Colin Taylor – Lib Dem Councillor

When Epsom & Ewell Borough Council finally decided this week to replace the Mayor’s Rolls Royce, they made a suberb choice – well I thought so anyway. Read more »

The promised start of work on 3 October did not happen, but SCC assure me it has now started on 17 October. They say the contractors still plan to finish by Christmas.

I certainly hope they do so.

After more than 10 years of talk and delays, it is hard to believe that the underpass or “tunnel” linking Blenheim Road to Stones Road and Miles Road under the railway line will ever be re-opened. However it has now been announced that the final phase of the work will start on 3 October. Read more »

Fire-fighters are warning that the number of Fire Engines available at night is planned to be cut by Surrey County Council, reducing public safety at the time people feel most vulnerable.

Hidden from public attention by its innocuous title, Surrey’s new “Public Safety Plan” reduces the number of appliances at night from 30 to 21.

The Epsom fire station, which also serves the surrounding area, not just Epsom, is to have its present two fire engines cut to just one during the night.

There are also plans to increase the crew on each fire engine from 4 to 5 (though in London they have 6), reduce reliance on part-time fire-fighters and increase the amount of training and publicity about fire safety awareness. These moves are generally welcomed.

What is worrying is the increased response times at night under the new plan. I have been asking questions about this ever since the proposals were published last December.

It is easy to get bogged down in a lot of detail, but the justification seems to be that traffic conditions on the roads are better at night, so they can give as good a service at night with less appliances as they can during the busier traffic during the day.

However people do want and expect a quicker response at night time. Fires can already take hold while people are asleep and so a rapid response is even more urgent at night.

Whatever sophisticated answers may be given, cutting the number of appliances available at night must inevitably mean a reduced level of safety.

Surrey may save money under the new plan, but the price is reduced public safety during the night.

Shocking revelations by insider William Summers !

Page after page of hidden truths they would rather you didn’t know about.

Specific figures have been published this week showing how local residents benefit from the Lib Dem Manifesto pledges delivered by the Coalition Government in this new financial year. Read more »

As you may have noticed, Cllr Jonathan Lees is not standing as one of the Lib Dem candidates in Stamford this time. Instead he is standing for election in West Ewell, as he has moved there for family reasons since the last election.

Jonathan said: “I’d like to express my thanks to everyone for all the support and encouragement you have given me in Stamford ward over the last 8 years. Now it is time to move on.” Read more »

At the Surrey County Council meeting today, Conservative Councillors blocked debate on a motion from the Liberal Democrats recommending that the County Council’s on-street parking scheme be withdrawn.

Every Conservative Councillor present, in a roll call vote, spoke in support of a procedural device proposed by the Conservative Leader which prevented the issue being debated. Read more »

15,000 Surrey residents have so far signed the on-line petition on the County Council’s website opposing their proposal to charge for on-street parking outside shops.

However it needs 20,000 names by Wednesday to trigger a Council debate.

It can be signed at  http://petitions.surreycc.gov.uk/ParkingCharges/

Please note that your vote will not be counted until you click on the link in Surrey’s confirmatory e-mail.

There is also a petition for those in favour of the charges at:

http://petitions.surreycc.gov.uk/I-Want2pay2park/

So far less than 10 people have signed this.

Surrey County Council’s all-conservative Cabinet decided today to plough ahead with their plans to close 11 branch libraries, including those at Ewell Court, Stoneleigh and Tattenhams, unless the local communities take over running them. They also decided to abolish mobile libraries.

These decisions have been condemned by the Liberal Democrats. Along with the mobile libraries, these smaller libraries are a key part of local communities. They are valued by many local residents, especially young families, the elderly and the disabled. The council should not be closing the book on these vital library services.

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