Category Archives: Planning

Local Government Reorganisation

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Three Unitary proposal
Two Unitary proposal

What is LGR?

In December 2024, central government published a paper to set out its approach on devolution – transferring more powers from government to local or regional authorities. They proposed that each area should elect regional Mayors where they don’t currently have them. This approach means that additional power is given to the Mayor, giving them more control over strategic decision making for their area.

To unlock the devolution of further local powers and elect a Mayor, some areas need to reorganise first. This means creating unitary authorities to simplify and streamline local government. Unitary councils are responsible for the services currently delivered by both the county council and local councils. In Surrey, there are eleven district or borough councils, responsible for waste collection, planning, cemeteries, parks and recreation grounds, and Surrey County Council responsible for Children’s Services, Adult Social Care and highways. LGR would mean dissolving all of the existing councils and combining services into unitary authorities. Having fewer councils creates efficiency, clarifies service delivery and saves money. It is, though, debatable whether this is ‘devolution’, which surely entails giving responsibility for democratic decision-making to the most appropriate local level.

The effect of being in the first wave

The Tory-led SCC administration volunteered to be in the first wave of devolution knowing that this would mean the cancellation of the county elections due to be held in May 2025 and extending the term of office of current councillors by two years without a further election. It has also meant that there has been very little time to thoroughly explore all the options for the configuration of the new unitaries, how the debt of councils will be managed and the complexities and costs of organising new teams to handle the key areas of Children’s and Adult Social Services.

Final plans submitted to government

A six week public consultation finished on the 5th August. Congratulations if you waded through the dense, opaque language in the numerous questions better suited to officers working in local government rather than members of the public.

Three unitary proposals

Nine of the eleven local councils are promoting a grouping of current councils into three new unitary authorities. They argue:

Our proposal offers local government that is built around Surrey’s distinct and recognised functional human and economic geographies. By aligning local government with well-defined and understood places, we can create a system that is more responsive, effective and attuned to the diverse needs of the people, communities and businesses that call Surrey home.

Put simply, we believe that local authorities with administrative boundaries that reflect functional and locally recognised areas are better equipped to meet the needs of these areas. They will also improve the potential for partnership working across the system and with community partners.

Two unitary proposals

Surrey County Council, Elmbridge and Mole Valley have promoted a final plan to government splitting Surrey into two councils, East and West. They say:

We’ve analysed a wide range of data on how the two councils would operate and our approach is supported by many of Surrey’s key public sector organisations including health, police, fire, business and community leaders. Existing county council services across Surrey are proven by independent inspectors to be strong, with successful outcomes for residents, and Surrey County Council and many of the district and borough councils have stable finances. This puts us in a good position to see Surrey through reorganisation smoothly.

What next?

The government is now considering the proposals and will make their decision know by the end of September or October. It is rather worrying that in the rush to provide lengthy proposals, key aspects such as how many councillors will represent each ‘division’ (‘wards’ will disappear) have not yet been put forward.

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 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!

Weybridge Hall latest

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History

The former cinema, which opened in 1920 and was acquired by Elmbridge Borough Council in 1956, operated as a public hall until its closure in 2014. Since then, the building’s condition has worsened. Swift Entertainment Venues (SEV) had an 18-month option to buy the building, but this expired in April 2024. The building has been actively marketed for sale since then.

Sale

Several offers were received for the building, with most proposals including residential upper parts and various ground floor uses like gyms, restaurants and churches. The offers were evaluated based on conditionality, such as a requirement to convert and sell upper floor flats, proposed use, ability to transact and price.

At the Elmbridge Cabinet meeting on Wednesday 20 November, councillors agreed to sell the Hall to Equippers Church. This is seen as the best option for community and leisure use. It is the least risky choice and ensures the building’s future use better than the other offers received. 

Equippers Church

Equippers Church plans to refurbish the building, featuring a two-tiered auditorium seating 300 to 400 people. The upper parts will be converted into studios for midweek meetings and workshops on mental health, wellbeing, counselling and youth gatherings. The building will also host weddings, birthday parties, exercise classes, art exhibitions and will be available to schools and other community groups for concerts, plays, speech days and other events. Additionally, the church is expected to bring significant added value to local businesses in Weybridge.

The transfer will be subject to a restrictive covenant that the ground floor of the building can only be used for leisure/community use that provides an active frontage onto Church Street. Equippers Church have agreed to this term and are keen to purchase the building. Completion of the sale is subject to contract. 

St Charles Borromeo church, Heath Road

It is understood that Equippers Church will be using the old Catholic Church and Rectory as their College for training in leadership roles. The church has already undergone long-needed refurbishment and restoration to bring it back into use after many years of decay and neglect.

Weybridge Library

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Extension and major refurbishment

We hope you were able to visit the Library for the recent public ‘drop-in’ event to view the latest plans for its major refurbishment. We were pleased to see that the revised drawings included our proposals for this to become more of a Community Hub by including a  kitchen and servery next to the activity/performance hall on the first floor which should give it greater scope for a wide variety of daytime activities and evening functions; the entrance into the ground floor extension from the car park will be moved to make it more visible and easier to use and the area in front of it will be landscaped to make it more attractive.

Planning consent was granted in December 2023 but some additional work will take place to include the changes described above. It is intended that the contract for the refurbishment work will be awarded in March, services temporarily co-located in the Community Centre in the same month, construction completed in April 2025 with fit out, handover and occupation in May 2025.

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.

Brooklands College development approved

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Illustrative Master plan from Cala Homes

At Elmbridge Borough Council’s Planning Committee on Tuesday 5th December the application to redevelop the Brooklands College site was approved.

