COUNCIL REPORTS FROM THE LATEST TATSFIELD PARISH MAGAZINE

TATSFIELD PARISH COUNCIL

The Parish Council met on Monday 5 April at 8pm (a week early due to the Easter weekend).

Prior to the meeting the public 5 minutes was extended so as to give those interested in the Old Ship
development a further opportunity to study plans and ask relevant questions. Thanks were passed to
Cllr. Alan Fry who dealt with this particular application, for the way that he had arranged extra meetings etc.

Tatsfield School: It was reported that a very full and detailed report had been received from Louise Jardella
setting out her responses to the questions asked by the Parish Council (copy included with March Magazine).
The Governors and members of the Parish Council had visited Dormansland School, and this had highlighted
the inadequacy of the accommodation at Tatsfield School. It was also reported that Gordon Reeve had
withdrawn his offer of land on which to build the school. The public meeting scheduled for 24 April was
however to go ahead. Ian Mitchell expressed his view that the withdrawal had been brought about by a lack of
openness by the Parish Council but this was strongly disputed by the majority of members including myself.
I feel that I should take this opportunity to say that a public announcement was made by me at the Parish Council meeting on 8 December 2003, within a week of the Parish Council having been informed of the possibility of the application; this announcement was made with the full support of Parish Councillors. That said, discussion then took place as to the consequences of the withdrawal, and it was agreed that the Parish Council should write to Surrey CC indicating that the Parish Council was very much of the view that Tatsfield was in need of new School premises because of the inadequacy of the present site, and indicating its support for bringing this about.

Planning: The Parish Council considered the following applications on which it had been consulted by Tandridge District Council and agreed to submit the following responses for consideration when the District Council made its decisions:

80 Paynesfield Road: Erection of rear conservatory. Recommendation: No objection.

The Glebe, Greenway: Erection of front porch and single storey rear extension; erection of first floor side extension incorporating 1 front, 1 rear and 1 side dormer windows. Recommendation: No objection.

Blencathra, 67 Paynesfield Road: Erection of 3 front and 1 rear dormer windows to existing roof slope; erection of pitched roof over existing rear addition with side facing dormer. Recommendation: Objection to be lodged on grounds of unneighbourly development and over-development.

Land at rear of The Old Ship, Westmore Green: Erection of 11 dwellings to provide 4 x 1, 4 x 2 and 3 x 3 bed dwellings with 3 bin stores and associated parking (16 spaces) with access via Ship Hill. Recommendation: Objection to be lodged on grounds of (1) unneighbourly development (2) inappropriate development (3) difficult access and (4) insufficient parking provision. Comment to be made on drainage and lack of affordable housing provision.

Esher Cottage, Ricketts Hill Road: Remove existing roof and erect new roof over the whole property incorporating dormer windows to the rear roof slope and erection of S/S/R extension. Recommendation: Objection to be lodged on grounds of (1) unneighbourly development and (2) over-development of site.

These applications were dealt with by Cllrs. Alan Fry and Margaret Boadella. Next month’s Planning Officer is Cllr. Tony Erbes.

Proposed Vodafone Base Station, Gorsey Down Farm: An invitation (dated 31 March) has been received to comment (by 14 April) with regard to the proposed installation of a 13.4metre mast with two equipment cabinets. The Clerk was asked to request a copy of plans showing the area that the station was intending to serve, along with details of the sites that had been considered and rejected.

Affordable Housing for Tatsfield: We are informed by Andrew Smith of the Rural Housing Trust that initial feasibility work on the Lusted Hall Lane site has been completed. The next step is to commission a full ecological/wildlife survey of the site. Surrey Highways have also been consulted and have given their advice accordingly. An architect’s basic sketch plan of what might be achievable has also been supplied. We await further information and will, of course, keep you informed.

Rights of Way: Public Bridleways Nos. 638, 639 & 640 and FP 18: The Clerk reported that the inspector had modified the Order in respect of these, and had included FP18 (Cudham Road – Ricketts Hill Road to junction with Avenue Road) as a Byway Open to All Traffic (BOAT). Accordingly a Notice of Proposal to modify the Definitive Map Order had been given and the Order would not come into operation until it had been confirmed.

Police Matters: Jon Allbutt expressed concern that information about local crimes was not being disseminated to the Neighbourhood Watches, and that contact telephone numbers for the Police did not have answerphone facilities. This then made it difficult for members of the public to pass on information quickly.

Transport: Alan Fry reported that he had attended a meeting of the East Surrey Rural Transport Partnership at which the introduction of a demand responsive local bus service had been announced. This would be available from 7 am – 11 pm and would be of particular benefit to children attending Oxted School who were not eligible for assisted transport.

LA 21: Ian Mitchell drew attention to the fact that the Tandridge Committee was giving consideration to the possibility of the introduction of compulsory recycling.

Village Appraisal: Youth Meetings: Jon Allbutt reported that a meeting had taken place at the Rectory on 22 March which had been successful, and that a further meeting was planned in the near future.

