Off to Blackpool…

Tomorrow morning (Saturday), I am heading up to Blackpool for the Conservative Party’s Annual Conference.   Whilst I’m not looking forward to the six hour journey getting there involves (featuring changes at London Euston, Coventry and Stockport), the conference week is always a great opportunity to meet other party activists from around the country and to catch up with the ’conference friends’ you only see once a year. 

To give but a brief snapshot of a week at conference: on Sunday, the Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York will address the conference, I’ll be at a dinner with the former US Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton on Tuesday evening and plan to drop into fringe meetings throughout the week on issues as diverse as the future of freight transportation, the 2008 local elections and the politics of the NHS.  For political animals, it’s like being on Cloud Nine.

With talk of a general election towards either the end of October or early in November, it’s going to be an interesting week.  My only hope for the week?  That activists can come back from the conference with an exciting set of policies to sell on the doorsteps.  

‘In Touch’ Leaflet

The latest edition of the Englefield Green In Touch newsletter, an update from your six Conservative Councillors about the work we are doing in the village and other stories of interest to local people has been published.  Full delivery should be completed within the next few days but, if you would like to download a PDF (Acrobat) of the leafet, please click here. 

If you have any comments or questions about the leaflet, please do let me know as we are extremely keen to hear any feedback residents may have!

Brunel ‘Community Planning Weekend’

Oracle Homes, the buyers of the former Brunel University campus in Englefield Green will be holding a ‘Community Planning Weekend’ on the 12th and 13th October to discuss their future plans for the site with local residents.   I hope that this weekend will provide us all with a good opportunity to make our views clear as to the best way forward for the development.

The sessions that will be running at Pillar Hall at the site over the course of the weekend are as follows:

Friday 12th October 

2.15pm - Runnymede Campus and surrounding area
4.00pm - Hands-on planning groups
6.00pm - The local economy

Saturday 13th October

11.00am - Runnymede Campus Site
1.30pm - Hands-On planning groups
3.45pm - The way forward (15 minute closing session)

Each of these sessions will be covered by one of the Englefield Green councillors. 

For more information, contact Nicola Forde on 0207 405 1211 or e-mail nf@jtp.co.uk.

Keeping warm this winter

Following an atrocious Summer, those cold, wintry nights seem to be firmly setting in.  In a melancholic moment yesterday afternoon, I delved into the back of my wardrobe and retrieved a collection of warm jumpers.  Even though it’s only September, I am giving serious consideration to turning my heating on, at least until this cold spell is over. 

Of course, the average household could save hundreds of pounds during the winter period by ensuring that their homes are properly insulated.

To this end, Runnymede Borough Council has teamed up with British Gas to provide discounted rates for Cavity Wall and Loft Insulation and a further £50 off your next Council Tax bill to those residents who take up the offer and either privately rent or own their own homes. Via the Government’s ‘Warm Front’ scheme, it is possible that you could qualify for funding of up to £2700 to improve heating and insulation measures in your home.

The elderly, disabled or families with young children may be eligible for free insulation.  In order to check your status, please contact British Gas on 0845 971 7731 and quote reference ‘RMCT’.

If you’d like more information, contact energy@runnymede.gov.uk or telephone the Borough Council on 01932 425172.

Foot and Mouth Outbreak

By now, everyone will have heard that cases of Foot and Mouth disease have been confirmed at Milton Park Farm in Stroude Road, Egham.   

The owner of Merton Park Farm, Mr Lawrence, keeps livestock at nine locations in Surrey, all of which have now been declared as infected premises.  A 3km ‘Protection Zone’ has been initiated around each of the sites.  The export ban on livestock and meat products has been reintroduced, and no movements of any livestock are allowed across England, Scotland and Wales except under licence from DEFRA.

If you require any further information, Surrey County Council are running a help-line on 01372 371692, available from 8:00am to 6:00pm (Mon to Fri) and 10:00am to 4:00pm (Sat and Sun). 

At present, Stroude Road is closed from New Wickham Lane to Luddington Avenue with futher closures expected around Whitehall Lane.  Yesterday afternoon, Cllr Marisa Heath and I attempted to visit the area in order to find out more information for local residents only to be stuck in traffic for the best part of 45 minutes as the Police attempted to divert traffic.  If you’re driving - particularly around rush-hour and school kicking-out time - it is probably best to avoid this area.

The Borough Council, in conjunction with colleagues at Waverley Borough Council, has produced an excellent ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ document.  Please click here to download a copy.

As you can see, the ‘Protection Zone’ around the site includes all of the Englefield Green East ward:

 

Egham Redevelopment

I thought it may be of interest to residents to post full details of the Egham development - including a new Waitrose store - as agreed by the Economic Development Committee on 23rd August.

The scheme, based on the current Precinct Car Park on Church Road, will comprise of:

i) A centrally located medium-sized Waitrose food store at ground floor level fronting Church Road with a gross internal retail area of approximately 21,000 sq.ft. with storage and associated space on part of the ground and first floor level adding approximately 15,000 sq.ft. to the area;

ii) Service facilities (yard) for both the store and the retail units fronting the High Street to be accessed off Church Road.

iii) Adjacent car park provision of 173 spaces (14 spaces to be provided at ground level together with 11 disabled and 16 parent and toddler spaces) with the remainder provided in a full basement car park area accessed by a ramp with separate car access/exits onto Church Road.  The design would ensure a feeling of security for users.

iv) New and enhanced pedestrian access to the High Street.  The existing pedestrian route would be retained as a means of escape/service route.

v) A budget/mid-range hotel of approximately 60 rooms on the upper two floors of the scheme.

vi) New bus stops and shelters at the end of the pedestrian route on Church Road.

At far as I’m concerned, this is great news for Englefield Green and the wider Borough.

Prune Hill Level Crossing

I have just received a message letting me know that the Prune Hill Level Crossing in Egham will be closed from between 8am and 3pm on Sunday 9 September and from 1am until 5.30am from Monday 10 September through to Friday 14 September.

Network Rail are carrying out engineering work on the railway line. 

Signposted diversions will be in place.

The South East Plan

The latest report on the ‘South East Plan’, ostensibly a document to assess “how we need to respond to challenges facing the region such as housing, the economy, transport and the environment”, has been published.  It will come as no surprise to you that the document is nearly entirely dedicated to the Government’s obsession with concreting over our countryside.

The document makes for concerning reading.

In Surrey alone, the Panel has recommended that housing provision be increased by around 21%.

The DERA (Defence Evaluation and Research Agency) site at Longcross has been identified as a target to build 2,500 new homes and further pressure will no doubt be placed upon Runnymede Borough Council to provide new land for housing.

It’s safe to say we’ll be watching these developments very closely.  Englefield Green has already suffered enough from unwanted developments.

For more information about the South East Plan, please visit http://www.southeast-ra.gov.uk/southeastplan/.