The Epsom Protection Society Newsletter 90 - Winter 2001

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The Chairman's Commentary

John Hampton

       

On the 26th September, a meeting was arranged by the Town Council to assess the facilities in Epsom town and how they could be improved in the future. The event began with a walk around the town centre, and then the 140 or so persons attending met to discuss eight key topics which included Getting to and around the town, Community facilities and visitor attractions, Working in the town centre, Safety, and Shopping and markets. John Murray and Geoffrey Stone, the latter a substitute for your Chairman, represented the Society. Judging from reports received, it appears to have been a constructive meeting. The views expressed will form the basis for a 'Draft Town Centre Strategy' which will be subject to more widespread consultation at the beginning of 2002.

I have referred before to the maintenance of the four-storey height restriction in Epsom (Council Policy BE23), and it seems this rule received considerable support from the participants at the meeting. But it gives no pleasure to report that the proposal to erect flats at the rear of what was Sainsbury's Central has been approved and, although reduced in height from that originally proposed, they still exceed this rule. When the economic pressures in this area are considered, there would be cause for considerable apprehension if this height limitation were to be modified.

Good news now ! The refurbishment of 94-92B High Street (once Ashley Carpets) has been completed and is now offices for 'Relate'; and Horton Chapel has been transferred to the Town Council for use as a community facility. Also, it seems that work on Waterloo House - to be renamed The Assembly Rooms - should begin before Christmas; keep fingers crossed !

On the domestic front, I am pleased to announce that Norman Dempster and Geoffrey Stone have agreed to be co-opted as members of the Committee. The Committee is now looking for an archivist. We have a substantial collection of photographs and miscellaneous papers which need cataloguing. Are there any volunteers ?

A Happy Christmas everybody !

Planning

Alan Baker

Epsom Downs School, Langley Vale: The Planning Inspector has dismissed the appeal against the Council's refusal of planning permission for residential development of 11 units comprising nine linked detached houses and one pair of semi-detached houses. He thought, contrary to our view, that the density of 41 dwellings per hectare was acceptable, being central within the recommended level of 30 - 50 in the Government's PPG3, and that the impact of the project on the character and appearance of the area would not be harmful. He considered, however, that the adverse effects on the amenity of adjoining houses to be overriding and sufficient to warrant dismissal of the appeal. It therefore seems likely that a further amended scheme can be expected.

Sainsburys, High Street: You will have seen that contractors have moved in and that the car park is being demolished. Since the last Newsletter, permission has been granted - as John mentions in his Commentary - for a modified version of the flats facing Station Approach. The design is improved as a result of the Planning Department's negotiations, but in our view is still too bulky and too high. The current rumour is that shops on the site may be open by Easter.

Devon Court, St. Martin's Avenue: The application for a second block of flats has been refused.

5 Burghfield: The application, noted in the last Newsletter, for a first floor extension over the garage attracted 15 letters of objection; but permission has been granted.

29-31 High Street: I noted in the last Newsletter this application for another pub in the premises now occupied by Basic Needs and Going Places, with a greatly improved footway from the High Street to the Town Hall car park offered as a planning gain. We met the case officer and wrote commenting that retail use would be preferable to the pub and drawing attention to a number of points which could be improved. The September Planning Committee heard an objection from the police, but Council officers thought that the large numbers of licensed premises might not be a valid ground for a refusal of a change of use. The decision was deferred for further thought. The October Planning Committee was informed that the footways held in part under temporary licence and that the arrangements now proposed would be of great advantage. However, members of the Planning Committee were firmly against the application and it was refused. We wait to see whether there will be an appeal.

7-9 The Parade: This relates to the house next to the Town Hall formerly occupied by the Citizens Advice Bureau and to the adjoining car park. The land is owned by the Council and the Policy and Resources Committee had decided to market it for sheltered housing development. A planning application came from McCarthy & Stone for a substantial building containing 34 sheltered apartments. We wrote objecting to the height of a major four story part of the building, to the loss of trees and of the raised beds in the footway, and to the vehicular access from The Parade. There were also strong objections from owners in The Parade. The October Planning Committee debated the proposal at length, many members criticising the bulk of the buildings, and decided to recommend refusal against their officers' recommendation. Red face time because the layout was stated to follow closely a suggestion prepared by officers. The final decision now rests with the full Council.

