News
Cost of living support for residents who need it most
We are working with three local charities to distribute up to £88,700 from the Household Support Fund to people experiencing financial hardship across the borough. We're working with charities The Good Company, Citizens Advice Epsom & Ewell and The Meeting Room to ensure that funds can be accessed by vulnerable residents including families, pensioners, unpaid carers, care leavers and disabled people, before 30 September 2024.
The Household Support Fund was first introduced on 30 September 2021 by Central Government to offer cost of living support over the winter months. This is the fifth time the scheme has been extended.
Councillor Neil Dallen, Chair of the Strategy & Resources Committee, said “We know that the last few years have been difficult for many of our residents. By working with The Good Company, Citizens Advice Epsom & Ewell and The Meeting Room, we aim to ensure that the financial support offered by the Household Support Fund can be accessed by the people in Epsom & Ewell who need it most.
“These trusted partners connect with vulnerable residents across the borough through their fantastic services which include, but are not limited to:
- The Epsom and Ewell Food Banks and Epsom Pantry, in South Street Epsom, run by the Good Company
- The Financial Wellbeing Support Service, run by Citizen’s Advice
- Drop-ins and activities for residents at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness, run by The Meeting Room.
In addition, they have the expertise and administrative experience to ensure that allocations are distributed across the borough both promptly and efficiently.”
Residents who require financial aid can contact one of the three organisations mentioned above.
Find out more about the Household Support Fund, including how to apply for funding in Epsom & Ewell: https://epsom-ewell.gov.uk/residents/cost-living-support/household-support-fund
Applications for Household Support Funds can be made through Citizen's Advice Epsom and Ewell: www.caee.org.uk/household-support-fund
For advice about cost of living support, residents can also visit:
Landlords can now sign up to Private Sector Leasing Scheme
We are looking for landlords of three-, four- and five-bedroom houses to sign up to the Private Sector Leasing Scheme.
The Private Sector Leasing Scheme allows us to assist local families in housing need, while reducing the risks and hassle of renting for landlords.
We will lease and manage properties for a period of three to five years. Landlords will be guaranteed rent, with six months being paid in advance. During the tenancy, the council will carry out any minor repairs up to the value of £500 per year and ensure the property is returned to landlords in the same condition as when the agreement started.
Landlords who lease their properties under the scheme will enjoy the following benefits:
- no inventory or inspection costs
- no letting agent or management fees
- no need to register deposits with a tenancy deposit scheme
- a single point of contact within the council
- Right to Rent checks carried out by the council
- an option for routine and major repairs to be dealt with on the landlords’ behalf for a fee.
Councillor Clive Woodbridge, Chair of the Community and Wellbeing Committee, said,
“We are all aware of the housing crisis that is affecting cities and towns across the country, and Epsom & Ewell is no different. It is a priority for the Council that we can provide good quality temporary housing for families in the local area.
“If landlords sign up to our Private Sector Leasing Scheme, it enables us to house local families within the community and minimises the disruption to their home life, work and school at what can be an already stressful time.
“The scheme is also good value for landlords and is relatively low risk when compared with letting the property on the open market.”
Landlord Lee Wiffen said,
“I cannot praise the Epsom & Ewell Private Sector Leasing Scheme enough. In my six years letting my property through the scheme, the professionalism of the team in the housing department is first class.
“The security of having great tenants and regular on-time rent payments, means I would not look any further, as a landlord, when looking to rent a property than the Epsom & Ewell Private Sector Leasing Scheme”
Full details of the scheme can be found in our PSL landlord information pack and PSL landlord application form.
Free morning tennis sessions over school summer holidays
Continuing the enthusiasm for tennis following Wimbledon, we are offering bookable free tennis sessions until Monday 26 August, between 8am and 12pm.
Courts can be booked by visiting Epsom & Ewell Parks Tennis / Home (lta.org.uk), creating a free ClubSpark account, choosing a court and picking a free slot.
The free summer sessions follow the move earlier this year to introduce a new ‘pay as you play’ scheme across all tennis courts. The scheme seeks to make the borough’s tennis courts more self-sufficient, with all income raised being reinvested into the courts.
We have also implemented free coaching opportunities at Court Recreation Ground and free booking slots on Saturdays to enable those of all ages, experience, and socio-economic background to participate.
Councillor Liz Frost, Chair of the Environment Committee, said:
“The decision to extend free, bookable morning sessions at our tennis courts during the summer holidays gives residents, particularly our younger ones, a greater opportunity to keep active and have fun during the break.”
“We hope that this this will encourage those who have otherwise not considered playing tennis the incentive to give it a go and if they enjoy it, join as members in the future.”
Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve awarded the coveted Green Flag Award
We are celebrating receiving the prestigious Green Flag Award – the international quality mark for parks and green spaces - for an 18th consecutive year, for Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve (LNR).
Epsom Common LNR dates back to Saxon times and is a nationally and internationally important wildlife site, as well as being designated a ‘Site of Specific Scientific Interest’ due to its rare insects and its importance of breeding bird habitat. Epsom Common LNR contains oak woods, open pasture woodland and wetland habitats including large ponds and hosts species including southern marsh orchids and purple emperor butterflies.
Councillor Liz Frost, Chair of the Environment Committee said:
“Epsom Common is a beautiful and biodiverse space that is available for people, horse riders and cyclists and we’re incredibly proud to receive this award for an 18th consecutive year. This award is a true testament to the hard work and dedication of our volunteers and partners including the Epsom Common Association, the Lower Mole Partnership and Natural England.
"Thanks to staff and volunteers for continuing to provide a safe, green space for residents to enjoy.”
To find out more about the walks and tours taking place, managed by the Countryside Team at the council, take a look here: What's on | Epsom and Ewell Borough Council (epsom-ewell.gov.uk).
Keep Britain Tidy’s Green Flag Award Scheme Manager, Paul Todd MBE, said:
“I would like to congratulate everyone involved at Epsom & Ewell Borough Council on achieving a Green Flag Award. Epsom Common LNR is a vital green space for communities in Epsom and Ewell to socialise, enjoy nature, for children to play safely and it provides important opportunities for park users to improve their physical and mental health.
"We know that staff and volunteers work tirelessly to ensure that it maintains the high standards of the Green Flag Award, everyone involved should feel extremely proud of their achievement.
It is important that our free to use spaces are maintained to the Green Flag Award standard, making them accessible for all members of the community while ensuring the environment is protected.”
Agreement to collaborate with local landowner to benefit future development
We have agreed to enter into a mutual deed of easement with the developer of the SGN Gas Works site in Hook Road, Epsom. This site is situated next to the council-owned Hook Road car park, and the deed of easement grants reciprocal access rights over each site’s roads.
This agreement is an important step in our long-standing ambition to promote the redevelopment of this combined site, in order to provide an improved, attractive, better connected and rejuvenated area that would attract new residents and businesses to Epsom Town Centre.
The combined site has previously been included in the November 2023 consultation of the Epsom Town Centre Masterplan, and the Reg 18 March 2023 consultation of the Draft Local Plan.
The deed of easement will enable the Gas Works site developer to design a scheme that could use the council’s Rainbow Leisure Centre access road as the main entrance off East Street. In return, the council would have access across the Gas Work developer’s estate road infrastructure from the current Hook Road car park entrance. By removing the need for separate, duplicated road infrastructure, the Gas Works site can be designed to maximise open space and connectivity across the wider combined site.
The deed of easement is conditional, which means it will not be completed or take effect until such time that the developer of the Gas Works Site is granted planning permission for development. This will ensure that we can maintain its two separate, independent capacities as landowner and as Local Planning Authority.
Cllr Hannah Dalton, Vice Chair of the Strategy & Resources Committee, said: “Members unanimously voted for the mutual deed of easement at a special Strategy and Resources Committee held on Wednesday 19 June. This is an excellent example of the council working in partnership with other landowners and we hope that, as a result of this decision, we can deliver wider benefits for the community through appropriate high-quality redevelopment and regeneration of the SGN Gas Works site.”
Local CCTV monitoring arrangement aims to help promote night time safety and combat retail crime
Alongside partners Go Epsom, Surrey Police and The Ashley Centre, we have entered an arrangement for town centre CCTV cameras to be monitored locally by The Ashley Centre’s security team, Mercury Security & Facilities Management.
The Ashley Centre team’s knowledge of the local area and persons of interest will prove invaluable in tackling retail crime, supporting Epsom’s night-time economy and improving safety in the town centre overall.
Last year, 15 new, fully digital, high definition CCTV cameras were installed in the town centre as a result of a successful bid for government funding by the council, Go Epsom, Surrey Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner in 2022. The funding made it possible to implement measures to make the streets of Epsom safer - including upgrading CCTV cameras in the town centre.
Councillor Shanice Goldman, Chair of Crime and Disorder Committee, said:
“I’m very pleased we and our partners have come to an agreement with The Ashley Centre and their partner security firm, Mercury Security & Facilities Management, to monitor the town centre’s CCTV.
“Over the past two years, the council and our partners have implemented many measures to improve safety and reduce crime in Epsom. Moving to a locally monitored CCTV service, with personnel who are familiar with the area and likely perpetrators, can only improve results.”
