First win in campaign against parking charges

Epsom & Ewell Conservatives have secured an important concession in the County’s consultation on parking charges in the Borough.

We lobbied the leader of the council behind the scenes in frank exchanges. The result has been the announcement that the county’s default position for villages and small shopping parades will be a half hour period of free parking.

The consultation hasn’t even started, but we’ve already secured an important win for our Borough. We still oppose these charges in principle as they are impractical here, would damage small businesses and not generate any additional income. We will use the consultation when it begins in the Autumn to see off these proposals completely.”

It’s true to say these charges are wanted in some parts of the County, particularly in big town centres and around Gatwick airport, but they are not wanted here. By lobbying behind the scenes rather than engaging in political posturing we’ve created a safety net for our Borough with the free half hour and have a great starting point for opposing these proposals in full. We have secured a commitment from the leader of the county council that nothing will be done to damage small businesses.

Any revenue raised from parking charges can only be spent on road improvements such as repairing pot holes. However in last week’s budget the Chancellor gave £4 million to the county council for Surrey’s highways. This means less will now have to be raised through parking charges.

RA sexual confusion

Reading this week's Epsom Guardian was a little more surprising than usual as it revealed RA councillor Neil Dallen's recent conversion to the attractions of a local strip club called Stir on East Street in Epsom.

Cllr Dallen is quoted as saying, "all credit to Stir for turning it around and running a very good establishment with minimal trouble."

This positive attitude to strip clubs somewhat contrasts with fellow RA councillor Eber Kington who has stated, "many residents would have moral objections to such premises" and "I believe that premises catering for adult entertainment will increase the likelihood of outsiders coming into Epsom and creating problems for the local community."

Rather contrary views. I've not had any complaints about the venue, but then again I don't represent that area. What concerns me is that Cllr Dallen appears to have based his view that everyone approves of the venue on the grounds that no one responded to the RA newsletter he circulated about it. Firstly, I suspect few people read, let alone respond to, RA newsletters in Epsom given the mess they've made of our town centre. Secondly, I have already had a local resident contact me saying they've never received any communication from Cllr Dallen and it seems from the Epsom Guardian's web site that she is not alone. The whole thing all seems rather unscientific to me.

It is also indicative of the lack of focus the Residents' Associations have in relation to our town centre. Do they want these sort of venues or not? Do they want more blocks of flats or not? Do they want more pound shops and kebab shops or not? The answer is they don't know because they have no plan and no leadership, and Epsom continues to suffer as they faff and disagree with one another.

So how are Eber and Neil to reconcile their bitterly conflicting views? Maybe a trip to the venue itself chaps? Now that would make a fine picture for the Epsom Guardian!

Health warning!

I rather liked this image (from Conservative Home).