2026 Annual General Meeting – Tuesday 10 March at 1930 hours

Posted on January 19, 2026 by admin

Our AGM is to take place this year at the Queen’s Stand, Epsom Downs Racecourse on Tuesday 10 March at 1930 hours.  Please come along if you can as it is a particularly important one for the future of the Society.

As you will see from the agenda we will be proposing that the Society merge with College and Town Wards to form a unified RA for the new Town and Downs Division to reflect the arrangements for the new East Surrey Unitary Council.  The merger will take place before the new Council comes into full operation in April 2027.

2026 is going to be another demanding year.   As a Society we will need to transition to the new Committee in addition to continuing to represent you on all local government service matters, in particular with  the ongoing raft of residential planning applications both in our ward and neighbouring areas.   We will only be able to do this with your continued support and we would therefore be grateful if you could pay your subscription of £5 as soon as possible. Details of how to do this can be found in the adjacent column

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Have your say

Posted on December 20, 2025 by admin

Epsom & Ewell Borough Council voted to proceed to the second stage of its community governance.

They have launched a second consultation which will run until 1 February 2026.It asks residents to let them know if they want two new community councils – Epsom Community Council and Ewell Community Council.

If created two councils would be funded through an additional council tax charge known as a pre-cept estimated at £43.52-$46.15 per year for a Band D property.

Initially the Councils would be responsible for allotments and would be statutory consultees on planning matters. They could take on responsibility for more services in the future if the new Unitary Council agrees. This could include parks, playgrounds and community centre.

More details are available here.

You can respond to the consultation here.

Epsom and Ewell Times’s report on the Council’s debate and voting is here:

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Langley Bottom Farm planning application for 110 residential properties – meeting to consider it cancelled again!

Posted on November 26, 2025 by admin

We have heard today that the December Planning Committee has now been cancelled. There is no obvious or acceptable reason why the application couldn’t have been considered at the December meeting after what will have been 5 months since it was submitted.

This is concerning, totally unacceptable and very bad practice.

The next scheduled meeting is not until 29 January 2026.

We will update on our next steps shortly.

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Castle Road Footbridge

Posted on November 26, 2025 by admin

South Western Railways have informed us that they have just confirmed a way forward with UK National Power Networks regarding the HV cables and are planning to being work on site in February with a view to completing the work in the Spring.

A detailed programme is being finalised and South Western Railways have committed to issuing an update to residents and stakeholders shortly outlining the confirmed plans for the bridge reconstruction.

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Racing Post – 20 November 2025

Posted on November 25, 2025 by admin
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Could you represent us on the new East Surrey Unitary Council?

Posted on November 24, 2025 by admin

From 2027 the new council will control all the services currently undertaken by Surrey and Epsom & Ewell Borough Councils including Planning and Development, Transport and Highways, Education, Social Care and Waste Collection as well as the environment, parks and playgrounds.

As a Resident’s Association Councillor you would ensure the views of local people who live in the Epsom Town and Downs Division were heard at the decision-making table.

We are looking for people with strong connections to the local community and are committed to local priorities.

More information is attached.

If this is you and you have the time and desire to serve I’d love to hear from you.  

John Mumford, Chair (07989086516) or TownandDowns@epsomras.uk

Please forward this on to other residents you think might be interested. 

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Surrey County Highways -Still recommending refusal of planning permission for residential development at Farm View

Posted on November 11, 2025 by admin

WERS and Langley Vale Action Group are delighted to confirm that Surrey County Highways are still recommending refusal of planning permission for the residential development at Farm View, Langley Vale.

This is based on similar grounds of objection raised by our own consultants in their latest response to the applicant’s alleged “enhanced transport strategy”.

The Surrey County Highways response is here.

This would appear to completely validate the approach we have taken to commission an independent transport consultant to technically challenge the applicant’s spurious assertions in their submitted Transport Assessment.

We can now reasonably expect the application to be recommended for refusal by Epsom Planning Officers.

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Further transport proposals submitted by Fairfax do not offer a genuine choice.

Posted on November 6, 2025 by admin

Paragraph 110 of the National Planning Policy Framework states that: “Significant development should be focused on locations which are or can be made sustainable, through limiting the need to travel and offering a genuine choice of transport modes.”

The report submitted by Fairfax argues that the introduction of a car club and proposed improvements to cycle connectivity and bus connectivity will make the location sustainable.  In fact these measures would have little or no impact on the reliance on the private car by occupiers because of the sites remote location and for the other factors explained in the summary you can find here

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Local Government Reform

Posted on October 31, 2025 by admin

The Government has confirmed plans to abolish Surrey’s two-tier system of local government and replace it with two single-tier unitary councils — East Surrey and West Surrey.

Under the plan, Epsom & Ewell will join Elmbridge, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, and Tandridge to form the new East Surrey Unitary Authority. The remainder of the county — Guildford, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Waverley and Woking — will form West Surrey. Each authority will be responsible for everything from waste and planning to adult social care, highways and schools.

Elections for the new shadow councils are expected in May 2026, with the new authorities assuming full powers from 1 April 2027, once the required Structural Changes Order has been approved by Parliament.

For Woodcote and Langley Vale ward it means that we will be joined by College ward and the southern half of Town ward in forming a new electoral division for the East Surrey Unitary Council. This is the same as the existing Town & Downs electoral division for Surrey County Council represented by Cllr Steve McCormick. It is expected that our  new Unitary Council division will need to elect 2 councillors to represent us at the May 2026 elections.

If you are interested in possibly standing as a Residents Association candidate or wish to find out more we’d love to hear from you. You can e-mail us at info@woodcoteepsomresidentssociety.org or phone John Mumford on 07989086516.

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Transport Consultants Report on the transport aspects of the Langley Bottom Farm Planning Application finds it is seriously flawed.

Posted on October 30, 2025 by admin

The transport consultants report commissioned by the residents of Langley Vale was submitted to Epsom & Ewell Borough Council today. It finds that the applicant’s transport assessment is seriously flawed. It significantly misinterprets and presents an inaccurate position on the transport impact of the proposed development.

The review finds that the proposed development is unsustainable, unsafe and non-compliant with current planning and transport policies. The site’s poor accessibility , flawed access design, underestimated traffic impacts and inadequate mitigation measures all point to a development that fails to meet the standards required for approval for a significant development.

The review recommends that Epsom & Ewell Borough Council object to the application on transport grounds, citing the unsustainable nature of the site, highway safety concerns and lack of effective mitigation.

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