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News 2006Elmbridge
Housing Trust public exhibition on proposals for a major development around the
Faraday Road area The MRA have been advised by Elmbridge Housing Trust that they
have arranged a public exhibition and consultation on proposals for a major
development around the Faraday Road area. Letter
to Ian Taylor MP about Dangerous Road Junction at Walton Road/Molesey Road, West
Molesey Dear Mr Taylor Dangerous Road Junction at Walton Road/Molesey Road, West Molesey Thank you for copying me the letter dated 24 August that you received from Mr F R Apicella at Surrey County Council (SCC) about the safety improvements at this junction. Unfortunately, however, it does not address our key safety concerns. It is of course welcome that SCC has now installed a number of replacement and additional signs on the approach to the junction from the east (from Molesey), and at the junction itself, and that the white line markings have been refreshed. The main safety issue, however, has always been the lack of visibility for drivers travelling south towards the junction from the direction of Walton (it is the drivers coming along this road that must give way), not those approaching from the east and west. The junction is not easily visible to drivers approaching from the direction of Walton until they are within a few feet of it, and visibility on both sides of the road remains seriously obscured by tree growth. The only visible warning is a “Give Way” sign at the junction itself, and although this has been replaced with a new sign, tree growth obscures it until drivers are virtually at the junction. You will recall that there is also a slight rise and dip in the level of the road, which can give the impression, that the road simply carries straight on. As I explained in my initial letter, there are two other minor signs on the approach to the junction from the direction of Walton, but these are completely obscured by trees, and would in any case be inadequate. There are still no “Crossroads”, “Stop”, or “Give Way Ahead” signs to warn drivers approaching the junction. The MRA remains strongly of the view that additional warning signs are urgently required, and we had understood that these would form part of the improvements being undertaken, since I had been advised previously that the Council considered that advance warning of the “Give Way” here was justified. Furthermore, I cannot understand why the Council has asked its maintenance team to defer the urgent action to attend to the overgrowth from the trees until the winter, when visibility will actually be improved (because leaves will have fallen off the trees). I have copied this letter to Mr Apicella, and to our local SCC Councillor, Ernest Mallett, and hope that SCC will now be able to arrange for these outstanding measures to improve safety at the junction to be completed as a matter of urgency. I would like to thank you for your assistance in progressing this, and would be very happy to provide more information, or to meet to discuss, if that would be helpful. Yours Sincerely Michael Axton Letter
to Molesey News and Mail about Car Parking Charges To: The Editor, Molesey News and Mail It is disappointing that you continue to misrepresent the position of the Molesey Residents Association (MRA) on the introduction of car park charges in the Walton Road car park (News & Mail front page, 9 September). The fact is that the MRA has consistently opposed plans to introduce car-parking charges in Molesey, and furthermore we are the only group on the Council to have done so. I should explain that we have no objection to the principle of charging for use of the Council’s car parks, but as far as Molesey is concerned we do not believe that the knock on effects have been properly thought through, and we remain concerned about the Council’s current proposals. The main problem in Molesey is a shortage of overall parking capacity. The car park is very small, and there simply aren’t enough car parking spaces. Action to address potential displacement by extending yellow line restrictions in nearby roads would simply reduce parking capacity still further, and we are worried that this in turn will affect the ongoing viability of our remaining local shops. The introduction of car parking charges throughout Elmbridge has been the subject of a long series of debates in Council over many years, and in these debates MRA Councillors have always voted against charges. The key decision to introduce charges, and to make the necessary Parking Places Order, was finally taken by the Council in February 2005, in spite of MRA opposition. The October 2005 Council vote you refer to in your article concerned the subsequent Cabinet proposals for implementing the Council’s decision. MRA Councillors supported these proposals simply because, in the light of pressure from the MRA, the Cabinet had agreed to place Molesey in the final stage of a phased implementation programme. The rationale was to allow sufficient time to consider the difficulties we had highlighted. During the debate (and on other occasions) the then Cabinet portfolio holder, Roy Green, assured us that no charges would be introduced in Molesey until these outstanding difficulties had been investigated and addressed. It is regrettable that in spite of continued attempts to so we have been unable to engage either the current or the