Council leader calls on Elmbridge to 'give a little to get a lot'

Councillor John O'Reilly, leader of Elmbridge Council

ELMBRIDGE Council leader John O’Reilly is calling on residents to ‘give a little to get a lot’ after announcing that council tax will have to go up this year to safeguard frontline services.

The borough is planning a ‘modest increase’ of just under 2% in its portion of the council tax, after concluding that this would be better than making cuts that might have a detrimental effect on services.

This, in addition to a small rise in parking charges, will generate an extra £450,000 for the borough, but it will still need to save £1.1million in the next financial year.

Cllr O’Reilly (pictured) said: “Your Conservative administration has frozen the borough part of the council tax for five years in the last six, and at the same time we’ve achieved £6million savings with no impact on services.“Every so often a modest increase is needed to protect the services residents value, but rest assured we will continue to bear down on costs as we always have.”

He added the council is facing pressures from reduced government funding and a drop in income as its investments in high interest accounts reach maturity.

Elmbridge is looking at a number of capital investments that could generate money in future years and reduce the need for further tax rises.

Council tax is split three ways between the borough, police and Surrey County Council, with all three authorities able to raise or lower their demands each April.

Barclays is closing its branch in West Molesey

WEST Molesey is to lose its only bank after Barclays announced its intention to close the branch on the corner of Walton Road and High Street.

It wrote to customers to notify them that the branch will shut from April 5th, and the nearest alternative will be two miles away at Hampton Hill. The bank has not revealed the reasons for its decision.

A resident said in an email to us: “This is appalling. There are many people in West Molesey, who are disabled, elderly, and have no transport.”

If you will be affected Molesey Conservatives would like to hear from you. Please email MoleseySteve@gmail.com or post a comment below.

No reprieve for Molesey Police Station

SURREY'S new Police & Crime Commissioner has halted the sell off of police stations - but unfortunately not in time to save ours in East Molesey.

Kevin Hurley is keen to see disused stations being turned into affordable homes for police officers, but said in Molesey's case "this disposal was too far advanced for further consideration to be possible."

He told us he does not know the details of the disposal yet, but we are looking into it.

School places squeeze: Hurst Park School could move to bigger site

Hurst Park School in West Molesey could be moving

SURREY County Council is thinking of moving Hurst Park School from it’s current home by the river to a disused site further up the Hurst Road.

It is working on draft proposals for a new building at the former John Nightingale School site, which is about 5-10 minutes walk from the current school, and one and a half times the size.

Details are still to be worked out, such as programme schedules and budgets, plus what would happen to the existing school. But Hurst Park School governors are looking at the proposals positively.

Chairman Chris Johnson said: “The view of the Governing Body is that the proposal has merit and the opportunities afforded by the proposal for the current and future children of Molesey should not be missed. The Governing Body will assist wherever possible in ensuring that the final proposal meets best practice and provides the best facilities available for the school’s pupils.”

Governors are to hold a meeting with parents to discuss the move.

Elmbridge shows the third highest increase in births in Surrey since 2002 - at 28.9%. And the number of pupils entering Reception at borough schools shot up from 1,209 in 2006 to 1,434 in 2011, by 7.5 additional forms.

The county has already created 60 new classroom places at The Orchard in East Molesey, and three new classrooms at Hurst Park in West Molesey.


The latest projections from Surrey County Council, seen by Molesey Conservatives, suggest 216 additional primary school places will be needed to accommodate Molesey children by 2021.

By 2020 the county council believes it will need to have created 1,406 new primary places in Elmbridge borough and 530 secondary places.

Steve Bax of the Molesey Conservative Residents, said: “The likelihood is that unless Molesey’s existing schools can be sufficiently enlarged to cope with the upward trend, more and more parents will be forced to commute further. This is hardly ideal at a time when we should be encouraging walking to school to improve the health of our children and reduce congestion on our roads.”