The application involves providing a total of 320 new homes in blocks of flats, town houses and the refurbishment of the listed Brooklands mansion into luxury apartments. The College put forward a development of such a significant scale on Greenbelt land largely to pay off £20m of a £25m debt it had incurred when contracting apprentice training to a company that subsequently went bust. The money is owed to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), an agency of the DofE.

The debate in the Planning Committee meeting involved discussions on whether paying off the debt was a legitimate use of the planning process and constituted the Very Special Circumstances (VSC) necessary for building houses and flats on Greenbelt land, whether the design, mass, bulk and height of the proposed buildings were acceptable and whether there would be undue additional pressure on our roads. Despite being advised that paying off the debt did not constitute VSC, and with a number of councillors expressing concern about the scale of the proposed buildings and the effect on our already congested roads, the application was approved by a majority.

Clearly there are advantages to the proposals, including:

  • Upgrading the College’s teaching facilities;
  • Increasing the provision on site for local students requiring a high level of Special Education Needs, supported with funds from Surrey County Council;
  • Delivering a new sports centre and community space for the use of the College and the wider local community;
  • Refurbishing the site’s listed mansion, returning it to its historic residential use and restoring its terraced gardens;
  • 40% of properties will be affordable homes providing a mix of rented housing, shared ownership and discounted first homes;
  • Opening up 12 hectares of woodland for newly accessible public use;
  • Reopening pedestrian and cycling access across the railway bridge giving residents living south of the railway better access to Brooklands College, Heathside School and into Weybridge;
  • Remediating and building on areas that were former landfill sites.


Weybridge Business Park

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In March this year, Runnymede Borough Council rejected plans for a 20,000 square metre warehouse on the now derelict site of Weybridge Business Park because it would be overbearing and have a damaging environmental impact.

The developers returned with revised plans for a number of smaller industrial units rather than the one large warehouse and this came before the RBC Planning Committee at the end of October. The council seemed to consider that the was an improved design due to its reduction in size and some additional landscaping. Along with the Weybridge Society, local councillors asked EBC to comment on the adverse effect the development would have on traffic through Weybridge, but unfortunately there was no objection raised from either the Local Highway Authority (SCC) or National Highways. Indeed, RBC determined that a reason for refusal on highway grounds could not be substantiated.

But conditions were imposed to restrict the hours of operations from 7am to 9pm and to limit the amount of floor space that could be occupied by one occupier so that units couldn’t be joined together to effectively provide one large warehouse.

However, the developers, Bridge Industrial, are appealing the decision to refuse their first application in March. The Weybridge Society is working hard, along with members of the Poets Corner Residents Group (PCRG) who live near the site, to prevent the appeal being heard in February from overturning the decision.

Weybridge Social and Evacuee Housing

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Officers of both PA Housing and Elmbridge Housing recently met with Cllr Judy Sarsby at Bramcote House, Weybridge, and agreed to allow Ukrainian evacuees to live in the building temporarily. This was a welcome decision that has offered stability to many families who travelled to Elmbridge to escape war in Ukraine. Sadly Bramcote is one of the three social housing buildings in Weybridge destined for demolition by PA Housing and replacement with primarily shared ownership properties. Work has started on St Catherine’s in Beales Lane, and Bramcote and Kemble Houses are due for demolition later this year.

The decision by PA Housing to replace social housing with shared ownership properties, designated as affordable housing, is a concern to local councillors who believe shared ownership housing in Weybridge, where prices are high, is actually unaffordable to key workers. The decisions by PA to replace these buildings were no doubt made before the perfect storm of Brexit/Covid/Ukrainian war and therefore do not reflect the current needs of the town. With the planned rebuilding of medical services on the hospital site with increased capacity and therefore more staff, we need key workers and the stability that secured housing offers to them. Cllr Sarsby is working with EBC to consider options for the future of key workers and Ukrainians in Weybridge.

Housing pressures and the Local Authority Housing Fund

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On 11 January, Cllr Neil Houston, Cabinet member for Housing, briefed Cabinet colleagues on a package of financial support announced by the Department for Levelling Up and Housing (DLUHC). This amounts to a £500 million Local Authority Housing Fund to provide capital funding directly to English councils in areas facing the most significant housing pressures due the arrival of Ukrainians seeking safety in the UK.

Elmbridge, with our partner agencies, is currently supporting 210 Afghans (45 households) who are in a bridging hotel. In addition, we currently have around 400 Ukrainians residing in the borough under the Homes for Ukraine scheme and are accommodating 8 Ukrainian families in temporary accommodation under our homelessness duties.

From the Local Authority Housing Fund Elmbridge was allocated:

  • £3.6m to support delivery of a minimum of 18 homes (mainly for Ukrainians) – this equates to £200,000 per property
  • £0.895m to support delivery of a minimum of 2 four-bedroom plus homes for Afghans in bridging accommodation

Cabinet agreed to recommend to full Council:

  • that Elmbridge BCl participates in the Local Authority Housing Fund
  • that we increase our commitment to resettle Afghan families through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) from five households to ten, both recognising the level of ongoing need and the level of funding available to councils to help provide housing and support to eligible families.

We want to be able to provide suitable settled housing for those arriving in the UK through Ukrainian and Afghan schemes, but also create a legacy of a new permanent supply of housing to help address longer-term housing and homelessness pressures within Elmbridge.  The Local Authority Housing Fund, plus our own strategy to increase affordable accommodation in conjunction with our housing association partners, will help deliver those outcomes for the Elmbridge community.