IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

OFFICERS TO SEIZE CONTROL FROM ELECTED CLLRS OVER FATE OF EPSOM'S GREEN BELT

DEADLINE TO SAVE EPSOM'S GREEN BELT - TUESDAY 24TH SEPTEMBER

Epsom & Ewell Council Officers, led by CEO Jackie King, are attempting to seize control of the Local Plan process. Unelected council officers are planning to take away the democratic power of elected councillors, in deciding the fate of Epsom's precious green belt. Two motions tabled by Cllr Persand are being rejected and not supported by Council Officers.

Cllr Persand's first motion is to ensure that the LPPC maintains their constitutional responsibility for influencing and controlling development and use of the land in the Local Plan. The unelected 'Head of Planning', Justin Turvey, recommends that the motion is rejected.

Cllr Persand's second motion is for the protection of Green Belt land while prioritizing the development of brownfield and previously developed land. Cllr Persand calls for existing Green Belt boundaries to be retained and for the removal of all high performing Green Belt Land such as Horton Farm, Priest Hill Playing Fields, Hook Road Arena and Noble Park from the Local Plan. This would allow previously developed land within the green belt, such as West Park Hospital, to be redeveloped to provide additional affordable and social housing. Mr Turvey recommends that the motion is not supported.

Should Mr Turvey's recommendations to reject Cllr Persand's motions be followed, the consequence will be that the Local Plan will in effect be decided by unelected officials, and council tax paying residents will no longer have democratic representatives controlling the Local Plan. If both of Cllr Persand's motions are rejected, elected councillors will be denied the opportunity to review, question or approve Local Plan reports until the final 'Regulation 19' Local Plan is presented to them as a final product in November.

Currently, the Local Plan does not guarantee significant levels of truly affordable and social housing as is required by the borough's housing needs and it offers up 57 hectares of pristine Green Belt for development instead of maximising affordable and social housing on available brownfield and previously developed sites.

We call on our Councillors to act now and instruct officers to remove the high performing green belt sites from the Local Plan, focus on brownfield and go straight to Regulation 19 status before Angela Rayner's NPPF is set in concrete in December.

Please email your ward Cllrs, the LPPC Cllrs and the Council Officers seizing control, by Tuesday.

Council Officers:

CEO, Jackie King: jking@epsom-ewell.gov.uk

Director of Housing, Vicky Potts: vpotts@epsom-ewell.gov.uk

Planning Development Officer, Justin Turvey: jturvey@epsom-ewell.gov.uk

Legal Officer, Piero Ionta: pionta@epsom-ewell.gov.uk

Licencing & Policy Planning Commitee (LPPC) Cllrs:

P. O'Donovan: po' donovan@epsom-ewell.gov.uk

N. Dallen: ndallen@epsom-ewell.gov.uk

R. Leach: rleach@epsom-ewell.gov.uk

R. Geleit: rgeleit@epsom-ewell.gov.uk

S Goldman: sGoldman@epsom-ewell.gov.uk