Annual Parish Meeting 19 May 7.30 for 8 pm: Invitations have been sent to all village organisations with a request for written reports to be submitted. Some subjects that may well be on the agenda include – Tatsfield Weekend, Tatsfield Appraisal, planning concerns such as the Old Ship Development and Tatsfield School. At the time of writing, we are still in the process of producing the agenda, so please look out for details which will be posted on village notice boards.


David Wood, Chairman (Tel: 577291)

TANDRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL

Council tax collection: None of us likes paying taxes of any kind but they are an inescapable part of life today. You and I pay our taxes, of course, and we hope that others do too but we know that some get away with it. So far as council tax in Tandridge is concerned, you may like to know that the District Council is very successful in collecting the tax, bringing in 98.7% of the tax due in 2003/04, which is a pretty good record.

Housing for key workers in Tandridge: You may wonder who the “key workers” we keep reading about are. Well, they are people who provide essential public services (e.g. teachers, nurses and police) or who are important to the local economy (e.g. postmen and women, refuse collectors and shop workers). One of the difficulties they often face is finding suitable housing in the area. The District Council, who have a policy of helping local key workers with shared ownership and rented accommodation , are putting on a special event at the Council Offices in Station Road East, Oxted on Wednesday 12 May from 4.30 to 7.30 pm, when details of housing schemes under development for local key workers will be provided. Just turn up.

Tandridge rated “good”: As councils go, our District Council is one of the smaller ones, with about 270 employees serving some 80,000 residents. All local authorities, large and small, now have to undergo rigorous inspections by the Audit Commission, which rates councils as excellent, good, fair, weak or poor. Tandridge has just completed its inspection and has been assessed as “good”. The overall summary says that it is “a good council that provides strong internal and external leadership and is clear in its overriding short-term priority to ‘deliver high quality services cost effectively’”.

Bridleways: It has still not been settled whether any objections to the latest batch of Bridleway applications are being maintained.

Village centre: Surrey Highways have completed their safety audit of the new road arrangements in the village centre and are considering various options including changing the parking of the buses. There will be further consultations before anything is decided.

Planning: The latest decisions made by the District Council on Tatsfield applications are:

Approved Refused
90 Paynesfield Road

9 Whitewood Cottages None

Storrington, Goatsfield Road


Cllr. Bob David, The Briars, Ninehams Road (Tel: 577357)
Surgery – last Saturday every month, Parish Room, 10.45 am – 12 noon

SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL

Some time ago I wrote about thoughts emanating from the Regional Assembly regarding the possible need (eventually) for Energy from Waste Units (Efws) which some people prefer to call incinerators. This was due to the lack of landfill sites and requirements of the EU. As a member of SCC’s Planning Committee I am not allowed (in advance of an application) to say whether I am in favour or against them. If I did make such a declaration I would be disqualified from voting if an application is submitted because each application must be considered on its merits.

I realise that the subject of Efws is something which many residents are particularly interested in. I therefore wish to tell you that at a Planning Committee meeting on 14 April we had a lengthy discussion on “Regional Waste Management Strategy – Proposed Alterations to Regional Planning Guidance”. In this guidance it was made clear that the public will need to give a high level of support and understanding of how serious the situation is with regard to waste. It stated that several hundred new facilities will be required in the South East (not just Surrey) over the next 20 years. It also stated that energy recovery may be required across the region as part of an energy waste strategy. There was also a reference to development (for waste) in open countryside including Green Belt and in exceptional circumstances Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

So although I do not wish to be alarmist we must all do as much as possible to minimise waste. Ask manufacturers and suppliers to limit the amount of packaging they use etc. I and a number of other County Councillors believe that a strong lead should be given by the Government.

The bit of good news from the meeting on 14 April was a small reduction in Surrey’s share of sand and gravel production as a result of the County Council’s representations. As well as less excavation at sandpits it also means fewer HGV movements in the county.

As well as SCC keeping the Council Tax rise to 4.4%, which is among the lowest in the country, we are managing to spend an extra £30m on teaching in schools, an extra £40m on school building projects, a further £17.5m on social care for children and the elderly, an extra £9m on road maintenance, an extra £750,000 to support bus services, an extra £150,000 for libraries and an extra £150,000 to improve youth services. This is all in response to public demands. Surrey’s total spend over the next year will be nearly £940m.

To pay for services without the need for higher tax rises SCC has earmarked a number of efficiency savings, including a commitment to save £10m this year by cutting administration and business costs, as well as a further £12m next year.

Surrey County Council is responsible for 414 schools attended by 136,000 pupils. Surrey pupils perform well above the national averages in GCSEs and Standard Attainment Tests (SATs). More SCC schools are recognised for their educational excellence than anywhere else in the country. The schools’ watchdog, Ofsted, says “SCC is an education authority that has many strengths, no weaknesses and aims for excellence in all that it does”.

In Surrey’s 52 libraries there are over 580 computer terminals providing free Internet Access.

If you did, THANK YOU for reading this article.

Cllr. Harry Pettifor, 6 Homefield Road, Warlingham CR6 9HQ (Tel: 01883 625592)

Home