Woodcote (Epsom) Residents Society

James Blythe, Managing Director of Epsom St Helier NHS Trust confirmed that plans for the new emergency care hospital in Sutton and the upgrading of Epsom hospital were currently on hold again – waiting to hear what the impact of the governments review of the hospital programme will have.  He was however hopeful that the plans will be able to go ahead on the understanding that the current arrangements are unsustainable.

You can find a link to the recording of the meeting the Society hosted on 17 October here for those of you who were not able to attend.

James Blythe went on to set the strategic context and how Epsom Hospital currently works with St Helier and St George’s Hospitals as part of a Hospital Group.  During the discussion it became clear that the current plans did not take account of the new government housing targets for the area. 

In introducing himself Chris Rivers, Director of Estates, Facilities and Capital Projects at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust explained he was the point of contact for all estate issues. He emphasised the Trust’s commitment to being a good neighbour and was pleased to have the opportunity to hear directly from residents about concerns /issues they had.

During the remainder of the meeting James and Chris fielded a wide range of questions from the floor including the allocation of services between the two sites; accessibility to the hospitals for those with disabilities; car parking and the impact on traffic using the Dorking road; the S2 bus route being impracticably slow; the impact of noise and lighting issues associated with the Langley Wing and lighting levels adjacent to Woodcote Green Road.

James and Chris committed to look into all the issues raised by residents at the meeting and we will post a update as soon as we are able on the follow-actions agreed at the meeting

Bring your family and friends along for a fun evening and support your local residents association.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced she would be reviewing the previous government’s plan to build 40 new hospitals by 2030 and resetting the programme to put it on a sustainable footing.

The details of the review are yet to be confirmed and we don’t know whether or not the funding for the redevelopment of the Epsom and St Helier Hospitals will be forthcoming and if so on what timeline.  

The new government says that past delays and cost overruns mean that the funding allocated to the programme runs out in March. The programme has therefore to be reset and a thorough, costed and realistic timeline for delivery put in place to avoid the public being further mislead and let down.

Meanwhile the Hospital Trust says it is “cracking on with plans for the new hospital and upgrades to our existing sites while the review takes place”.

Hopefully we will know more by the time that James Blythe, Managing Director of the Epsom & St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust speaks at our next Resident’s Meeting on 17 October at 7.30pm the Epsom Sports Club.

Please make sure that evening is reserved in your diary for what will be an important opportunity to hear what the review may mean for our hospital redevelopment plans. 

We are very grateful to James for agreeing to give up his evening to come and speak to us.

We have Surrey Council elections in May next year.  

The Surrey Residents Association and Independent Group are the designated Official Opposition on Surrey County Council and in May 2025 could be part of the administration running the Council.

With that in mind the Epsom & Ewell Residents’ Associations (RAs) are clear that the Council needs change and we want to do everything we can to ensure a good range of RA Candidates for Councillors.  

We are actively seeking committed, hardworking, community focused individuals who want to see things improve for residents in your area and all residents of Surrey to stand for election.

If that could be you we would be very keen to receive your expression of interest. Details of the information we need are here.   If it would be useful to have a conversation first please get in touch on scora2025@gmail.com or call 07989 086516.”