Karen Pengelly, BID Manager at Go Epsom, said:
“Epsom should be welcoming and safe for all residents, workers and visitors. Lots of hard work by the BID, Surrey Police and the Council is now seeing tangible results, information on offenders is being gathered and shared and now, active CCTV monitoring will mean another step forwards in public safety.”
General Election results
On 4 July, residents went to the polls to decide the Member of Parliament for the Epsom and Ewell constituency for the next five years.
The electorate for the Epsom and Ewell constituency is 76,513. Of that, 54,697 ballot papers were issued, meaning the turnout was 71.49%. There were 172 ballot papers rejected.
The results were as follows:
| Name of Candidate |
Description (if any) |
Number of Votes* |
|
| FRASER, Mhairi Joanna |
Conservative Party Candidate |
16,988 |
|
| MAGUIRE, Helen Elaine |
Liberal Democrats |
20,674 |
ELECTED |
| MCKENNA, Stephen Hugh |
Green Party |
1,745 |
|
| MILLER, Gina |
True & Fair Party |
845 |
|
| SENTHILNATHAN, Mayuran |
Reform UK |
5795 |
|
| TODD, Mark Christian |
Labour Party |
8,325 |
|
| YOUNG, Damon |
Social Democratic Party |
153 |
|
The new Member of Parliament for Epsom & Ewell is Helen Maguire; you can contact Helen by visiting the Parliament webpage or by email at helen.maguire.mp@parliament.uk.
Epsom & Ewell Local Plan - what you need to know
We have created an FAQ area of our website to give the public as much information as possible about the development of the borough’s Local Plan.
The Local Plan is a critical document in shaping the future of the borough. It covers a wide range of issues from creating jobs, environmental protection and leisure development, to sites for new homes and much-needed infrastructure improvements.
We are following the government’s framework for developing a Local Plan, and no decisions have been made on policy wording or site selection for the Local Plan at this stage. We are currently reviewing feedback received during the public consultation on the first draft of the Plan, and gathering further detailed evidence to help develop the Plan.
Once the evidence base is developed and complete, a recommendation will come to the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee (LPPC) on a proposed Plan that will include site allocations. LPPC will then make a recommendation to Full Council, and it is only at this stage that a council decision on the Local Plan will be made, which will then go forward to another six-week public consultation. This is expected to be in early 2025. The next version of the Local Plan will include a consultation statement which provides a summary of the main issues raised during the Draft Local Plan (Regulation 18) consultation, and how they have been taken into account.
The Local Plan FAQs can be found on our website at: www.epsom-ewell.gov.uk/local-plan-faqs.
Members of the public can sign up to receive an alert for future consultations by completing the form at https://epsom-ewell.inconsult.uk.
Jobs at Epsom & Ewell Borough Council
We're recruiting.
Licensing Officer
The licensing team works to improve public health and to protect the safety of our residents and visitors, whilst supporting businesses and licence holders to operate safely and in compliance with the relevant licensing regime.
We are looking for a dynamic and positive Licensing Officer to join our team, to help us deliver a high class, modern, customer-focussed service.
Find out more about the Licensing Officer, Epsom & Ewell Borough Council
Playhouse Theatre Technician
The Epsom Playhouse, situated in Epsom town centre, is a receiving house comprising a 450-seat main auditorium and an 80-seat studio.
We are seeking a multi-skilled and experienced individual to provide technical services to ensure the successful presentation of a wide programme of professional and community performances. You will be responsible for rigging, operating, and de-rigging, lighting, sound, stage and AV equipment for rehearsals and performances, duty stage management, simple maintenance of equipment, and supervision of casual staff, visiting companies and community users.
Find out more about the role here: Playhouse Theatre Technician, Epsom & Ewell Borough Council
LGV Driver 1
The Operational Services division of Epsom & Ewell Borough Council is looking for dedicated individuals to drive and supervise refuse and recycling collection vehicles, ensuring a timely, high quality, safe, friendly and efficient service to our residents.
Find out more about the role here: LGV Driver 1, Epsom & Ewell Borough Council
Our small but ambitious authority offers you the opportunity to become involved in a wide range of varied and interesting work. That, together with an enviable array of staff benefits and a rewarding and challenging career, is our unique offer to you.
If you have the passion and the drive to make a real difference, we really want to hear from you. View a list of all current vacancies at Epsom & Ewell Borough Council.
At Epsom & Ewell Borough Council, we are passionate about maintaining an inclusive workplace for all that reflects the communities we serve. We welcome applications from all sections of our community particularly from underrepresented backgrounds, including BAME, LGBTQ+ and those with hidden or visible disabilities.
We are committed to ensuring all our staff – regardless of gender, age, religion, sexuality, ethnicity or disability – can thrive and succeed whilst working with us.