Thank you to all who voted for her, and for the army of volunteers who put so much effort in.
The work starts now.
You can watch her gracious acceptance speech via this link.
The Borough Council's capital programme for 2012-13 will include a £200,000 investment in barrier-controlled car parks. Car parks at Depot Road, Upper High Street, Hook Road, Hope Lodge and the Town Hall will be converted to barrier-controlled with drivers paying on exit.
The ludicrousness of Borough Council decisions associated with Licensing and Planning matters was exposed at a meeting of its Environment Committee on 23rd January. The meeting agreed that Epsom Town Centre should become the focus of a Community Safety Action Plan for one year, yet only a week earlier an Epsom-based club gained permission to extend its licensing hours from 2am. Even more surprising is that the Police and the council's own Planning Department had objected to the extension - the Police on the grounds of potential disturbance to residents and the Planning Department because it had already refused permission for the same establishment to extend its hours of operation. Epsom Town centre ranks amongst the highest areas for alcohol related disorder in the county. It regularly stands in the top 16% in the country for incidences of crime per 1000 of population. The premises which was granted the extension is not, in itself, known to cause crime or disorder issues but an ever-increasing population of
The borough council's consultation on the Upper High Street "development" site ends on 3rd February. Most important is that residents tell the council if they favour a foodstore fronting Upper High Street, in the centre of the site or fronting Church Street.
Commenting on the news that Cllr David Hodge has unilaterally given notice for Surrey County Council to leave the Local Government Association (LGA) in a year's time, Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, said today: "I am appalled by this decision. The Local Government Association is the key organisation within local government which enables the county council to lobby central government and make its case for resources and funding. The LGA has helped Surrey to save money, enabling the county council to recover millions of pounds back after the Icelandic banking crash. The county council needs a voice at the top table and this short sighted move takes that voice away. Only three councils in the country are not members of the LGA, so we are moving from the membership of a large and influential group to an isolated position on the fringes. "Cllr Hodge should have consulted widely within the county council before even considering such a rash and intemperate move. Yet again
Conservative-run Surrey County Council has been forced to release a damaging financial report which warned in December 2016 that a 15% council tax referendum was "highly likely to fail". The report, produced by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA), cost nearly £25,000 and was commissioned in December but was only released to councillors on March 21st 2017, six weeks after the Council's budget meeting. The report states "In CIPFA's view a referendum is highly likely to fail" and goes on to note that the Council's financial position is "extremely worrying" and "the absence of a credible cost-reduction plan", and that "The council's financial plans are not robust and it is at risk of becoming financially unsustainable". It concludes that the council's financial resilience is "dependant on winning a referendum process, high levels of unidentified savings and rapidly declining reserves - not a good place!". Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council,
Liberal Democrat Councillors have successfully called for Surrey County Council to oppose the Government's funding proposals which could leave schools in Surrey with a £37m hole in their budgets by 2019/20. It follows the release of a letter from a Surrey Headteacher warning his local Conservative MP that schools in Surrey may be forced to implement a 4-day week. Cllr Will Forster, who moved the motion at a Council meeting yesterday, said:
Years of Conservative cuts have hollowed out the legal aid system, leaving millions without access to timely legal advice. Our new policy will legal aid a guaranteed right, ensure no one is left without help.
![New Homes [Image: Tim Prater]](/fileadmin/_processed_/0/a/csm_newhomes_23c101933f.jpg)
Millions of people are still trapped in England’s broken leasehold system. Our plan will end the leasehold rip-off, strengthen building safety, and give residents the control, fairness, and dignity they deserve in their own homes.
Hong Kongers living in the UK, and across the world, face an increasingly robust and alarming campaign of transnational repression from Beijing. Our new policy will protect pro-democracy activists and ensure this intimidation has no place in the UK.
