and business properties while the others are predominantly residential. Church Street and Chalk Lane, for example, have a mix of grand houses originally built for the gentry jostling with cottages for the labourers. The Officers have to keep a watchful eye on all of them to prevent unfortunate alterations and additions which, if allowed, would devalue the Conservation status. For those living in a CA it is always safer to check with the Planning Department before starting any work. You will find them extremely helpful.

Those who were not able to pick up the pamphlets covering some of the Areas will find them at the Town Hall. They outline the distinctive features of each Area and it is hoped to complete the set very shortly. Unfortunately, because of Government decrees, Officers are having to give priority to "Character Appraisals" of our Conservation Areas and further pamphlets have had to be delayed.

Events

Joy Furness

Sunday 26th June 2005, Ian West's Annual Walk. The walk will be in the St Martins Avenue and Downside area, and Ian will tell us about the interesting Late Victorian and Edwardian houses. It is a district to which Ian has not yet taken us. Do come and join us; everyone is welcome. We meet at 2.30 pm in the car park in front of St Martins Church. Friday 14th October 2005, Buffet Supper Party. The party will be held again in St Joseph's Church Hall and our own member Peter Christie of Instant Sunshine fame has very kindly agreed to entertain us. Please put the date in your diary. More details and the application form will be in the next Newsletter.

The Zoo Visit

Harry Wilkinson

Those of you who visited London Zoo recently with the Society may remember that our guide John Barrington-Johnson (Barrie) had written a book on London Zoo. Barrie's book has now been published as 'The Zoo-The Story Of London Zoo' by Robert Hale publishers and is selling at £14.99. It is a fascinating, and often amusing, history of the Zoo and well worth reading.

Subscriptions

Ishbel Kenward

Thank you to those members who have paid their subscriptions and especially to those who have generously given donations. A reminder for those who have not yet paid - subscriptions are due by the end of June at the latest - £2 per individual, £3 per household. If you have not yet paid and you were out when he/she called, your Road Representative should have put a note in with this Newsletter giving a reminder of his/her address.

Breast Charity Cancer Walk - member's communication

Rajesh Appannah

I work as a radiology nurse in Epsom Hospital and am a member of the Society. I will walk 60 km. to raise funds during the weekend of 23rd-25th September - all proceeds will go to Breast Cancer Research and Education. Please consider making a donation and designate the amount that is right for you. For more information and sponsorship forms, please donate on line visit www. breakthrough-weekend.org. My identity details for donating on line are Rajesh Appannah - 51719-5. Thank you for your generosity.

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

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

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