Category Archives: Business

A balanced and sustainable budget for Elmbridge

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We remain a financially strong and resilient Council

On 8 February, Elmbridge Cabinet, of which I am a member, will be asked to recommend the council’s revenue and capital budget and the level of council tax for 2023/24. We have been working hard to produce a balanced budget against a backdrop of high inflation, rising interest rates and increasing energy costs, all leading to increased costs for the council.

Our 2030 Vision will help us to focus on delivering the needs of the community. It is a vision that says despite the economic pressures, we will support and enable Elmbridge’s sustainable future, we will back our local businesses and we will enable our community to help us drive Elmbridge forward. To ensure our vision for Elmbridge is more than a strategy document, we have in place a transformation programme that puts us in a strong position to be financially sustainable in future years.

For 2023/24 we are setting a balanced and sustainable budget brought about through a determination to create savings within the council, without reducing service quality.

Our transformation programme is the means by which we shape Elmbridge for the future; it will enable our vision. This programme is already delivering savings which have contributed to the 2023/24 budget, including:

  • A new leisure services contract with Places Leisure which will start in April 2023 and has secured savings of £200k in year one, while further enhancing facilities at the Xcel Leisure Complex.
  • Through service efficiencies, our community support services will save £110k, while developing a connected community to help improve the lives of our most vulnerable residents.

Overall, for our 2023/24 budget, we have identified additional income and efficiency savings of £1.8 million, while using prudently held reserves to meet some of our spending pressures due to high inflation and the impact of operational changes; these include Surrey County Council’s recent decision to withdraw from our joint car parking enforcement contract, which will cost our Council an additional £400k a year.

Supporting our community as costs rise

We never forget that some of our residents are dealing with the cost-of-living crisis every day, and they need us now more than ever.

  • Our 2023/24 budget continues to support our voluntary sector partners by providing core funding of £450k and,
  • through our careful financial management, we can commit an additional £250k to the cost-of-living crisis fund,increasing it to £500k to help the most vulnerable in our borough. We are working with our voluntary and community group partners in Elmbridge to allocate this funding so that it reaches the people who need it most, as quickly as possible.

Investing in a sustainable and thriving Elmbridge

A sustainable and thriving Elmbridge, needs more than efficiencies and cost savings, it needs investment which is what we will be doing to support Elmbridge’s future.

  • We have an ambitious capital programme where we plan to spend £4.2 million over the next 3 years, of which £1.6 million helps us towards our carbon neutral commitment, demonstrating our determination to work towards a sustainable Elmbridge.
  • £1 million of this will be invested in decarbonising our fleet over the next 3 years, with £460K in 2023/24, as set out in the draft Green Fleet Strategy also coming to 8 February Cabinet. This investment is supported by Surrey County Council, as we continue to work in partnership towards a sustainable Elmbridge.

Protecting our community

Working with our partners at the Environment Agency and Surrey County Council, the Elmbridge Drowning Prevention Strategy, sets out to reduce the number of water incidents in the borough through training and improved awareness. Our 2023/24 budget commits £30k for 2023-2024 to deliver additional drowning prevention projects including free swimming lessons for 12- 18-year-old non swimmers during the summer delivered by Places Leisure.

Below inflation increase in council tax

For Elmbridge council tax in 2023/24 we are proposing a below inflation increase of 2.98%, which is an increase of £7.05 a year or 14p a week for a band D property.

We will continue to support residents struggling to pay their council tax.

The future

The increased cost of living, global financial uncertainty and government policy changes means we will continue to face challenges to our financial position in the coming years. However, we have a strong track record of financial management, and we are confident that through our vision for the borough, backed up by the transformation programme, we will deliver a sustainable and thriving Elmbridge for our residents and businesses.

Cllr Ashley Tilling

Lloyds Bank in Weybridge to close

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Sad to report that the Lloyds Bank in Weybridge will be closing on 10 May 2023. All regular customers have been notified by letter and we have been informed that the branches at West Byfleet and Walton are staying open and that everyday banking services (paying in cheques and cash, paying bills and withdrawing cash) continue to be available at the Post Office.

The closure will leave another vacant unit on the High Street, although the new businesses that have recently opened, including in the former Barclays Bank, give some hope that it won’t stay empty for long.

Great news about Weybridge Hall

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At last Wednesday’s Elmbridge Cabinet meeting, approval was given to selling Weybridge Hall to Swift Entertainment for its use as a Theatre and Arts Centre. Your ward councillors are really pleased that their continual pressing for the Hall to continue as an entertainment venue, either as a cinema or theatre, is set to come to fruition and will give a boost to the night-time economy of Weybridge. This landmark building at the centre of the town will now be reopened as a venue for the community run by a proven operator – Swift recently refurbished and now successfully run Esher Theatre.

Swift will invest £1.5 million on refurbishments and installations to make it a state-of-the-art facility: a theatre on the ground floor with recording, dance and art studios on the upper floors.Architects drawing of the proposed Floor Plan

A planning concern from Runnymede Council

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Weybridge Business Park

All offices on the main Business Park on Hamm Moor Lane have been emptied and the site owner has applied to Runnymede Council, application RU.22/0776, for permission to build three warehouse units. The largest of these, with 10 loading bays and 12 waiting bays, is believed to be earmarked as an Amazon distribution centre.

