Category Archives: Health

EBC’s Transformation of Community Services

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Weybridge: Building on working together

In Weybridge, the Community Centre has traditionally provided services mainly for older residents and, for the last year, has also been used by the Library during the refurbishment work of the Library building.

When the Weybridge Library re-opens in September, the centre services for the elderly will transfer into what will be know as The Library Hub, with the council continuing to provide these services. Building on the experience already gained by the SCC Library Services working with the EBC Community Services team, it is expected that new activities will be developed to target more residents of all ages who require support.

After the move, the Weybridge Community Centre will still be available for bookings by different groups with the aim of the voluntary and charity sector eventually taking over as part of a wider programme for all Elmbridge Centres. The Centres will become Community Hubs (probably an over-used term!) run by the community for the community. The council will invest £70,000 in each of these hubs and provide an additional £200,000 in funding to strengthen the voluntary sector. Financial support will also be given during the bidding process and the handover of the centres to ensure a successful launch for the new organisations. The council will hold information and advice events for interested parties in the coming months.

Connected Communities

Currently, community services in Elmbridge reach fewer than 1% of residents but costs around 20% of the council’s annual budget (around £4m), while nearly 12% of residents face serious challenges to living well. The Connected Communities transformation will enable the council to reach more unpaid carers, families facing financial hardship, isolated individuals, and older residents, ensuring that no one is left behind. 

Over the next 18 months, the programme will: 

  • strengthen partnerships with Elmbridge’s outstanding voluntary and charity sector to deliver more joined-up support 
  • transform day centres into welcoming, inclusive Community Hubs that reflect the needs of many more of our residents 
  • introduce Local Area Coordinators to provide tailored preventative support close to home 
  • secure long-term resilience by delivering £1 million in annual savings and reinvesting in frontline services 

A good example of a successful transformation that has already taken place is the Centre in Thames Ditton. This was taken on last year by a local resident who set up a not-for-profit organisation called Vital Village. It is now a busy, vibrant, multi-generational community centre used by many more people:  www.vitalvillage.co.uk

Weybridge Health Centre update

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We have continually reported how disappointingly slow it has been for NHS Property Services to progress with the long-awaited rebuild of the Weybridge Health Centre which burnt down eight years ago. There have been numerous self-inflicted delays – see our last article here from December 2024: http://weybridgelibdems.org.uk/2024/12/health-campus/

There was concern when the first planning application was made public that it included a path for cyclists and pedestrians into Portmore Way past St Charles Borromeo School and into Portmore Park Road. This was revised to reinstate access from Minorca Road. At last the application came before the Council’s Planning Committee on the 15th July 2025 and was approved.

We can only hope that NHS Property Services have the funding to get on with building the new centre as quickly as possible.

Weybridge HGV ban

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Surrey County Council confirmed on the 23rd June that the experimental prohibition of Heavy Goods Vehicles in Weybridge will be made permanent.
In the long consultation that ran from 25 October 2024 to 1 May 2025 86% of respondents supported the ban.

Enforcement of the ban will be with the installation of an Automatic Number Plate Recognition camera on Brooklands Road so that penalty charge notices can be issued to drivers. We hope that this will herald an end to HGVs forcing other vehicles onto the pavement at the Balfour Road roundabout junction and to their frequent damaging of the railings.

Weybridge splash pad opens

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Your local councillors were pleased to attend the opening of the new water-play area at Churchfields recreation ground on Thursday 22 May with the ribbon being cut by the new Elmbridge Mayor, Cllr Steve Bax.

A splash pad was promoted in the Cabinet several years ago by Cllr Ashley Tilling as the portfolio holder for Environmental Services and Climate Change as we reported last year: http://weybridgelibdems.org.uk/2024/11/splash-pad/

Sustainability was a top priority when selecting the design and equipment; it therefore has a filtering and recirculating water system to reduce water consumption as well as solar panels to make it more energy-efficient than most similar facilities. The splash pad is packed with exciting and innovative water features that promise hours of enjoyment for toddlers and young school-aged children.

Opening times

The Weybridge splash pad is open from 24 May to 2 September. Opening hours are 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday, and 10am to 5pm on Sundays.

Weybridge Health Campus

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The process of replacing the Weybridge ‘Hospital’ which was burnt down in 2017 is still grinding on. Even though the design team had submitted plans to the Local Planning Authority (EBC) in March 2023, delays meant that it wasn’t until the 4th February this year that the Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG) were told that plans were about to be submitted to EBC ready for building to start in the summer of this year: http://weybridgelibdems.org.uk/2024/02/weybridge-hospital-site/

Astonishingly, just over a month later, on the 20th March, we learned that this timescale was put back yet again: NHS Property Services had decided that the Project Leader and his team, who had been working on the proposals for several years, were to be replaced. A new lead company, Wilmott Dixon, was appointed and they insisted on using their own architect to draw up a new design.

It has now taken a further eight months for the SRG to be informed last week that plans were at last ready for a formal planning application to be made. At least there now seems to be money available and the previous problem of a funding gap seems to have been closed. Let’s hope that after seven years of delays, the replacement project will now proceed to some spades in the ground!