Wickes, Kiln Lane: The new Wickes store, replacing Do It All, applied for Advertisement Consent for the large sign already in position. We criticised it as too large, garish and tasteless.

Land r/o 49-71 Upper Court Road: We objected to the proposed over-development of this land for eight small houses. At the time of writing, we are also looking at some detailed historical research by local people who identify the land as a remaining part of Horton Field and are strongly opposed to any development.

45 Stamford Green Road: This is at the end of a terrace of six attractive Victorian cottages in the Stamford Green Conservation Area which is subject to a section 4(2) Direction requiring planning permission to be obtained for various minor works. The owner paved half the front garden for car parking without permission and then applied for permission. We objected to the work as inappropriate for the location and consider it important that the Direction is fully enforced.

Mr. Trees reports

Mike Ford

The Ebbisham Centre: Since we commented in the Summer Newsletter on the paucity of greenery, four trees - ornamental pears - have been planted in the forecourt between the High Street and the Library steps

Past Events

Judith Christie

Brighton, 12th October: Our visit to Brighton, on one of the hottest days in October, was very enjoyable and successful. John Foley, late of Epson and Ewell's Planning Department, gave us a conducted tour, first by coach, of Brighton and Hove's architectural treasures and, later on foot, of the fascinating North Laines area of Brighton. Annual Buffet Party, 17th October: The Mayor and Mayoress joined 65 members at the Town Hall for our annual buffet party. Our speaker was Dr. David Bird, Principal Archaeologist for Surrey County Council who told us about the excavations at the Celtic-Romano temple at Wanborough, Surrey.

FUTURE EVENT Annual General Meeting, 11th April 2002: The meeting will be held at 8 pm at Myers Studio Theatre. Please note the date in your diary now. Details will follow later.

BOOK REVIEW

Charles Abdy, Epsom Past, published by Phillimore & Co. Ltd. 2001, price œ15.99, hardback, xii,132pp, ISBN 1 86077 180 7.

The author has presented us with a companion to Ewell Past published a year ago. Thirteen chapters cover the history of Epsom: chapters one and two deal with the pre-spa period, followed by The Spa, The Epsom Vestry 1790 - 1894, and The First Half of the 19th Century. Other chapter headings include Epsom Common, The Mental Hospitals, and The Races.

This well illustrated book - the majority of the photographs come from Bourne Hall Museum - understandably concentrates on the town's spa period and later. The influx of wealth in the late 17th century and the associated building boom, which included the construction of the Assembly Rooms, is described in some detail. Equally the flavour of the social scene is recounted by a contemporary comment: we are told that a character drawn by the playwright Shadwell was given the line ' the freedom of Epsom allows almost nothing to be scandalous' - heigh ho ! On the other side of the coin, the chapter on the work of the Vestry a century later reveals a Dickensian scenario for it not only records endeavours to alleviate poverty, but also conflicts of conscience when considering the propriety of 'selling' children who lived in the workhouse for work in a manufactory.

The use of maps and end papers greatly assists the creation of a mental image of the development of the town and the impact of the railways. And when we learn that in the early 19th century a coach service to London took two and a half hours - commuters take heart ! The author deals effectively with the horse racing tradition, but regrettably does not mention the role of the Society in the formation of the 1984 Act that now governs the Downs.

Public health and the mental hospitals are covered in a way that reveals the evolution of public attitudes. In the 1840s, an enquiry reported that life expectancy in the town had gone down from 44 to 40 years due to 'defective sanitary conditions' and called for sewers and pure water, an issue that had to wait some years before solution ! In the case of the mental hospitals, it is a pity that more was not made of the extensive research into contemporary best practice that led to their establishment as almost self-contained villages.

The chapter on old buildings presents a story of attrition caused by a variety of reasons, including accident and venal intent. The recent losses range in quality and include Woodcote Park (1934), Pitt Place (1967), and, in the High Street, the Kings Head (1957).

This book provides an insight into a town close to London with unusual qualities: a Spa in the late 17th to early 18th centuries, followed by decline and resurgence as a home for racing and a part of the commuter belt. It can be recommended to all who are interested not only in Epsom, but also in the evolution of the human scene. A Christmas present par excellence !

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

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

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