previous Cabinet portfolio holder in serious discussions about our concerns. Last year I prepared a paper for the MRA analysing the existing parking capacity in Molesey, and recommending a number of easements to the to the current yellow line on-street parking restrictions before car park charges were introduced. The MRA submitted the paper to both Elmbridge and Surrey last year for consideration, but in spite of repeated efforts to chase it up I am afraid we have still to receive any feedback on our suggestions whatsoever. I spoke to the Cabinet portfolio holder at Elmbridge Council as recently as last month, and was advised that he would contact me shortly to discuss the implementation plans and timetable for Molesey, including the MRA’s recommendations, but I am still waiting to hear from him. In the meantime the MRA would urge Elmbridge Cabinet members to defer any plans to introduce car-parking charges in Molesey until the concerns we have repeatedly raised about the knock-on effects have been fully considered and addressed. Michael Axton Elmbridge Councillor. Molesey South Public
Meeting about the Jolly Boatman/Station site A public meeting to discuss the indicative development of the Jolly Boatman/Hampton Court Station will be held at Mole Hall between 8.00 and 10.30 PM on Friday 13th October. Location: Mole Hall is located on Bishop Fox Way in West Molesey. Click here for multimap Statement
from the MRA about the Jolly Boatman/Hampton Court Station site Molesey Residents Association wish to state our views on the indicative development proposals for the Jolly Boatman/Hampton Court Station site. Whilst the developer says he is consulting on options, the consultation is not based on any planning application or specific figures. There does not appear to be any real options presented other than one of massive residential development. Only three vague figures are given, that the buildings will more or less not exceed 50 feet in height and there could be 90 to 130 flats and/or one hotel instead of some of the flats. At the same time the emotional story is being pushed that this is an expensive site to develop and therefore massive residential development is needed to fund it. However, significantly, no financial figures of cost are given although it is clear to any layman that the sales value of the proposed buildings is between 55 and £60 million. In 1999 Elmbridge Borough Council revised the 1986 Planning Brief for the overall site. Against our opposition, the council inserted the possibility of 25% residential development on the Station site into the Brief on the basis that, to quote......'the levels of development provided for would be financially viable'. The Brief allows no residential development on the Jolly Boatman site but specifies 'Leisure/Tourist' uses, meaning pub, hotel, restaurant, or heritage facilities. The developer's response on the present plans is to ignore the Brief completely and go for some 85% residential coverage including the Jolly Boatman site. The Council writes very few Planning Briefs, only about 5 in the last 30 years, so one must expect that this Planning Brief has significant status, particularly as it was designed by able consultants, given full public consultation and passed at all levels of the Council. The Brief calls for an environmentally sensitive development with heritage, tourist and transport interchange facilities as prime requirements. The 25% residential development on the Station site was added in, because the owners and their prospective developers said it was necessay to make the site viable financially against the other less remunerative requirements of the Brief. So what has changed? No downsides but a plus for any developer, since in the meantime the increase in sales value of any residential development is more than the relative cost of building. The Molesey Residents Association emphatically rejects the present proposals which simply seek to rape the overall site for whatever financial value can be got out of it. The indicative proposals have not the slightest regard for the principles of the Planning Brief or the local environment, which in any case, is supposed to have Conservation Area protection. The
MRA are considering the proposals for the Jolly Boatman redevelopment The Molesey Residents' Association are currently considering the details for the proposed redevelopment of the Jolly Boatman Site. More information will be posted when it becomes available. Online
services of interest to Elmbridge residents A new page has been added to this site which gives a few pointers where residents can find useful online resources. The page can be accessed in News Topics > Online Services. Application
on Quadrant House, West Molesey, has been withdrawn The latest application on Quadrant House, West Molesey (12 flats, including the addition of an extra floor) has been withdrawn. Information on the planning application can be found on the Elmbridge Borough Council website under the E Planning Services area with application number 2006/1122. Councillor
Vic Eldridge is the Mayor for the Borough of Elmbridge 2006/2007
MRA Councillor Vic Eldridge has been elected by the Council as the next Mayor of Elmbridge. Vic has been a longstanding MRA Councillor and we are sure he will be an excellent Mayor and a credit to the Borough of Elmbridge. We offer him our warm congratulations and best wishes for his spell as Elmbridge’s first citizen and figurehead. More information can be found on the Elmbridge Council website. HPRA
