Surrey County Council (SCC) has been in discussions with the governors for some time and now needs to consult the local community about expanding the school to three form entry from September 2015.

The consultation will run from 20 May to 28 June 2013. A document will be available explaining why further school places are required in the local area and why Stamford Green has been chosen.

SCC will host open meetings at the school on Monday 3 June 2013 from 2.00 to 3.15 pm and 7.00 to 8.15 pm, to give everyone an opportunity to learn more about the proposal, ask questions and express their views.

Traffic and access problems are likely to be major concerns, alongside the possible impact on the ethos of the school.

Despite the construction and subsequent expansion of the nearby Southfield Park Primary School and the provision of additional places at 3 other local schools, for September 2013 a number of children living in the local area have been allocated to schools in Stoneleigh or Ashtead.

Update 11 June:

When the above was posted, it was not yet clear how SCC proposed to provide sufficient primary school places in September 2014. It has since been clarified that St Martins Infants and Juniors will be expanded from September 2014.

Cllr Stella Lallement

Special thanks go to the voters of Epsom West who have elected Stella Lallement as their county councillor for the next 4 years.

Stella takes over now I have stood down after 12 years in the role. As I followed on from the 8 years served by Mary Dapre, the Lib Dems have had the privilege of representing the West side of Epsom for 20 years, which voters have now been kind enough to extend further.

The East side of Epsom, now known as Epsom Town & Downs, has changed back to Conservative control, following 16 years of RA representation.

The three other seats of Ewell, West Ewell and Ewell Court, Auriol & Cuddington remain under RA control.

The Liberal Democrats remain the main opposition party on Surrey County Council.

2013 is not going to be an easy one for most people, but whatever happens you can be sure that the Focus Team will be working hard all year round, aiming to make Epsom & Ewell an even better place to live.

The next County Council elections are due on 2 May 2013. When the names of our candidates are announced, we think you will agree they form a first rate team. They all look forward to this opportunity of serving you at County Hall as your elected representatives. We hope that you will vote to give them this honour.

Diseases of the liver are increasingly common. FibroScan is an innovative, state of art, technological development that allows consultants to examine the damage in a patient’s liver.

The purchase of the £15,000 special probe was made possible in part through money allocated by local County Councillors from our discretionary funds.

Dr. Guan Lim in accepting the FibroScan said “The gastroenterology department is very grateful for the continuing support of the Epsom Medical Equipment Fund. The purchase of a FibroScan machine allows us to use elastography in Epsom for the first time. It is a simple, non-invasive pain free method of measuring liver damage and replaces for many patients the need to have a liver biopsy.”

I congratulate Bess Harding MBE and the Epsom Medical Equipment Fund on once again not only raising the necessary funds but also coming up with such a brilliant piece of equipment.

Fund raising started for an echocardiograph probe to check babies’ hearts, but this so impressed the hospital that they bought one themselves. Bess then picked the FibroScan and probe as a suitable alternative, but we didn’t know it would be this particular modern marvel when we agreed to contribute. However from my personal point of view it couldn’t have been a better choice as I may need my liver investigated shortly and a quick, painless non-invasive FibroScan sounds far better than a biopsy using a large needle!

People are wondering if it matters whether they vote in the police election? It may be important enough to shut schools, but does it really matter?

The Police and Crime Commissioner is an important role. The person elected will have the potential to make a real difference to our lives. But how will people know who to vote for? Won’t they just follow their usual party politics?

Others don’t like the idea of elected Police Commissioners and fear that voting for them will lend them legitimacy.

It is important to vote for sound candidates to avoid handing control of the police to a maverick.

For Surrey, fortunately there is a video showing all 6 candidates at a recent public meeting, with links to individual cameos, available here.

Further information about the Lib Dem candidate Nick O’Shea is available here with a summary here and additional information here.

Introducing UK Ultraspeed

5 times faster than rail, 8 times faster than road, faster than short-haul air, with less pollution.

No new runways – existing short-haul slots freed for long-haul air.

British invention, full R&D in Germany, already operating in China.

Why haven’t we heard more about this system?

Charity Bag Collections are not always quite what they seem. A recent check by Surrey Trading Standards found that collectors may get over £1000 per tonne for donated textiles, yet some donate as little as £40 per tonne to charity.

Help the Aged stopped issuing their collection bags 2 years ago, when the charity joined with Age Concern to form Age UK, yet bags with their name on are still being received.

Bags bearing the names of 34 genuine charities were identified during May and June this year, but only 5 charities actually make their own collections. There are also 27 registered commercial collection companies. Many collections were found to be unlicensed.

Although some commercial organisations do contribute generously to charities, donations made to charity shops benefit the charities much more.

Trading Standards are concerned that a large proportion of the public perceive these bags to be from a charity without reading the small print, when they may in fact be from a business cashing in on the profits to be made due to the price of recycled textiles trebling over the past 6 years.

Always check the details on any charity bag that is put through your door. If you are in any doubt, keep your unwanted clothes for a genuine charity that you know and trust.

The application had been opposed by almost all local residents and was refused by Epsom & Ewell’s Planning Committee against officer advice.

As a former resident of the road, I spoke at committee against the application as a citizen, not a committee member. I was not involved in the vote.

I also spoke against the application at the planning enquiry, so it will be no surprise to anyone that I am pleased at the outcome.

Speaking at hustings organised by the charity Victim Support for Surrey Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) last week, Lib Dem Candidate Nick O’Shea confirmed his support for them and signed-up to their pledge.

“Too often, the system just pays lip service to helping victims and witness,” he said. “But Surrey Victim Support delivers on its promise. I’m really looking forward to working with and supporting them if I get elected as Surrey’s PCC in November – and I’m committed to continuing and extending the scope of their excellent work.

“They do a fantastic job helping both victims and witness of crime not only recover from the often traumatic experience of crime but then to face the daunting prospect of going to court and giving evidence when the police find the perpetrators and the CPS bring a prosecution, experiences which are totally outside the normal day-to-day things we all live through.

“Surrey Victim Support is manned largely by unpaid civilian volunteers who provide a first class professional service – working with other agencies such as social, youth and health services as well as the justice system to enable people to cope with their experiences, not just in the immediate aftermath of the crime or court appearance, but for weeks or months afterwards sometime.

“This is absolutely essential for people who are frightened to report sometimes appalling crimes – so if YOU are the victim or witness of domestic or sexual abuse, you CAN report this because they WILL ensure you are helped through not only the stress of abuse, but also with the consequences of finding and prosecuting the abusers.”

For more information on Surrey Victim Support visit:

http://www.victimsupport.org.uk/Contact-us/south-east or call 0845 38 99 528.

Sunray are believed to be using Countryliner vehicles and drivers. The Sunday service to Bookham operated by Coaches Excetera is unaffected.

When the Countryliner service foundered, alternative services were offered by Quality Line (Epsom Buses) as well as Sunray, but Quality Line had to withdraw after the government’s Traffic Commisioner awarded the route to Sunray.

As the 479 is an un-subsidised commercial service, unlike all Countryliner’s other former services in Surrey, it is not under the control of the County Council.

The timetable remains unchanged, operating hourly Monday to Saturday through to Guildford and half-hourly as far as Bookham. The Sunday service to Bookham runs every 2 hours.