Local concerns can vary road by road, area by area or across the whole of our ward and beyond.  We believe that it's very much the job of your local councillor to seize every opportunity to keep abreast of what is happening, or indeed not happening, locally and always to be ready to listen to you and work hard to help resolve them.

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Particular concerns include:

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Roads – Potholes and worn out roads and paths continue to be a problem although pressure from us and others is at long last producing some action.  Bearing in mind how vital all forms of road transport are to our everyday life it is essential that there should be no let up here.  Roadworks are a constant disruption and there needs to be better co-operation between Surrey County Council and the utility companies so as to reduce this to a minimum.  Advance warning signs need to be both accurate and in time to be useful.

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Brooklands Road HGV weight restriction.  Success!

The restriction signs should be in place and operative this October.  Our councillors Pippa Graeme and Peter Harman began the campaign with their petition to Surrey County Council and through their tireless efforts it gained publicity and ever more support among residents, local groups, other councillors and our MP.  So, very soon and with effective enforcement, we should see a huge improvement on our local roads.

 

Weybridge Health Centre – Destroyed by the fire in 2017. Since then, numerous consultations and plans. Seven years later and still no signs of progress with no application yet made for planning permission.  It’s for the NHS to push the project forward but Weybridge is a major town with an ever increasing population and this must not be allowed to drift on any longer.  This is a priority and there must be continuing pressure from us and others.

 

Overdevelopment – New homes are needed but this should be more than just a numbers game. The type, cost and mix of housing needs to meet actual needs, not just to meet a government imposed total number. Roads, health services and schools need to be funded to meet increased demand. If the planning rule changes proposed by the new government go through then Elmbridge councillors must fight to ensure that Elmbridge Borough makes the best use of the powers and discretions remaining with local authorities.

 

Council Tax – Only a small portion is retained by Elmbridge Council, just under 11% of the total. The rest goes to Surrey County Council and Surrey Police.  Elmbridge must continue to budget carefully and control its own costs. Weybridge & St. George’s Independents councillors will support measures which will deliver good services and sound finances as efficiently as possible.

 

Street cleaning – Tidy streets and public spaces contribute greatly towards our ward being seen as a well-managed and pleasant place to live.  More needs to be done by the council to improve street sweeping by allocating adequate resources and improving scheduling.  Litter is a problem and more bins and more frequent emptying will help, especially in identified littering hotspots.