Epsom Council spent £500k on Local Plan Consultants fees

Information provided by EEBC showing that for Local Plan external consultants fees alone, Epsom and Ewell Borough Council has so far spent £513k. This is excluding Planning Officers’ salary, which if included, the Council would have spent way over £1 million* already on the Local Plan. Sadly the Local Plan is still at early stage and future spending is likely to be high. Unfortunately, some of the external reports are of poor quality with errors, some reports have conflicting information, and some reports are even suspectable of Greenwashing in order to justify large and unusual development proposals of Green Belt lands.

* According to Council’s document, Planning Officers’ salary are between £50k-£60k/year. Council has at least 5 officers, and assuming each officer spent 30% of their time on Local Plan, for the past 6 years, Council would have spent over £500k on Local Plan officers’ salaries.

Regulation 18 Public Consultation

It is vital that you respond to the consultation as this is the only way in which your views can be taken into account. Deadline 2023.03.19!

How to response?
1. Via online portal https://www.epsom-ewell.gov.uk/local-plan, Q8, Q15, Q17, Q18 relates to Green Belt issues.
2. Write to Council by email: localplan@epsom-ewell.gov.uk, or by post: Planning Policy, The Old Town Hall, The Parade, Epsom KT18 5BY
3. You can view sample responses on our SAMPLE RESPONSE page, however, please ensure you tailor them so that they represent your own views, please also include your name and details in your response.
4. Also visit our FAQ page for common asked questions
5. Please also see CPRE Surrey’s detailed response below

Councillors and Residents Associations

Please visit our CONTACT COUNCILLORS page to download the mailing list, and write to all your ward’s councillors. You should also ask your local Residents Associations to openly commit to object building on any of EEBC Green Belt lands. Up until plan submission, EEBC Councillors (controlled by RAs) are solely responsible for the Local Plan decisions.

Special Council Meeting

1) An Extraordinary Full Council Meeting has been called and will be held on 22nd March @7:30pm at Epsom Town Hall, The Parade, KT18 5BY, to discuss Local Plan and Green Belt
2) If you are attending in person, please arrive early at 6:50pm in front of Town Hall (Car Park side) for a Public Demonstration.
3) Watch online via https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3320059352617644893
4) Agenda is listed on here. Please email your councillors to get their pledge to vote no development on the Green Belt.

Public Event

Epsom and Ewell Times chaired a public meeting on EEBC Local Plan, featuring CPRE Surrey, Epsom Civic Society and Resident Association Councillors. You can watch the replay here https://fb.watch/jmD2GSTIKq/

Evidence Based

Please see our EVIDENCE page for detailed analysis of the Local Plan documentation, and why we firmly believe there is no need to lose any of our Green Belt to meet our housing needs.

Sign and share our Petition (https://www.change.org/EpsomGreenBelt)

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