What is your view? Are you concerned about the rapid expansion of your school, or have you had to enroll your children outside of Molesey due to a lack of spaces? Please post a comment.

Clock is ticking on Boatman developer

The Jolly Boatman site at Hampton Court

TIME is running out for the developer Gladedale to build a hotel, retail and care home complex on land around Hampton Court Station.

It has to satisfy Elmbridge Council that it has met 56 pre-conditions before it can start work, and must do so by June 16th 2013 when planning permission is due to expire.

As of late October 10 conditions had been approved, ranging from the types of materials to be used, to the buffer zone between the River Ember and the development, tree retention, a 'green roof' and more.

A further condition will be discussed at a council sub-committee on November 5th, and submissions for 13 other conditions have been received by Elmbridge Council.

Meanwhile an alternative plan for a park at the part of the site where the former Jolly Boatman pub once stood, was submitted by Thames Ditton resident Andrew Roberts and ex-Hampton Court consultant architect Keith Garner. It was supported by hundreds of letters from the public and was granted planning permission by Elmbridge Borough Council without the need for a debate and vote in council chambers.

Elmbridge Council Leader, John O’Reilly, said: "If the application had come before the Planning Committee I would have spoken strongly in favour and would certainly have voted in support. But of course to make it actually happen, the applicants have to own the site and the developer being willing to sell to them. That’s definitely a big challenge."

Steve Bax, Chairman of the Molesey Conservative Residents, added: "The prevailing view in Molesey - and one Molesey Conservatives agree with - is that a landscaped garden would be the best outcome at the Jolly Boatman site. It would preserve the view of the historic Hampton Court Palace from this side of the river.

“Molesey Conservatives were pleased that Elmbridge Council approved the Roberts-Garner design, and we would urge Gladedale to enter into negotiations with residents in good faith, with a view to selling the site to the community if it is unable to meet its planning conditions by the June deadline."

Molesey roads in need of repair!

SURREY County Council is promising a five year blitz on the county’s worst roads.

It wants residents to suggest those in most need of attention by emailing improvemyroad@surreycc.gov.uk

John Furey, the county councillor for transport, said 90% of Surrey roads are now in a ‘decent condition’ and it is time to look at the remaining 10%.

Molesey Conservatives were successful in having Hampton Court Avenue in East Molesey resurfaced earlier this year, after sending photo evidence to Mr Furey’s predecessor.

Now we are asking for Island Farm Road (pictured) to be addressed. Please post your comments below.

Dominic Raab MP: No going back on deficit

ESHER & Walton MP Dominic Raab wrote the following column for readers of the Molesey News (Conservative newsletter) in September 2012, to update on his work locally and at Westminster.

The government is taking a range of measures to dig us out of this economic rut – cutting business taxes, cutting the red-tape holding entrepreneurs back, and trying to help get finance from the banks to the viable businesses that need the lifeline.

But, there is no going back on the plans to cut the deficit. The debt we have inherited from the last government is holding Britain back and is an appalling legacy to leave the next generation. It must be tackled.

Beyond the economy, we are delivering on welfare reform, so that those on benefits don’t earn more than the average family in work.

Schools reform is re-emphasising the importance of discipline and academic rigour – to equip our children with the skills to thrive in work and life.

We have a cap on immigration that is starting to bring down the numbers. The Prime Minister vetoed an EU treaty that threatened the British economy, and has refused to implement the diktat from Strasbourg ordering prisoners be given the vote.

Locally, I have been engaged with small businesses, local police officers at the new hub by the local, GPs and local charities. I intervened with Gladedale to help secure the landscaping of the Jolly Boatman site for the Olympics, and am supportive of efforts by local residents to purchase the site permanently. 

Above all, living round the corner in Thames Ditton, I understand and feel part of this wonderful, vibrant, community.”

Visit www.dominicraab.com to contact Dominic or to sign up for his monthly newsletter.