It has been pointed out in letter of representation that the impact on local roads of the estimated 99 HGVs per day, as well as numerous delivery vans and commuter transport (of up to 450 employees), would be significant and would almost certainly affect traffic in Weybridge High Street, Heath Road and Portmore Park Road. Indeed, National Highways has asked for a 56 day delay in any decision so that a further review of the methods used to calculate the trip generation in the Transport Assessment can be reviewed. However, the consultant acting for the applicant has responded by providing data that shows a reduction in the number of vehicle movements from the level of previous occupancy of the site.

Cllr Ashley Tilling writes that EBC were consulted and responded in June but as traffic impact is a matter for SCC as our Highways Authority they understandably could not find any planning grounds on which they could raise an objection (EBC 2022/1662). To voice your concerns you should contact your County Councillor or local MP, Dr Ben Spencer.



Elmbridge Local Plan now published

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A Local Plan that protects the character of Elmbridge

The Borough is required by government to produce a Local Plan that outlines how the housing need will be met for the next 15 years and the land that can be identified to allow for those future developments; it is underpinned by a number of documents that guide the council in its decision-making on what are acceptable developments in terms of good design, respect for the character of the location, coupled with environmental and sustainability considerations.

In order to provide a robust Local Plan to the Planning Inspectorate, our officers have consulted with residents and developers, they have investigated all land options and they have assessed every possible scenario, weighing national guidelines and planning legislation against the needs of Elmbridge and our residents. This Draft Local Plan represents that work and has the best interests of Elmbridge at its heart.

The Liberal Democrat and Resident Councillors will be putting forward a Draft Local Plan that will deliver the homes we need while protecting the character of our Borough including its precious Green Belt.

On 16 March 2022, the Elmbridge Draft Local Plan is being debated at a meeting of the Elmbridge Cabinet. The recommendations of the Cabinet will be presented to a Council meeting on 22 March 2022. If approved by Council, the next stage on the way to adoption is a ‘Regulation 19 representation’, after which the Plan will then be passed to the national Planning Inspectorate for examination.

Key points of the Draft Local Plan being presented to Cabinet on 16 March 2022

  1. The Plan allows for 465 homes per year over 15 years, not the 647 pushed for by the Conservative Government.

  2. The Plan will protect the Green Belt and enhance green infrastructure and biodiversity in the Borough.

  3. The Plan will shape development in the urban area to meet the needs of our communities, respecting and enhancing the unique characters of our towns and villages.

Read more on the council’s website here: News | Home | Elmbridge News

New GSK HQ

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Application 2021/4257- New HQ for GSK

Glaxo Smith Kline, GSK, has submitted a planning application to build on a vacant site in The Heights Business Park between the Sony Europe and the Proctor & Gamble offices. Designed to be the HQ of their new Consumer Healthcare company it would house a Research & Development and Innovation space, a state-of-the-art Shopper Science lab, general office space and global support functions. About 1400 people will be employed at the site, some being moved from the current GSK site off St George’s Avenue which we understand GSK will close and probably be redeveloped. 

We know some residents are concerned that permission is being sought for a new building when there are a number of office blocks in the vicinity which have been vacant for some time and others are worried about over-development in the Locke King / Brooklands area. It seems a pity that GSK didn’t seek to refurbish one or more of these blocks for their new HQ. However, these have received approval for a change of use to flats under the government’s Permitted Development provisions and GSK argue that only a state-of-the-art, purpose-built, energy efficient building would suit their purposes.

Helping our High Street

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There has been a significant impact on local businesses over the last year due to closures imposed under covid-19 lockdown rules. This has accelerated an existing trend away from high street shopping to on-line purchasing (32.5% of sales are now on-line). Weybridge has 25 empty retail units and both Santander and Barclays banks have recently announced that they are closing their Weybridge branches.

Elmbridge Borough Council has been administering grants to businesses to cover the time they have been mandated to close. Discretionary grants have been paid to those not mandated to close but who have suffered a large downturn in trade and up to £9000 one-off payments were given in January to retail, leisure and hospitality businesses forced to close in the third lockdown. 

The government’s Budget continued both the furlough scheme and the reduced rate of VAT  for tourism and hospitality businesses until September, while extending the business rates holiday for three months.

As we emerge slowly from lockdown constraints, the Council will be looking to further support businesses from its own funds. £2000 per business will be available to improve shopfronts and signage and £1000 to support improved footfall or sustainability. Further support is available in the form of a grant of up to £2000 to bring shops that have been empty for over 3 months back into commercial use.

32 independent retailers in Elmbridge have already benefited from a grant of up to £1500 from the Elmbridge Digital High Street Fund to help them convert to selling on-line and 82 start-up awards have been made so far to provide £1000 to set up new businesses. 

Further discretionary grants are in the pipeline. Currently there is no detail on these but the following links can be used to check on progress of these grants.