Summer Event The HPRA have organised a Summer event. This will take place on 23 June near the Heritage Marker, starting at around 6.45. Elections
Results All three of the MRA candidates won their respective seats. Molesey Residents Association would like to thank all those who supported their MRA candidates. Molesey East - Anthony Popham - Elected Detail breakdown of the votes is available here. Local
Elections on 4th May 2006 The Elmbridge Borough Council elections take place on Thursday 4th May 2006. The Molesey Residents' Association have nominated the following three candidates. MOLESEY EAST - Anthony Popham. See Tony's manifesto
here Update (01/05/2006) Related Information The
website is back online Apologies for the temporary disappearance of this website. Full service is now restored. The
Giant Orange Mast Victory The area to the south-east of the River Mole in East Molesey, roughly Molesey Park Road to Imber Court, has been targeted by three telecommunications companies aiming to erect 15-metre mobile phone masts. Orange, in particular, was keen to put up such masts near Aldersgrove and adjacent to Ember Lane near Imber Court. Following fierce local opposition to these proposals, Orange changed tack and stated that if it could put up one very tall mast (i.e. 30-metres) it would obviate the need for smaller masts in a fairly wide local area. The local community, with one notable exception, saw the commonsense in this proposal - and when the Metropolitan Police Authorities agreed to the siting of the 30-metre mast at the northern edge of their playing fields those local residents set up a vigorous supportive campaign. Literally hundreds of people became involved in petitions, putting literature through letter boxes and harassing the Elmbridge Planning Department. Having been involved in the opposition to the Aldersgrove and Ember Lane proposals, Molesey Residents Association considered the matter and became convinced of the sense of the new proposals and, led by MRA Cllr. Nigel Cooper, resolved to vote in favour of the tall mast at the Planning Committee meeting. The result was that, at the meeting of the Elmbridge Planning Committee on13th March 2006, permission was given for the erection of the tall mast. That permission was granted subject to Orange agreeing to allow other companies to use its mast. In fact, any company wanting to put up a nearby 15-metre mast must seek to use the 30-metre mast unless there are significant technical reasons why it would not be feasible to do so. The mast is tall - it will be seen from many parts of the Cow Common area - but it is probably on the best site to give the least visual impact from that lovely area. Congratulations to all those many dedicated and enthusiastic local residents who, over many months, worked so hard to ensure the success of the campaign. Nigel Cooper, MRA Councillor for Molesey East. Proposed
Phone Mast - Update 3 A hastily convened Public Meeting was held at the Council Chamber on 15
February chaired by MRA Chairman, Nigel Cooper, during which Philip Andrews,
Planning Officer in charge of the Imber Court Telecoms Mast Application,
explained the facts on history, current status and options for the future for
Molesey's telecoms provision. Letters to Planning Department, Civic Centre, High Street, Esher, Surrey KT10
9SD, will be accepted until the morning of the sub-committee meeting on 13
March. Proposed
Phone Mast - Update 2 Orange, Marconi and Vodaphone are targeting Molesey. As of early February 2006, Orange has applied to put a 30-metre mast (almost a hundred feet tall!) near the rugby grandstand on the Police grounds at Imber Court, which Orange says it needs to ‘infill’ some areas of poor reception. The situation has been confused by some rather distorted criticism but MRA Councillor Nigel Cooper has sought assurance from Orange that this mast would make other 15-metre masts unnecessary. If so, it could be supported. Alternatively, he has tasked Elmbridge officers with making strong representations to the Met. Police to have the mast (if it is really needed at all) attached to one of the tall floodlight pylons on the soccer ground. Some weeks ago Marconi said it wanted to put an antenna on the roof of Belhaven House in Walton Road opposite the entrance to the car park. We have recently learnt that Vodafone is considering making an application to install a 15-metre mast by the Mole at the rear of Molesey Park Road. We find it difficult to understand why these companies don’t get together to joint-use masts – it would be cheaper for them and less intrusive for everyone else! MRA Councillor Mike Axton has written to Vodaphone urging this action. Come
and sing charity concert On Saturday 25th Feb 2006 at Christ Church, Esher, there will be
a Come and Sing Charity Concert in aid of the Mayor of Elmbridge's Charities. Proposed
Phone Mast on Cow Common It has come to the attention of the MRA via several channels that Orange are proposing to put a Mobile Phone mast on Cow Common. The MRA are investigating this application and more news will be posted soon. Details of the application can be viewed on the Elmbridge Council website. For anyone who wishes to contact the MRA about this application please refer to Contacts. See older news: |
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