County Hall Fiasco
When the Conservative administration at Surrey County Council took an axe to its Emergency Planning Department (as part of a major review), the 11 staff were reduced to just 7, but it gets worse ...
22 Feb 2008
News
Epsom and Ewell News
Budget Response from Epsom & Ewell Liberal Democrats
Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Jonathan Lees, has issued the following press statement against the borough council's increase in council tax of 4.5%.
22 Feb 2008
Borough heading for Christmas Lights and Decorations!
For years Epsom has had arguably the worst display of Christmas decorations and lights in Surrey. At last this looks set to change.
15 Feb 2008
Councillors Deserve More Say on how the Council Spends Money
Every four years Epsom & Ewell Borough Council spends about £10m on different projects : this is known as the 4-year Capital Programme. The budget is apportioned annually against projects considered necessary or appropriate for that year.
14 Feb 2008
Lib Dems want a "Plastic Bag Free" borough
Epsom's Lib Dem group of councillors have put a Motion to the council meeting on 19th February which calls for support to retailers, businesses and commercial manufacturers to eliminate excessive packaging, in particular the widespread use of plastic bags.
14 Feb 2008
Primary school place shortage in Epsom & Ewell
The number of children hoping to start at primary schools in Epsom & Ewell next September appears to exceed the total number of places available in the borough. Figures quoted at a recent meeting of Surrey County Council indicate that although there is a small surplus of 30 secondary school places, there is a shortfall of 11 for entry to reception classes at age 4+.
6 Feb 2008
Surrey County Council News
Local Library Closures
Amongst the cuts in Surrey County Council front line services proposed by the Conservatives' "BDR review" is the closure of the local libraries, at Bagshot, Caterham Hill, Ewell Court, Hersham, New Haw and Virginia Water. The decision will be taken at the County Council meeting on 11th April. If it is agreed to go ahead, the libraries will be closed from September 2006. County Councillor Diana Smith, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Community Services. said: "It makes no sense to close these popular facilities, especially as the BDR itself admits that the aim is not to save money, only to meet a CPA target imposed by the Labour government."
12 Feb 2006
Willie makes it 63
Willie Rennie's election as the new MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, home of chancellor Gordon Brown, takes the total of Liberal Democrat in the House of Commons to 63. His by-election victory not only saw a 16% swing from New Labour to the Liberal Democrats, it also saw David Cameron's Conservatives retain fourth place with a swing of 9% from the Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats.
10 Feb 2006
Parents Pockets Hit Again
Surrey County Council's Tory budget brought bad news for parents and youngsters in Sixth Forms and Colleges.
7 Feb 2006
Liberal Democrats oppose Conservative budget
At the County Council meeting today, the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council opposed the 2006/07 budget proposed by the Conservative administration.
7 Feb 2006
Eighteen youth centres face Tory axe
After an initial period of close secrecy, the names of 18 youth centres in Surrey planned for closure following the Tories' BDR review have been released. This had earlier been presented as 15 closures, apparently because 3 new facilities are also planned. Councillors representing the divisions affected by the closures have been offered a meeting where the reasons behind these decisions will be explained. Meanwhile the names of the 18 youth facilities at risk are:
3 Feb 2006
A Wasted Opportunity?
The issue of waste remains high on the agenda in Surrey, with not one but two draft waste plans up for discussion. The first, which ended its 6 week period of public consultation in December 2005, comes from the position of Surrey County Council (SCC) as the Waste Planning Authority (WPA) and is called "The Surrey Waste Plan - The Preferred Plan". This basically sets out the County's overall strategy of where and how waste should be handled, giving site specific details. The Liberal Democrats at County Hall criticised this plan as being fundamentally flawed, back in September, because it was predicated on incineration and highlighted a preferred site, Capel. We are still awaiting the results of the public consultation.
3 Feb 2006