HGV weight limit

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A year ago we posted our support for the petition started by our St George’s councillor colleagues to introduce a weight limit on HGVs coming through the town via Heath Road and Brooklands Road: http://weybridgelibdems.org.uk/2023/11/hgv-petition/.

After a lengthy consultation period, this has now come into effect. Apparently it won’t be possible to issue fines on drivers contravening the restrictions for the first six months as it is a trial ban. Anyone seeing vehicles flouting the order should report the incident, preferably with photos, via:

https://customer.surreycc.gov.uk/hgv-watch

Splash pad for Weybridge

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You may have noticed that work began on the 14th October to install a new splash pad in Churchfields recreation ground to replace the paddling pool. This is set to open in spring 2025. It will includes various interactive features to promote imaginative play.

As a member of the EBC Cabinet with responsibility for Climate Change, several years ago Cllr Ashley Tilling raised with the council’s management board his concerns that the paddling pool did not meet the council’s intentions to make its operations sustainable. Every day the pool took all morning to fill with fresh water which then had to be drained each evening. Over the course of its open period during the summer holidays, this amounted to using several olympic-sized swimming pools of water. The routine also meant employing a contractor all day to conduct these operations. He therefore proposed installing a splash pad that would filter and recirculate the water to vastly reduce consumption. The cabin housing the pumps and filtering equipment will also benefit from solar panels to make it more energy efficient.

Splash pads appeal to a wider age range of children than a paddling pool and they can be operated over a longer period from May to September instead of just the school holidays.

In October 2022, the council consulted with residents to gather their views on future water play facilities in the borough. 96% of participants expressed their support for water play options. The feedback informed a new water play strategy while addressing the issues of environmental sustainability and financial prudence.

What will happen to the paddling pool in Churchfields recreation ground?

The council are exploring new play options in the current paddling pool area. These will cater for various interests and age groups and we should see the plans next spring. 

Weybridge Hospital site

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Are we closer to a re-build?

The plans showing a two-storey building with GP services on the ground floor and clinics, diagnostics and children’s and mental health services on the first floor, are currently being reviewed after feedback from the planning authority, Elmbridge Borough Council (EBC). Replacing the walk-in centre is not in the plan (due to having an Urgent Treatment Centre at St Peter’s) but there will be a Same Day Urgent Care access hub which will be available only for booked appointments via the GP or 111.

The intention is for NHS Property Services to proceed with a full planning application in the spring for building to start this summer. The aim is for the building to be handed over to the NHS for fitting out in the winter of 2025 and for it to be opened in spring 2026 when the portacabins will be removed.

Centres for the Community

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During recent safety assessments of the services at Elmbridge’s Centres for the Community, some fundamental safety issues for customers and staff were identified that needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency. It was hoped that they would be closed for a few days but this was extended so that a reliable, consistent and safe service could be provided.

Since the Covid pandemic and through the recent cost of living crisis, there has been an increasing strain on organisations caring for people and it seems EBC’s services have been stretched very thin. The closures are needed to rectify issues which include fire safety procedures, risk identification, assessment, and mitigation processes, and safe staffing levels.

The following services have been running as usual:

  • Community Transport’s Dial-a-Ride, Hire-a-Bus and school services.
  • Meals on Wheels deliveries 7 days a week.
  • The Community Alarm service.

External groups hiring the centres were able to use them again from Tuesday 5th December. All vulnerable users have been invited to either the Walton or the Cobham Centre (both re-opened on the 11th December) where there will be a warm welcome with the option of lunch and table-top games. Those who need transport have been identified and will be helped.

If you have not been called by the council, or you know someone who should be contacted, please phone 01372 474 474

Runnymede & Weybridge MP VOTES DOWN sewage sickness compensation scheme

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Our protest against dumping raw sewage

Local Liberal Democrats have slammed Dr Ben Spencer for VOTING AGAINST a compensation scheme for swimmers who get sick from sewage.

The amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill, tabled by Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron, would have allowed anyone who gets sick, as a result of illegal sewage dumping, to claim compensation from water companies. However, it was voted down in the Commons this week after Conservative MPs, including Dr Ben Spencer, voted against it.

It comes despite a recent report which found a staggering 1,924 cases of people getting sick due to suspected sewage pollution over the last year, nearly triple the number of cases reported in the previous year.

Ellen Nicholson, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Runnymede & Weybridge, said:

“It’s shameful that Ben Spencer and this Conservative government have once again put water companies’ profits before people’s health.

“It is a complete slap in the face to all those in Runnymede & Weybridge who expect their MP to stand up and fight for them, instead of for massive companies who have dumped filthy sewage into our rivers and lakes.

“It is a sad state of affairs when swimmers are falling seriously sick from sewage while water company bosses trouser millions in bonuses.

“The Liberal Democrats have exposed the sewage scandal and will continue to hold these polluting firms to account even if Dr Ben Spencer refuses to.”